Meanwhile, somewhere in China...

Wow, only one week until I head off to China. I am feeling both excited and anxious. And tired. But not hungry cuz I just ate some nachos. Mmm...nachos.
I am excited because this is an adventure. I get to see a culture I have never seen up close before. I get to be somewhere I have never been. And it is supposed to be warm. You don't know how excited I am about that part. I love being warm in February. These are all things that are pretty awesome.
But I am anxious (heck, downright scared at times) because there is so much unknown. I don't know the language or the culture. I don't know what the food will be like. We are building a playground which I have never done before, so how will that look? Will I be able to physically do the work. I don't really know anyone on the team very well (and I am at least twenty years younger than all of them...the leaders of the the team are in their late sixties or early seventies) and that is a bit nerve racking. Wracking? Scary.
I guess it's a good thing that God is a pretty big gender non-specific deity (or dude, as I like to call him)(dear dude, you rock. Amen). I know in my head that he can control all of this and protect me and give me strength. However, as a feeler, it is easy to get caught up in the heart, which is much less certain of things. Luckily for me, my heart is often willing to go with what my head is telling it, so I will manage to push through and put my trust where it needs to be at least most of the time. Please pray for me to get along with the team and to be able to do the work and to somehow leave where I'm going a better place than it was when I got there.

Also, Grasp the Nettle, if you dare.

Should make for interesting radio around here

There was a big trade in hockey today between Toronto and Calgary. TSN posted their story about at 12:47 pm est today (Sunday). By 12:58 est today (Sunday) they had 839 comments on the story. Some people are for, some people are against, both sides raise good arguments (I read 20 of the comments out of curiosity), but, as I stated before, I don't put much stock in what is said in the comments, I'm just surprised that that many people commented that quickly.
Actually, on second thought, I'm not that surprised. Sports fan are pretty obsessive, and over-the-top obsessive compulsiveness is the defining characteristic of most internet posters, so when the two collide, it gets awfully noisy on the internet.

Also, J.D. Salinger died on Wednesday. I wonder what will happen next...

Finally it makes sense

Journalism explained.

Warning, language alert.

Almost Seems Pointless

I find that I don't trust the masses, especially on the internet. Whenever I see a poll conducted by a radio or TV station, I basically immediately discard the results because I don't trust that the people voting have knowledge about what they are voting on.
And the internet is worse. It seems that most people find it too easy to say whatever they feel like without regard to the feelings of others or without any consideration to other points of view. I realise that is a gross generalisation, but I am not the first person to notice that most message boards quickly devolve into mindless insults, flame wars, and virtual abuse (unless they are heavily monitored).
I suppose it could be that it is mostly these sorts of people who post and that the less angry people don't bother. I know I don't usually comment on things. I don't see much point. If I don't have any knowledge on a subject, what could I add to the conversation besides a question or two, and how could I trust the response? I don't know who is answering. They could say they are an expert when they are really not. Without that personal relationship, or verifiable credentials, I find it hard to trust the value of their information and contribution.
But that's just me.

Finale

Earlier today, I started my computer and once it was all booted up, I couldn't move the cursor on the screen. I have a laptop and I use the little touchpad thing and it wouldn't do anything, and the buttons wouldn't work either. It was like someone had unplugged the mouse, which is weird because I don't have a mouse. I had to ctrl+alt+delete and use the arrow keys to log out and then hit enter to sign back in, and then the mouse worked. Computers are weird.

Today I am updating the final bit of Thunderfunk the Superchicken. I had fun writing it, hope you had fun reading it. If you want a copy of it from beginning to end, let me know and I can email it to you. It may be easier to read that way. I will continue with Fools of us All, though updates may continue being spotty for a while. I've been busy lately.

Mmm...chocolate.

I am sitting here, late at night, eating way too many Toffifees and drinking half-flat grapefruit soda straight from the bottle and it occurs to me - most of the time when I need to take an elevator, I have to wait for at least a few seconds, if not longer. So how is it that the members of the USS Enterprise (NCC 1701-D) can just step up to the turbolift doors and walk right in. What if someone left the bridge and a few minutes later someone else tried to leave the bridge. Why would the turbolift car be right there again? Does it detect movement and move into position almost instantly, faster than anyone could survive if they were inside? Shouldn't they have to wait at least sometimes? I can maybe understand the bridge always having a car at the ready, but it seems to be the same for every deck.
I guess I'm only asking out of jealousy and impatience. I don't like waiting for elevators.

Chinese Update

I talked to the church yesterday, and all of the money I needed for my trip to China has come in. I'm going to China!

Holy vacuum cleaner bags! I'm going to China!

Now that the money is raised, I only have a couple more things to do to get ready. I have to get a couple more shots. I need to get my visa (an easy process I should have done next week), and I need to stare around wide-eyed for a while as I realise what I am about to do. I am going halfway around the world to a culture as different from mine as I can imagine. At least in Europe I looked like I fit in. In China I am going to be able to see over the heads of everyone in the country (stereotyped joke I know, but also generally true, so I've been told). I will stick out like a roast pig at a vegetarian conference. It is a bit of a daunting task that I have in front of me. I am looking forward to it.
If anyone was thinking of contributing to my trip but just hadn't quite gotten around to it, there is still one of our team members that is having trouble raising the rest of his funds. So if you still want to contribute, just say that it is for Adam instead of me and that would be helpful.

Anyway, I updated Grasp the Nettle again.

Christmas Roundup

This year, I managed to get some time off of work and head home for Christmas. Yay! I haven't been home for three years, so it was nice to finally get to see the family over the holidays. This year was our big family Christmas at the Strasbourg Bible Camp. There was over forty of us there - uncles, aunts, grandparents, brothers, cousins, etc, all from my mom's side of the family. It is weird to see some of my cousins getting so old. I still see them as being just little babies.
It was a good time, hanging out with everyone. There were plenty of games and lots of food. Mmm...food. I got to see all of my nephews, which was cool. They are growing up so fast. My two oldest nephews are in school already, and they're getting so big.
The trouble didn't start until late Saturday night. I had been feeling fine, but finally had to go to bed. I was tired and had to drive back to Calgary the next day. I went to sleep fairly easily, but awoke rather soon, feeling a but queasy. I got up and went to the washroom, but didn't really feel any better. I dozed for a bit, and then had to use the washroom again. By this time the stomach is doing full flip flops and summersaults. I had grabbed the room's garbage can and put it by my bed, just in case. The rather large piece of pie I had eaten just before bed was sitting on top of everything like a lump.
Finally, I leapt to my feet and ran to the bathroom, making it just in time. I am not a fan of upchucking, but I am always glad when I feel better afterwards, even if only a little. I cleaned and brushed my teeth real good, throwing out my toothbrush afterwards because eww. I didn't really get any sleep after that, just dozing and feeling somewhat miserable.
I finally got up in the morning and slowly packed my things. There were a few people feeling ill that morning, making for a rather icky feeling group. We cleaned up the camphouse and packed everyone's cars. I was feeling a little better, especially once I got something to drink. The thought of eating made me feel ill. I thought I would be fine to get to Calgary, so I set out, boldly driving onwards.
When I saw the sign that said 'Swift Current 45', I got mad at the sign because it refused to tell me that I was already at Swift Current. I'm not even kidding - I was actually mad at the sign. That was when I knew that I probably shouldn't be on the road any longer.
I managed to make it to SC and I pulled into the first hotel I saw...actually, there are two lies in that sentence. I passed by the first hotel because I wasn't feeling sick enough to stay there. I still had some pride. And I didn't pull right into the hotel parking lot, not right away.
You see, as I was nearing the entrance, I gently applied the brakes, knowing that it might be icy and wanting to slow down enough to make a safe turn. The person behind me, however, did not slow down at all. That meant that he was catching up to me very quickly, so I hit the gas again to speed up a bit and avoid an accident. I panicked a little and decided to try a hard turn into the entrance. In the summer I would have been fine. Might have squealed the tires a bit, but I would have made it. But this was winter, and the second I left the patch of road that was cleared and dry from people driving on it, my car just slid forward. All I could do was hold on and hope I didn't hit the snowbank too hard. I didn't, but it went far enough to get me stuck.
Once I had determined that I could not get out, I got out and walked into the hotel (it was a rather lengthy driveway before the parking lot - probably about a city block) and checked into a room. I went up to the room and called the tow truck (CAA) from there. It took an hour for the truck to arrive and then I was pulled out, no damage to the car, and brought the rest of my stuff into the room. I then crawled into bed, around three thirty in the afternoon, and did not crawl out until 9 the next morning, except to use the washroom many many many times.
I felt better the next morning and managed to make it home to Calgary. I only missed one day of work and am feeling all better now. The moral of the story is - in the winter, don't follow too close, and pay attention to the cars in front of you.

Grasp the Nettle