I've been keeping a log of my favorite lines people around me have said over the past few years. Its usually just one sentence at the right time that makes me laugh so hard that I never want to forget it. Friday provided two gems:
"I know I'm mentally unstable, but I'd rather be that than married."
-Phil, 40
"Vegas Baby, Vegas!"
-Westley, 6
For the second week in a row, my friends and I turn down the hill on d'Aguilar street with a growling appetite. The neon sign glows overhead, "Stormie's Upstairs - Open for Drinks and Snacks". And so, for the second week in a row Dave and I go up stairs and ask, "Is Stormie's upstairs open for drinks and snacks?" The bartender again tells us that he is closed, although there are two people at the bar.
"Sorry, we've been here awhile," say the guy and girl at the bar.
"The sign outside says you're open," Dave declares to the bartender.
"You did this to us last week too!" I added.
The girl at the bar spins around and proclaims "We're Irish and we're actually famous. That's why he's serving us."
"Famous and Irish?" I ask, "Does that merit special treatment?"
Defensively, the girls replies, "We're not very famous here, but we are in Ireland. We're in Riverdance."
And so we danced.
Things were less than stellar in Hong Kong for the first two months (see On Edge). School was overwhelming and that brought on other worries about my current situation and the future. In the past three weeks things have turned drastically for my favor. I gave up on trying to change things at school and learned how to just show up and have fun with my kids. My friends and I enjoy each other more now that we don’t have dramatic situations at work and instead are strengthening our friendships on other basis. The future looks bright.
This weekend was certainly one of the most enjoyable I can remember thus far. I spent time with my good friends here and even met a great new group of people afaffectionatelyeferred to as 'The Frenchies'. Andrew plays on a few soccer teams in town and on Thursday I met some players from the French team. They are all right at our age and are loads of fun. They fulfill every French stereotype in the book. From ‘ze way dat dey speak’ to the wavy-haired guy from Bordeaux with a sweater tied around his neck.
I haven't spent much, if any, time in my life around the French so my Southern grown ideals about them are certainly askew. I learned something about the real French this weekend and they are one of the most fun groups of people I have ever been around. I laughed so hard with them that I may have developed a hernia.
Most of my new amis will be here the entire time I am in Hong Kong and I am so grateful for so many new friends. I’m sure that there are many great times to come and a plethora of stories to tell.
Andrew and I took the ferry to Macau this weekend to watch the Grand Prix. Many claim that Macau is on a fast track to replace Las Vegas as the gambling capital of the world. If the Chinese economy keeps growing at this pace, I bet it will be there within ten years.
Saturday night we checked out a few of the new casinos in town including the new Wynn, but couldn't afford to stay there. We ended up at the Sands and lost a little money on black jack before we headed for our cave at the Best Western.
On Sunday morning we had a cold, yet free breakfast at the hotel and headed to the race. We didn't know anything about the event, but thought it would be fun. At noon when we showed up they were racing the BMW's and Opel hatchbacks you might see at the grocery store. Regardless, they were loud and fast. After that there was a classic motorcycle parade, a lion dance and then the F3 race. Those cars were twice as loud and extremely fast.
The race was exciting and we enjoyed ourselves in the stands. I'm not sure if I'll go back to Macau for awhile though. There are many greater cities in Asia and I plan to see most of them.
Coming to Hong Kong, one of the factors I was most concerned about was the climate. I had heard it was hot and humid and I dreaded moving back into a Houston-esque sweatbox. I have been here for almost three months now and the weather is super. The temperature has barely budged from 85 degrees and the humidity is far from overwhelming.
On Sunday, I put on my shorts and T-shirt and pondered the greatness of the weather that day as I set out for the beach. On the other side of Hong Kong Island are some scenic beaches with ex-pat filled luxury apartments looming over them. I headed for a certain area known to the tourists as Stanley Market. It was a typical street market filled with knockoff clothing and souvenir knick-knacks. Along the coast there is a new board walk being built with some nice restaurants lining the strip. Lauren and I had some wine and mussels and watched the sun set over the mountains.
It was another long and pleasant weekend in Hong Kong. They keep saying the air will get cooler soon, but everything feels fine right now.
No one is sure why, but we all ended last week in a great mood. Part because there were no bad news meetings or teacher uprisings. It could also be insanity. Whatever the cause, I walked out of school Friday feeling great. I’ve been having a lot of fun with my kids and they enjoy me being in the classroom. I’m not teaching them a single thing, but school isn’t all about learning.
Most of the students in the school have an English name, but there are a few who only go by their Chinese name. One kid, Tam Ho Yin, is constantly running circles around my class and I get really sick of yelling “Tam Ho Yin, SIT DOWN!!!” over a hundred times a day. My voice can’t bear the syllables. So, on Friday I gave him his nickname.
He is the tallest boy in class and very lanky. In lines he is constantly bending over and twisting into different pretzel shapes to get rid of some energy. It was obvious to me that his English name should be ‘Slouch’.
Andrew helped me teach him his name and by the end of class on Friday, Slouch was responding to his new English alias. I tested him again this morning and I think it stuck.
Its making differences like this in children’s lives that gets me out of bed in the morning. In fifty years, Tam Slouch will be the president of China and you will all think of me.
Yesterday Andrew spent quite some time quieting his class. He has one student named Johnson who is a real troublemaker and is always talking. After Andrew finished yelling at Johnson, he muttered something under his breath in Cantonese that caused the class to gasp. Andrew asked the class many times what Johnson said, but no one wanted to translate the foul phrase.
After class was over, a boy walked up to Andrew and whispered that he knew what Johnson’s words meant in English. Andrew asked what they meant and with two fingers pointed and his arm moving in a swooping uppercut motion, the student shouted across the school, “Funk yo mothah!”
* * *
In a related story, my class took a field trip to the Museum of Medical Sciences today. In one room there were thank you notes from another school stuck to the wall. I was browsing through the notes when I found a rogue that missed the censor's eyes.
Things have been very tense at work lately. Almost every English teacher at this school feels that they were duped into taking this position. When I accepted the job, I was told I would teach no more than three hours per day. The first day of school they told me I was a Math teacher with my own class of first graders and that I wouldn’t even have and English class to teach.
Over the past month, everyone has been logging at least 50 hours of work per week including Saturdays. I am the only one who hasn’t work on a weekend yet, but I also have possibly the most difficult position of any English teacher.
This led to a lot of stress for the teachers and tension with our boss. Last week we began to take a stand and probably gave our boss the worst week she has ever experienced. We simply told her that we weren’t happy and regretted taking this position. I explained how I felt lied to and what she needed to do to make things better before everyone started walking out. A few people refused to show up for their Saturday duties without being compensated for the extra hours, which I believe was a good move.
This week, things are much better. I believe the Saturday duties will be eliminated after everyone has worked six. We should also be getting some help in the classrooms from Chinese teachers since many of our students don’t understand English at all.
I was hoping for an easy year of teaching a few hours a day while enjoying life in Asia. However, this job is very sickening sometimes and I vow never to teach again. With all of that said, I’m not sure I’d rather be anywhere else right now. I love Asia and I have made some great friends at this job. Our relationships have flourished through these first six weeks of work as we persevered together and supported each other. I have gained so much in Hong Kong already and can’t wait to see what happens in the future.
At quiz night on Wednesday, we had an accidental antisemitic moment. The questions are delivered over the bar noise by an expat emcee with a thick English accent. The category, Famous People; the question, "Who created the Mars bar?"
I immediately responded with 'the Mars family' which was of course the correct answer. However, Andrew heard an entirely different question. Through the emcee's accent, Andrew heard, "Who created the maza bah?" and interpreted this to be something Yiddish. Without even consulting his team, Andrew wrote 'Jews' on our answer sheet.
I was pretty sure my answer was right, but he wrote with such conviction that I figured Andrew knew something about candy bars that I didn't. I let the answer remain and we turned it in.
When the correct answers were announced, Andrew scratched his head trying to understand 'The Mars Family.' We discussed our thinking and he realized he had just committed a very taboo sociological blunder.
We fared decently this week on the trivia, but our reputation has surely been tarnished by our disdain for the Jewish ties to chocolate.
One month in Hong Kong and we’ve already had two national holidays. This weekend was the Mid-Autumn Festival, which is the equivalent to the American Thanksgiving because most people travel to be with families and spend some time together.
There aren’t any big feasts or football, but there was a giant party at the end of my street with over 100,000 people. The entire park was decorated with paper lanterns and every kid makes a lantern each year and runs around with it on the festival night.
There were your basic Chinese entertainers; a woman contortionist that balanced a tray of wine glasses on her chin while she twisted into various pretzel shapes, a goofy looking man that wishes he could sing in Vegas, but his career only took him as far as public venues with crowds in the hundreds that stop while passing to see if his chin beard is real, and a dance troop dressed in ancient Chinese clothing that dances to Asian hip-hop.
We also ate moon cakes all week. The Hong Kongers love these things, but I haven’t met a single Westerner that can stand them. It’s a small cake that looks yummy, but its dry and the filling is either a semi-sweet vegetable like lotus or its filled with multiple egg yolks. I tried about five different types and couldn’t finish one.
Every night in Hong Kong there is a giant light display on the harbor. All of the big skyscrapers are decorated top to bottom with bright lights and at eight o’clock the lights dance and the entire skyline goes crazy with lasers and spot lights. I just moved into my real apartment this weekend and I sat on my bed last night to watch the light show from my room. I forgot it was a holiday and there ended up being a thirty minute fireworks display in front of my building. It was a nice welcome to the neighborhood gift from the city.
I don’t know what’s going on in my head, but these kids must really be getting to me. Last night, for the third time in a month, I found myself sitting straight up in bed at 4am and instructing my students. I say things like, “Harold. Harold! You need to sit-down.” I’ve also warned my students that they shouldn’t be in my apartment while I’m asleep. After I realize what I'm doing, I usually shake my head in bemusement, but also signaling to my students that their behavior should stop. I fall back to sleep quickly only to remember what happened in the morning and wonder if I should be on any sort of medication.
I am becoming a little weary of my psychosis. I wonder how long it will be until I walk into Andrew’s room in the middle of the night and shout, “Andrew, stop talking and sit at your desk before I call your mother!” Even worse, I might actually make the call home.
Everyday there's a boy in the mirror
asking me, What are you doing here?
Finding all my previous motives
are growing increasingly unclear.
I've travelled far and I burned all the bridges
I believed as soon as I hit land.
All the other options held before me
will wither in the light of my plan.
Homesick by The Kings of Convenience
Monday night I went out with some Cantonese friends for what they call Hot Pot. The restaurant was in an ethnic Chinese part of town called Sheung Wan (think of a classic Chinatown). There were nine of us and we sat at a big table upstairs. There were two gas burners on the table with big pots of boiling water and cabbage.
They brought out drinks and then someone ordered all of our meats and veggies. The idea behind hot pot is that everything is raw and you cook it in the water or a spicy saute sauce for about thirty seconds and then enjoy. We ate everything from tofu to fresh crab to beef and lamb. The main course lasted about forty-five minutes and I was stuffed to the rafters. Then, the four dessert courses came out. I thought I could find room for chocolate cake or something, but their idea of dessert is way different.
The first dessert was a sweet soup with cubes of gelatin and green beans sans husk. Not too bad, but very different. Then, we had a round of tea followed by a plate of sweet potatoes, a mystery nut and some root I couldn't identify. I didn't exactly go crazy at this point. Another round of tea and some unbuttoning of my pants to make room for the rest. The final dessert was a plate of melons that we gobbled up and then passed out.
The meal was fantastic and the best part was that it lasted for over two hours. The conversation was great and I got to meet some more locals while eating some real Chinese food.
This weekend Andrew and I celebrated our birthdays with a few friends from work. Friday night Carol and Lauren came over a brought a cake. We played trivial pursuit, watched a movie, and forgot about work. Saturday was for sleeping in and running a few errands. That night we had dinner with some more teachers from school and hung out in Lan Kwai Fong all night. We had some fabulous late-nite kebabs and went home to fall asleep to another movie.
Yesterday was my official birthday although the party lasts for days. Andrew and I left the apartment at noon and walked across town to an area called Soho. The first place we came across was called McSorley’s. Unbelievable. We had no choice but to go in and replenish ourselves. The place was nothing like the original, but they did copy some things like the motto ‘Be good or be gone’.
After McSorley’s we walked home and watched some ‘TV’ on my laptop and took part in our annual birthday ritual at midnight.
This weekend wasn’t near as extravagant as last year, but I really enjoyed being with friends and relaxing yesterday.
If you know me well enough you’ll be able to list all of my self-claimed talents, trivia…and Trivial Pursuit. So, you can imagine how excited Andrew and I were when we found out that Wednesday night is Quiz Night around the corner from our apartment. We prepared mentally for a week and assembled a team consisting of the other two people we know in Hong Kong, Carol and Lauren.
At 8pm last night we walked into Dickens Pub hoping that there really was Quiz Night and that someone else would show up. I was thrilled when we were the last of six teams to arrive. We assessed the competition and thought we had a pretty good chance of winning the curry buffet for six.
The categories were almost picked with us in mind; History, Geography, Name the Building, Music, Movies, and Sports. Cakewalk, right? Wrong. After round two we were tied for dead last with dim hopes of making up ground. The questions were severely British biased and some of the music was unknown to any non-Aussie. There were three Canadians and they were the only three to miss the capital of Ontario question.
We ended up finishing last and got the consolation bucket of Chang. We had a blast though and made friends with some teams. You can count on us being at Quiz Night every Wednesday and maybe walking away with the free airfare to Shanghai and grand prix tickets they awarded last week.
The last two weeks have been pretty busy, but mostly the same routine. Work is very hard and exhausting. All of the English teachers are frustrated with the school and its disorganization. The students have a hard time understanding us and we spend most of our time on discipline rather than teaching. I’m handling it pretty well, but the more I talk to other teachers the angrier I get.
I just had to go watch my first graders for recess. The worst kid in the school is in my homeroom and I had to chase him down the hall, pin him against the wall and yell in his face for kicking another student. This is a daily occurrence and it doesn’t even faze him. I rarely get angry enough that I yell and turn red, but that happens all the time now and isn’t exactly cathartic. Sometimes I just shut the door and stand in the hallway while the kids run across desks and fight each other.
My friend Carol is miserable at work and says she wants to quit in a month or two, which makes me sad already because she has quickly become one of my best friends here. She has an education degree and says this is nothing like teaching should be. Phil is from Australia but taught in Japan for five years. He says this is the hardest teaching job he’s ever had. Hopefully we’ll all stick it out through the year. I have to keep myself from thinking about the end of school because the summer seems like five years from now.
This all sounds bad, I know, but I really love it here. Hong Kong is fabulous and the weekends are great. I love the apartment and we had some fun times so far. I’ve been hanging out with a few of the other teachers on the weekends and having a great time. We try to avoid thinking about the week ahead, but the school inevitably seeps into the conversation. Carol and I spent yesterday afternoon together in the city. I found a great grocery store that sells some great food for really cheap. They even sell Brooklyn Lager! We wandered around SoHo (south of Hollywood Rd.) and had some food and drinks in a little café. Andrew and I had steaks for dinner and drank the lagers while we watched Green Street Hooligans.
Back at work now though and just trying to take it day by day. Hopefully some problems will be solved this week and everyone will start to enjoy work a little more.
A miracle has happened in Eastern Asia. After only three days of easy shopping, Andrew and I have found an apartment on Hong Kong Island. Comparatively, a British girl at our school has been looking for three weeks and is still homeless. After we made an offer on the place we were out bid but then gained it back. So knowing that it was a hot find, we emptied our bank accounts and rushed to make a deposit after work. We only had enough for about half of the deposit, but a wink at Ivy, our landlord, smoothed everything out.
Our place is in an area called Causeway Bay, which is just east of Central Hong Kong. Twenty-seven floors below home is the central shopping area for all of Hong Kong with virtually every store you see in Soho or Fifth Avenue. A Starbucks is conveniently located across the street and there is a 24-hour supermarket in our building. I guess its worth mentioning that we have a view of the harbor out of our apartment, but it hardly compares with my view of Manhattan from Jersey.
Unfortunately, we can’t move into the apartment until October 1, but there is an empty apartment at the end of the hall that we can have on Sunday. The living room provides ample space for guests and our first major purchase will be a sofa bed for all of our Asia-bound friends.
I made it! Unbelievable. I flew into Hong Kong from L.A. on Thursday. The flight was surprisingly easy and fast. As soon as I got off the plane they handed me a cell phone and a list of errands I had to run that night. We slept about 5 hours and the went straight to school for our first day. They told me to just prepare a 15 mintue game to learn names. I ended up teaching a full day and was at the school for 11 bloody hours.
The school/job is very different from what I expected in a good way. I actually work at a private school called Pegasus Philip Wong Kin Hang Christian Primary School. It is a very expensive and recognized private school. We aren't really English teachers. I am actually an elementary teacher that teaches in English. I really fooled them. My home room is full of 26 adorable first graders. Some speak and read English very well and some speak to me in Cantonese. We rotate classes and I'll be a math teacher for the most part. I think I actually teach a Bible class too! The staff is Christian and at least half the teachers are too. There are 15 english teachers and about 20 Hong Kongers. As for the english teachers, there are a few Americans, a Canadian, one Brit, one Dutch/Asian, two Ausies and a Turk. They seem very cool. I'm actually on my way to a party to get to know all of them. The invitations says there will be 'chicken wings and 12 dozens beers'. I don't know what that means, but it sounds yummy.
We haven't spent very much time getting to know the city, but from what I can tell, it is exactly what I expected. Weather just like Houston, bleh. The streets look exactly like the pictures and feel just like New York only filled with Chinese. The subways are spotless, quiet and air conditioned. We went to a hip area called Lan Kwai Fong in Central Hong Kong last night and hung out in an expat area filled with a ton of American and Brit bankers/students/people like us. It felt amazing to sit there and realize I am in China. It really doesn't feel that far away from home. I think I'm gonna love it here. The next step is to find an apartment today in a sweet neighborhood and make some expat friends.
My ride to the party is here now. Stay tuned to hear about the weekend and first few days of school.
I'm sitting on Dan's deck right now in L.A. He just moved into a sweet apartment literally one block from Venice Beach. I've got the California sun shining on my back, coffee brewing in the kitchen and the Pacific breeze keeps the temperature in the 70's. This would be the life, except in about 24 hours I'm finishing off my journey towards Hong Kong.
Briefly, I want to say how amazing airplanes are. I flew to Dallas from Houston over the weekend to save time and actually some money too. I left for the airport straight from the pool and when Luke picked me up, my swimsuit was still wet. And yes, I was wearing it the entire time. Yesterday, I flew the cattle car (read: Southwest Airlines) to LAX. Four hours after takeoff in I was laying on the beach in California. I watched the jumbo jets taking off to my right and heading straight out over the Pacific to places like Asia and Australia. Tomorrow it will be my turn to get on one of those big birds and time warp into a different world.
I've got a busy day planned at the beach and then a second Dodger game tonight with Dan. I never thought I'd say it, but I love Southern California! ...minus the damned heat when you're in the city and the hellacious traffic which is every bit as bad as they say. Dan has a great setup here and a pretty sweet 'stache too.
I was fortunate enough to see many of my best friends over the past week; Micah, Luke, Mark, Collin, Ryan, and Dan. I was glad to spend some fun times with them on my way out. Now, in a few long hours Andrew will be waiting in Hong Kong and we shall begin this new episode I’ve been anxiously awaiting.
Its been over a month since I've been to a baseball game and I was itching for one. It's been over a year since I saw the Astros, but I wasn't itching for them.
Regardless of my itches, I got some sweet tickets to the game tonight and took Jacy with me. Some other people came, but I don't remember who. We sat five rows off the field, Jacy and I. She kept talking about Brad Ausmus and how hot he was. I couldn't see him through the facemask. She took alot of pictures of him but they were all of his back for some reason.
The Astros blew the Pirates out, which is hardly a feat this year so we left in the seventh. On the way out, she told me she was just dieing for a cider so we went to the Saucer. I don't remember who else came, but I'm sure they were extremely insignificant. Jacy and I just talked the night away and had the time of our lives. I'm so glad that Jacy and I can be such good friends.
P.S. I think she's married to this guy, but I'm not sure.
I accepted a position finally. I will be teaching kids in Hong Kong; Kowloon specifically. And, I think Andrew and I will be in the same school which is good because I just don't think living and hanging out together is enough. I fly to L.A. to see Dan again on Aug. 27th and from there to Hong Kong on the 30th. Be sure to check the blog as I will update a lot over the next few months.
I have been unemployed for two weeks now and it has been bliss. I spent the first week on a futon in the West Village looking for jobs in China. Andrew and I applied for about 23 jobs in Hong Kong within 3 days and then waited to hear back. In the meantime we drank coffee and stared at each other all day long. I had some great going away events with some close friends during that week. I said goodbye to the teacher crew, church friends, Jenn and Kari, and Collin. After a week of goodbyes, I was ready to just leave and be done with that painful process.
I came to Houston on Monday to spend some time with my family. Its great to be here, but I already miss New York and have actually experienced some reverse culture shock. The heat here is deadly so I’ve quarantined myself into the living room in front of a massive TV and my laptop. I’ve seen some close friends that whom I missed while in NYC. Ryan and Laura made me dinner last night and we laughed about old times as always. Micah, Jacy, and I sat around the pool and enjoyed the High Life which we live so well. Cheers to Jacy for choking one down. I’m blessed to be around such close friends, like Jacy, even after leaving my big-city crew.
After a week of job searching and no responses, Andrew and I started to get a little nervous so I applied to some positions in Shanghai. I had 4 replies before the night was over. Last night we got an offer from a Christian school in Hong Kong and I believe we have two conference calls tonight. Things are finally shaping up and China is becoming a reality. I think we are both equally excited about each city and now the hard part will be deciding where we want to live.
Finally, I have been broke for weeks now. I get an e-mail every morning telling me that my checking account is empty. I changed my setting to not receive the alert, but they keep coming anyway. To alleviate my financial problem, I’ve decided to go work at my dad’s company for a few weeks. I’ll start in the office on Monday and while I’m disappointed that my fantasies of reading by the pool are now just a dream, the move to China will be much easier with some scratch in my pocket.
Well, I'm really doing it. I moved out of my apartment last week and shipped my stuff home. My last day at work is tomorrow and there is a celebration planned after. I bought a plane ticket to Texas and I'm almost certified to teach English.
I hope this is a good decision...
Actually, things feel great. I've been dreaming of my last day at work for months upon longer months. It feels like the last week of school there and everyone is congratulating me for escaping our company. I've been staying at Andrew's apartment in the West Village and having a blast. I woke up at 8:30 this morning and still made it to work on time. Over the long weekend, I went to Fire Island with some friends to hang at the beach all day. We had so much fun that we skipped the ferry boat and hung out on the island for a few extra hours that night.
Last night I found out that a bistro around the corner, which we all pass a few times a week, has some great free live jazz each night. I thought that I would hear so much live music moving to New York, but it usually cost too much. Now I really wish I had known about this place earlier. The timing was a little off though.
Speaking of bad (my dating life) timing, within my final month of living in New York I have met two really cool girls that I would love to hang out with and attempt this 'dating' thing everyone talks about. They are both very cute and I have fun every time I'm around them. Its a good thing I'm moving to Asia or else I might actually begin a relationship with one of them.
All of that said, I'm excited about leaving. I'll have about two months to relax and do things I can't in New York. I'll see some friends and spend plenty of time home. I might even try to leave the states a few weeks early and do some traveling before my new job begins. Speaking of which, I should probably start looking for a teaching position.
In the past week or so, I've been getting really excited about some things I usually couldn't care less about.
One is television, specifically the HBO show Entourage. I really don't watch anything on T.V. besides baseball and an occasional Scrubs episode, but thanks to a million dollar marketing campaign aimed at me and every other 22-30 year old male, I am absolutely hooked on this show. I don't have HBO, but I do have an internet and a video iPod, so I downloaded the first two seasons and watched all 22 episodes while commuting on the subway. I was addicted and luckily last night began a new season to curb my cravings for L.A. jackasses. My buddy Jerry has HBO so I watched the season premiere at his Brooklyn apartment last night and might start making the weekly trek out there.
My second drug-like addiction has been for World Cup soccer (football). Like most Americans, I know nothing about the sport and I get by fine. But, toss $5 in an office pool and everything changes. I haven't missed a match yet and have already slipped out of the office twice; into a pub across the street with about 100 bankers to catch the game. I'm keeping a bracket and can't wait for the next Costa Rica match so I can sport the only soccer jersey I own. They'll get killed, I'm sure.
So, T.V. dramedys and World-class soccer. Keep 'em coming!
I went to Los Angeles over the weekend to see Dan. He lives in Santa Monica, which is beautiful and teaches in Malibu. Life is hard for Dan.
Except for the traffic, smog, and heat, which do exist in L.A., I realized that Southern California is beautiful (I already new Northern Cali was perfect). I was blown away by all of the trees and plants everywhere. We made the best margaritas ever with lemons we picked off a tree in his backyard. I'm ready to be somewhere that doesn't consider concrete nature.
Saturday and Sunday we went to Dodger games and took our shirts off. The California sun is intense and would've roasted us if we didn't move to the shade. Dodger dogs are great and the stadium is the most beautiful stadium in all of sports. On Monday we walked down to Venice beach and back. The entire walk took about four hours. We realized that between all our time spent in Costa Rica, NYC, Chicago and LA, we have probably spent more time walking than anything else. Dan is a good walker.
Hopefully during the summer, I'll be able to go back and spend a little more time in Santa Monica. Dan has the summer off and I'll be unemployed. I can think of few better reasons to sit on the beach and drink homemade margaritas.
I feel like a Senior in high school. I know that in a few weeks, this painful routine of work will be over with and I will have a full summer to myself followed by a completely new lifestyle.
I'm in the process of getting certified to teach English abroad. My plan is to quit my job in late June/early July. Details are vague after that, but I will most likely spend a week or two in NYC then a few days in Boston. Sometime in the latter half of July I will load all of my stuff into a rental car and drive it to Houston. I hope to spend at least three weeks in Texas and perhaps make it all the way through August. I'll do some road tripping to Dallas, Austin, College Station etc. to see some friends and have some fun. I might even go to L.A. so see Daniel if money permits.
During all of this I'll be searching for a good gig in Hong Kong and hopefully Andrew and I can end up at the same place. Ideal starting date is September 1.
Until then, I'm marking days off my calendar at work. The sun is shining outside, summer is around the corner and I've got a lot to look forward to.
It seems like everyone today is complaining about the high cost of gasoline. Everyone except city-slickers like me who enjoy the freedoms of being sans vehicle.
Over the past 6 years, the cost of a barrel of oil has risen from around $20 in 2000 to the $70 range of today. Gasoline, a derivative of crude oil, has followed suit and is drilling a hole in the pockets of American drivers.
The reason for the rising costs is simple supply and demand, Economics 101. We drive bigger cars and use more gas. As a result, we demand more energy so the price continues to rise. This is a fact that many are quick to ignore. Instead, drivers want to blame the government for reasons I do not understand. The government aims blame at oil companies simply for being profitable (isn't that the goal of a market economy?) and in turn labels the American producer of oil, the giver of life to SUVs, the evil empire of our prospering economy.
I can understand why someone would blame a corporation for high prices, but it is still an incorrect assumption. Oil companies do not determine prices. This is done by energy traders who try to predict which way the price of oil will go. For the most part, energy companies like Exxon buy this and process it and sell for a mark-up to cover their costs.
Its true that oil companies reported record profits this year, but that doesn't they are gouging the consumer. The Economist justified this today in an article, "The understandable ire comes from a basic economic error: consumers observe that the oil that producers were already pumping is not costing them any more, and therefore conclude that they shouldn'’t be making higher profits on it. But high prices are what brings new supply onto the market-supply that wouldn'’t be cost effective to pump if oil cost less than $72 a barrel. This gives oil companies a windfall on the oil that is cheaper to pump, but it is not gouging." Oil companies don't pocket profits either. These monies are used in higher risk investments to produce more oil and gas.
For what its worth, Ben Stein had an article today that suggests, "if we want to blame anyone... maybe we should blame ourselves for the oil pinch." All of this is to say, if Americans want lower gas prices, the consumer needs to lower their consumption and allow supply to catch up with demand.
Now my company can add a new item to the list of inconveniences we have - no international phone calls. Our two main offices are in London and Singapore.
Previously on the list:
-No Training
-No Business Cards
-No Office Supplies
-10 yr old Computers and software
-No Expense account
-No Lightbulbs above my desk
-Ran out of paper
-No International Calls
After agonizing months at this crappy job of mine and endless searching for that position I'm fit for, I realized what I need to do. I'm moving to Hong Kong.
There just isn't a job out there for this guy. What I really want to do is travel, live abroad, learn a language, experience other cultures, give myself a global education. Then I thought about teaching English in Asia. I've narrowed it down to Hong Kong.
Honestly, the idea of teaching barely enters my mind. I really only consider the lifestyle of Hong Kong and the opportunities to see the other side of this big rock I live on. (I should note that Andrew is coming with me, which is awesome.)
The idea and commitment are there, but the details are not. For the moment, I am still at the same crappy job with no foreseeable end. Actually I can see the end in two months with they give me a pink slip. There are a few things I still need to accomplish during my first stint in New York so I'm delaying my move until July-Septemberish. Until then, I still need another job that promotes sanity as opposed to my current position. Its all up in the air, but this is what's on my mind.
I like Chuck Klosterman's summary of the past six years in the U.S.
'In November 2000, the United States held a presidential election, and nobody knew who won, so we just kind of made up an outcome and tried to act like that was normal. Less than a year later, airplanes flew into office buildings, and everybody cried for two months. And then Enron went bankrupt, and the U.S. started acting like a rogue state, and "The Simple Life" premiered, and gasoline became unaffordable, and our Olympic basketball team lost to Puerto Rico, and we reelected the same president we never really elected in the first place. Later, there would be some especially devastating hurricanes and three Oscars for an especially bad movie called "Crash."'
This is a film that Collin, Andrew and I made for a contest.
The Times reports today that sales of S.U.V.s are falling by large numbers. Dealers are offering huge discounts just to get the cars off of their lots. This is mainly due to high gas prices and maybe the negative sentiment towards the oversized cars. One thing I found interesting was 'fewer than half the people who bought luxury S.U.V.'s are going back for another one.'
I personally can't stand these cars because of the ridiculous amount of space the waste and the ludicrous fuel efficiency. Hopefully they will pass as a trend and also improve their fuel economy to make this country appear a little more sane.
George Steinbrenner is voicing his opposition to the World Baseball Classic taking place right now. He is worried that his players will be injured in the non-MLB tournament this spring. According to Si.com, yesterday the Yankees placed a note appologizing to fans for the absense of some of their stars. I guess Boss is more worried about not selling tickets to his spring training camp rather than the health of his athletes.
"Thank you for expressing your concerns," the sign stated. "We are sorry that certain players will not be present for portions of spring training. These players have elected to participate in the World Baseball Classic. The World Baseball Classic is an event sanctioned by the commissioner of Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association.
"The New York Yankess," the sign went on, misspelling the team's name, "did not vote to support this event. Any comments you have regarding the World Baseball Classic should be directed to the commissioner of Major League Baseball or the Major League Baseball Players Association."
The Associated Press has released video of the government's pre-Katrina breifings. Many people, the AP included, are reporting on Bush's lack of questioning in the meeting and contradicting himself and others at FEMA. On the other hand, I've also read about some factual errors in the news reports. Either way, I don't really care. Just thought you might like to see what today's fuss is about.
Although I've largely ignored the issue, I'm already getting fed up with the political fuss being made in Washington over the ports. There really is no issue here to begin with. A company in the U.A.E. is buying P&O, a navigation company in London (a foreign company) that manages some of our ports. Many argue that an Arab company controlling our shipping jeopardizes our national security. However, the port security is opperated by the coast guard. There is no situation, but Congress is doing their best to start a fight. "It's a global network at the end of the day that we're trying to secure here," Flynn said. "And that doesn't happen by the United States owning every bit of it. What we should be focusing on instead is the question, are the security standards adequate?" So there you go, instead of worrying about who secures our ports, worry about how they are secured. And Congress, why don't you take a flying leap off one of those docks!
Stephen E. Flynn is the maritime security expert at the Council on Foreign Relations. He has explained in much detail the security risks of our ports.
Yesterday I went to Columbia University to hear a talk put on by their Earth Institute. The Governor of Montana, Brian Schweitzer, was the speaker. His topic of discussion was the future of energy in America.
As you know, the President mentioned our nation's energy crisis in his state of the union address last month. Our nation's foreign policy today is directly determined by our demand for oil. We are giving billions of dollars to dictators across the globe to feed our energy addiction. Dirty regimes in Venezuela, Saudi Arabia and Iran have us pinned by their ability to supply us with oil.
Much has been talked about new fuel alternatives to gasoline since the soccer mom's are sucking it all up in their SUV's. Gov. Schweitzer went into detail about these fuel options. A good point he made is that there is no single solution to the problem. There need to be several other energy alternatives. Montana gets 10% of its electricity from wind. Another popular idea for car fuel is ethanol. This is certainly a potential source, but is not the perfect solution to our problem. Schweitzer's favorite prospective fuel source involves converting coal to a liquid fuel. Montana sits on 30% of our nation's coal and by converting it to liquid fuel, could provide enough energy for our country to survive for 40 years. The process is economically friendly and cost efficient. Montana is currently negotiating to build multiple facilities to peform this conversion within the next four years.
The Governor is spending the rest of his week visiting with banks and energy companies about coal liquefaction. He will be featured on 60 minutes Sunday night and then will meet with President Bush to discuss the national energy crisis and their ideas for a solution.
I've decided recently that my life is not complete until I circumnavigate the globe. In fact, if I am still working at this job next Christmas, I'm going to quit and take the next 5-8 months to travel around the world.
I found a very cool travel site yesterday called Traveler's Point. It has a very cool feature that allows you to plan your trip and it calculates the airfare for you. Then you can send the plan to a travel counselor and they will book the trip for you. I believe the tickets are open-ended so you can leave pretty much whenever you want.
I've tried a few different trips. Mine range from $5,000-$7,500 which I find reasonable for some weird reason. Here is what I came up with today.
New York - Reykjavik - Amsterdam - Saint Petersburg - Prague - Rome - Cairo - Dar Es Salaam - Johannesburg - Bombay / Mumbai - Varanasi - Bangkok - Hong Kong - Shanghai - Beijing - New York
I'm leaving out 3 continents mind you and most of Europe goes undisturbed. Whenever I go on this trip, a believe me I will, I think I will do a lot of traveling on land between cities instead of flying to each one as the itinerary describes. I also imagine I will have to take this trip solo since few of my friends have the money/desire to do this and we would probably differ on many destinations of choice.
So you can officially count global navigation as a life goal of mine and I plan to do it sooner than later given my nomadic direction in this current lifestyle. Come with?
If we spend any time together, you know how much free time I have at work. I spend a few hours a day just reading up on current events and the like. I created a new blog today, in my spare time, that has links to some of my favorite links of the day. This way we will have similar stoies to discuss over our choice beverage.
If we don't spend time together, just read the articles.
Daily Reads
So, the guys and I headed down to the motherland over the weekend. Collin had never been to Texas so we booked our flights, called in sick and booked it to Austin. The entire weekend was filled with tons of food, driving around, listening to some blues and some Texas beers.
We spent two days in Austin where we hung out with Jonathan. We did some geocaching and hung out down town. On Saturday afternoon we drove to College Station. Andrew and I gave a frisbee led tour of the campus and then we went to Zapatos where our buddy Blake was playing some music. Good times ensued.
Instead of getting up super early to drive back to Austin to catch our flight, we drove straight through the night and got to the airport at 5am. The 7am flight got us to Houston, but a nor'easter canceled all flights to the northeast. Luckily, my parents live only minutes from the airport so we took a cab home and slept all day long. At about 9pm we decided to grab something to eat and go home. Instead, we gorged ourselves at Pei Wei (mmmm) and then went downtown so Collin could check off another Texas city. We called Moe who dropped what he was doing, got out of bed.....and met us for a beer. After that we made the obligatory stop at the House of Guys for some late night pie and coffee. By that time, 2am, we needed to get ready for our next flight. So, we took a one hour nap at home and then went back to the airport where a plane took us home to the city. We arrived 24 hours later than expected and I got to call in sick another day.
The snowstorm brought a record 27 inches of snow to New York. Out of the plane's window you could only see brown trees surrounded by the white blanket. Julie took some pictures of our street. The cars were completely buried by the snow. I wish I could have been there for the storm but the five-day Texas journey was a blast.
Collin did a much better job explaining the trip on his blog.
Over the past week, the Western world has been watching in bewilderment as Muslims react in protest to offensive political cartoons, which depict Mohammed as a terrorist. The cartoons were printed in Denmark last September, but only now are drawing a reaction. Scandinavian embassies have been burned to the ground in Beirut, people have been shot and killed in Indonesia, and overnight a mob tried to attack a U.S. base in Afghanistan leading to the death of over twenty Afghans by local police. Pakistanis are flooding the streets chanting, "Hang the man who insulted the prophet." Iran is boycotting all Danish imports, which is almost an understandable reaction. The violence; however, is causing non-Muslims to shake their heads in confusion.
My first question is, why now? If the cartoons were printed months ago, what is causing the uprising now? From what I’ve read, most don’t believe there is "a direct linkage" between the publication of the cartoons in September and the eruption of protests this month. "Only after a group of radical Danish imams traveled to the Middle East in December and January, deliberately lying about the situation ... trying to ignite public opinion against Denmark, did all these tragic events start to unfold." These imams must have been the sparks to set the blaze, but I wonder what their motivation would be to do this against Denmark and the other nations in the west.
And then there is the obligatory uninformed comment from a political/religious leader. "On Tuesday, Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said the West's publication of the cartoons was an Israeli conspiracy motivated by anger over Hamas' win in the Palestinian elections, AP reported." I don’t understand how the supreme leader can declare this if he knew the cartoons were published months before the elections.
Most of the debate seems to be over the issue of free speech. The Western world enjoys this luxury of democracy and has experienced it in both negative and positive ways for hundreds of years. We also have the freedom of religion and try to keep it separate from government. In contrast, Muslims live in countries with unstable governments that declare themselves nations under Islam. Their press is monitored and not even an image of a religious figure can be posted in public in fear of idolatry. I don’t believe the issue is a difference in religions, but rather a difference in cultures and their way of obtaining information and reacting in protest. They have never had the freedom of press that we have and are just now becoming aware of the power of this freedom. We spend our days reading newspapers and scouring the net for news. At night we watch T.V. and get the day’s summary of events. In the middle east, not every house has internet access or even a T.V. Your opinions are likely formed by family members or in a café with friends. When someone sets off a disturbance like these protests, you are likely to join without fully understanding the circumstance.
While watching these protests and reading about the absurdness of the reaction, I have begun to consider my own protection of my Christian beliefs. Over the years, Christianity has evolved with society while Islam is in many ways exactly the same as when it began 1400 years ago. I believe that Christians have been desensitized to blasphemy and now accept it in some ways. Meanwhile, Muslims are experiencing outside mocking of their religion for the first time and are displaying their passion for their beliefs and are up in arms about the disgrace that is being made of Mohammed. Should Christians be envious of the Muslim faith and passionate devotion to their leader, instead of pacifying the situation and letting the world make a mockery of their religion?
I certainly disagree with the method of protest being displayed by Muslims all around the world. Violence and killing is certainly not condoned. I am certain that if the same mockery of Jesus were made, Christians would protest too, but in peaceful ways such as boycotts, lawsuits and sour letters to the editor. But, do we lack a zeal for our God that these people have? Are we lukewarm when it comes to defending our faith?
The Economist has some good coverage on the situation and I’ve also been reading Anderson Cooper’s blog who by-the-way blogs during commercial breaks on his show. I blog at work too Anderson!
"Sometimes it falls upon a generation to be great. You can be that great generation."
-Nelson Mandela, 2005
This is not a U2 blog and I'm not a card carrying member of the Bono fan club, but I am writing about him again because I think he is a very important icon in the world right now. He was recently the guest speaker at the annual prayer breakfast in the White House. He really used the opportunity to take a stand and shared his heart with many leaders of our country. I'm really beginning to share similar passions and I hope that I can in some way become involved in this fight against poverty, disease and everything else wrong in the world.
I watched a movie last night called 'The Girl in the Cafe.' It was recommended on a website and I just expected a decent story. Instead, the film carried the same message I have been reading and feeling over and over throughout the past few weeks. I won't ruin the story, but it discusses the same topics Bono advocates and I definitely recommend you see the film.
After the film, I did some research and found some organizations on the net that are really working for the cause against poverty, hunger, AIDS and for free trade etc. Check them out if you have a chance and try to get involved. Be sure to take the time and read Bono's speech too.
ONE
Bread for the World
CARE
Make Poverty History
I just read this story about a bike messenger who got pissed when a guy threw a sandwich out of his car in Toronto (filthy). The girl picked the food up, opened the guys door and threw it back inside (stupid). The guy goes ballistic and starts raging on her and the bike (asshole). A few people stepped in to break up the fight, but one photographer stood there and documented the entire fight (brilliant). To him we are greatful.
Collin, Jay and I spent a couple hours on Saturday at Ringwood Manor State Park, outside of Mahwah, NJ. It was a short 30 minute drive out there. Bill the dog came with and sat in the back seat. Amazingly, more hair was found on the dashboard and our jackets than where he was sitting. Jay brought his dog Lucy. (pics)
All five of us speed-hiked up the mountain since the sun was already going down. We stopped at a small lake and watched the dogs play around on a big rock. The lake was partially frozen over and we spent a good amount of time trying to throw rocks and break the ice. Bill conquered his fear of water and became a member of the Eskimo Swim Club. The sun was almost gone so we started back down the mountain where the dogs and Collin made a new friend. I tried to make friends with the dog's mommy, but she was a little too hippie for me.
We got back to the car and it was dark. Bill panted for a few minutes until he couldn't see through the fog he created on the window. Then, he laid down on the seats, exhausted. Collin and I took him home and had a good chat with Collin's mom. On the way out, I tripped going down the stairs outside but made and incredible leap down to the grass to save face, literally.
Although its January, that doesn't mean I'm not thinking about baseball. Afterall, pitchers and catchers report for Spring Training in a few short weeks.
Since last July, Sox fans have been tossing the hot phrase 'Manny being Manny'. Manny Ramierez is one of the most unique and irregular personalities in baseball and maybe all of sports today. Each year he asks to be traded to a different city. This year he complained that he never received any privacy outside of his apartment. His consistency is...there is none on the field. Some days he's hot, then he goes cold for a week. He doesn't run becuase he doesn't feel like it, but then he'll make an incredible catch and make you wonder whose wearing the Manny suit in left field. In the dugout, he's dynamic and funny but on the diamond he's slow, fat and doesn't look like he's happy.
My point is, 'Manny being Manny' means that the guy has a different personality and is now excused by all Sox fans. He is free to surprise us in any way and it will be forgiven with this phrase. Its a get out of jail free card, with unlimited punches.
I am in some ways similar to Manny. People often think I'm feeling one way when I'm actually the opposite. Sometimes I can change my emotions in an instant. Several times a week I will feel no desire to be around anyone or have a conversation, but then other times I dominate the social scene just like Manny in the dugout.
Therefore, I am introducing you to my get out of jail phrase, you guessed it, 'Alex being Alex'.
Okay, after my Beware of Bono article a couple weeks ago, which was totally negated with a little more research, its time to give the rocker some credit for his fight on poverty and AIDS. Today, the world icon is annoucing a new product line called Red.
The brand will include products from companies such as GAP, American Express, Armani and Converse. Procedes from the sales will be directed toward the Global Fund which helps fight poverty and disease in Africa.
I think this is ingenius and impressive. Celebrities are usually all talk and I was even getting a little weary of Bono in his leather jacket and purple shades marching around the dark continent. Now, he has put his ideas and passions to practice and I beleive this will truly make a difference.
Go buy some Red stuff!
I know I've been a little sparse on the blogging lately, but I haven't had much to write about. There are many travels to come and you can accompany me via the net.
This is restaurant week in New York and you can eat a prix-fixe lunch at some great places for $24 which is actually not too bad considering you're eating lobeter and filet minon.
I, however, opted for an even hotter deal. There is a certain cart on a certain street corner in Chinatown that serves some outstanding noodle dishes for not-so-outstanding prices. You can get a quart of lo mein for $1 and 5 egg rolls to go with for $1. That $2 for twice as many noodles as you can stand an four egg rolls more than you should eat.
I'm not disclosing the location of this cart 1: because most of you are no where near Chinatown 2: I'm selfish 3: You don't care about noodles.
Upon Scooter Pie's recommendation, I Netflixed (new verb pending with Webster) a movie called Crash. I was amazed by this film and that no one is talking about it. There were multiple scenes so tense that I was squeezing the downesque silicon filling out of my couch pillow. I was also intrigued by the touchy premise of the movie. The focus is on social predjudism and how different races interact - er, fail to interact with each other. I thought the dialouges were edgy and very truthful of how people think and feel. At the end, I truly felt like this movie had impacted me and made me reflect on my feelings toward other races. A movie with a meaning, what a concept! This is a must-see movie for... anyone who watches movies.
AP - At noon today, Alex Wood, Account Executive for (censored) Inc. completed transaction with (censored) Capital, the second largest bank in the UK. The contract was signed and faxed at noon o'clock. Celebration and sarcastic remarks ensued in the office. Not surprisingly, the bastard at the bank who has prolonged this deal for six lousy months cut off half of the contract in the faxing process and will have to send over a new copy when he gets back from lunch.
Mr. Wood's manager was amazed, but kept her normal composure offering irrelevant instruction on how to do a better job. Her advice is never appreciated.
Mr. Wood has been with (censored) Inc. since June 2005. In that time, he has been amazed at the lack of organization it takes to run a business.
Last night Moni and I threw our first of many dinner parties. Ms. Love referred to her cultural roots and made some excellent chalupas along with the best margaritas ever. The blender can vouch for it. The crowd consisted of many A-List celebs such as Scooter Pie, Johnny Hot Sauce, and the terrapin Banks family. The party was interrupted at 8 o'clock by back-to-back Scrubs episodes, which only livened the atmosphere. I have never laughed that hard watching TV with friends. "King Me."
Stories were told, many a chalupa were eaten and fun was had by all. The next party is at Moni's at the end of this month and all are invited.
Fueled by our unquenchable thirst for serenity, Scooter Pie, Moni and I decided at the last minute to head to Vermont for the long New Year's weekend. Not knowing anything about the state, we took the train until it stopped in Rutland and just stayed there. The guy who owned our lodge picked us up at the train station. We diliberately went with no plans but RELAX. We ate well, slept, talked and laughed, listened to music, took pictures, read and did some hiking. It was a wonderful getaway from the city. Alas, we had to come back to our droning lives at work.
Sixteen months after moving to New York, I'm begining to feel like a change. I enjoy the excitement of New York and the city is always fun, but I think I also associate my life here with stress, bad jobs, being poor and just the evil world in general. I want to live somewhere that has green trees outside of the park, maybe some mountains rather than a thirteen-mile skyline. Outdoor activities other than sprinting across the street. A city that sleeps.
For now, I'm in New York and still thankful. Although the thankfullness is accompanied by a stress only relieved by multiple state separation. My friends and church are in the City and that's why I'm staying, for now.
