Dave's Tangent World

Day 4 and 5

noreply@blogger.com (Dave) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 13:11:00 +0000

Day 4
Saturday, Jan 28

We went to a nearby mall about an hour away (is that really nearby?) and went shopping. I took her to an outdoor mall and thankfully the weather was pleasant. She really wanted Chinese soup for lunch so I punched in Chinese food in my GPS and it took me to one nearby. The lady at the Chinese restaurant was born in Hong Kong but grew up somewhere else.

Dorothy likes a certain style of clothes. She doesn't like mature clothes; she prefers the style that young people wear. So, I took her to Rue21 and Gap. I took her to other places like Dillards and JC Penny, but she thinks those are too expensive. There are no Gap stores in mainland China, but one just (or soon to be) opened up in Hong Kong. At the Gap, Dorothy found some clothes that she really liked and they were on sale; 2.99 (plus Tax)! She bought 4 tops.

We stopped by Best Buy to buy mom a new camera. I found a decent inexpensive camera that came with a bundle (case, sdcard, and extra battery). It was a Saturday, so it was somewhat busy. I had to wait for about 10 minutes before they ran and got the camera for me.

We headed home and I can't remember what we did for the rest of the evening, I think I was quite tired from running around for most of the day. I don't even remember what we ate, but I know that I passed out after dinner. Oh yes, I was still so full from lunch that I didn't eat dinner. Mom cooked onion soup, ham, and fried squash. Dorothy really like the fried squash. Also, Dorothy learned how to use the washing machine.

Day 5
Sunday, Jan 29

I guess we're finally recovered from jet lag. I have somewhat normal sleeping hours. I usually get tired around 9pm and wake up at 5am.

This Sunday, I took Dorothy to a Dollar Store. Dorothy said that it looks similar to the store near her house in China. Then I washed my car at one of the public car washing places. Then we bought some groceries for lunch.

I cooked Native American Frybread for lunch. I taught Dorothy how to shape it for me and she made some silly shapes and faces. She also used some leftover dough to make Chinese New Year bread. Along with the frybread, we had pinto beans, roast chicken, and mashed potatoes.

Then we went over to Aunt Pam's and Uncle Jim's house. Some of my stuff was still in Uncle Jim's closet, so I went over there to clean it out. While I was cleaning it out, Dorothy looked at pictures with Aunt Pam.

Finally back at home about 9pm. I was tired and tried to stay away another hour but I fell asleep and woke up at 5am.

This week, we're off to TN to visit some family and friends and to show Dorothy my hometown!

Day 3

noreply@blogger.com (Dave) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 12:36:00 +0000

Day 3
Friday, Jan 27

We rested all day at home. I wanted to take Dorothy to a mall about an hour away, but she took a long nap after lunch, so we didn't go.

Dorothy made a Chinese dessert called double skin milk. It has somewhat of a custard consistency. She sad it was her first time making it.

I saw a squirrel in the yard and Dorothy was excited to watch it jump around; Dorothy really wants to see the squirrels nest.

Mom has some clothes to give away. So, I had Dorothy try on some coats. They were really old, but good quality coats. They don't make clothes like that anymore.

We used Facetime to talk to Reuben and Lala and let Papaw talk to them.

Dorothy made fried rice for lunch. For dinner Mom cooked taco casserole and Dorothy tried some jalapenos. She wants to take some to her dad to try, but I know it won't get through cutsoms, so I'll have to find it in Hong Kong.

Before bedtime, Mom showed Dorothy some pictures from the past. Mostly random pictures from the late 80s to early 90s of our family.

Day 2

noreply@blogger.com (Dave) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:23:00 +0000

Day 2
Thursday Jan 26

Dorothy tried some snacks that we bought at the grocery store. I had her try a MoonPie and Oatmeal Cream Pie. She said they were both really good.

For breakfast, we had bacon, eggs, biscuits, and gravy. Dorothy enjoyed those as well.

I taught Dorothy how to use the washer and dryer. She was amazed at watching the clothes spin in the washer.

We took a trip to the Atlanta Aquarium. I had never been there before. Reuben told me that there was whale sharks there and I really wanted to see one. We saw some albino alligators, piranhas, penguins, and many many more. We ate lunch there and had a HUGE slice of pizza. Then we watched the dolphin show. Dorothy really enjoyed that and commented that her mother would enjoy the dolphin show too.

On the way home, Dorothy really wanted Chinese, so we stopped by Panda Express. Dorothy wanted to ask the server lady if she spoke Chinese; but she asked in English. The lady was from Guangdong. She spoke Chinese to me too. She said it tasted just like the Chinese food from China; but I don't agree.

Day 1

noreply@blogger.com (Dave) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 19:57:00 +0000

Day 1
Wednesday Jan 25

We bought some gifts for some family and a few friends. I wanted to buy a special gift for my Mom's and Grandpa's caretaker, so Dorothy helped me choose a beautiful gift (photo 1 and 2). It is Jade and called 如意 ruyi; it means 'may all your wishes come true'.

Aunt Pam came over for a quick visit and we gave her a necklace (photo 3). It's called BaGua or Eight Trigrams.

Mom said that they first thing Benny did was check to see if Dorothy and I were still at the house; the was running around looking for us.

We ate the leftover dinner for breakfast.

We relaxed most of the day. Dorothy and I went for a walk on the property. I posted some pictures on Weibo (China's version of Twitter) and her siblings enjoyed the countryside view (photo 4).

I went though some boxes to find some clothes. I also scanned some old letters that my Dad wrote to his folks.

We went grocery shopping and Dorothy was amazed at everything (photo 5 and 6). Mom made roast for dinner and Dorothy ate two plates for dinner. It was delicious!

After dinner we were really tired and went to bed at about 8:30pm. And I woke up at 1:30am. We're still recovering from jet lag.

Musings

noreply@blogger.com (Dave) — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 17:48:00 +0000

Musings
--
Finally potential converted into kinetic energy. For after such a long time and broken machinery, time, not maintenance, has repaired his ticker. But not the physical ticker as you might think. For such a maiden has pulled his heartstrings and has brought life to him again. I am so cheery to see him alive. To see him put forth his energy for another after a hiatus of sequester.

And as for I, her best friend is mine. Also am I a cheery one. Yet apprehensive if I am forced to deviate from my current formula. Must remind oneself to reside in this point of time. To not to worry about the time greater than the current. Better for the electron to gain and lose, than never to have gained an electron at all.

--
Hesitant to your credentials. Say what you hear with no regard to the veracity. Perhaps my mind, my method, based on research of various sources, accustomed to my mindset.
--
Unexpectedly. Come.
--
I had a dream of you, my caretaker, frolicking with a beautiful dog. Happy as can be.
--
Domino effect of disappointment. Hard work put off for something fun. Rather satisfy the ones I do not know than to fail them. More satisfaction to know that quality was given than to have fun with those I know.
--
Now, I know I could've saved you. When I am able to travel back in time, I will save you. But depending on the way time works, if I save you, I may never arrive to the knowledge that I now know. Therefore, I won't be able to save you. So, I will leave time as it is and cherish the time I had with you.
--
Priorities out of order. Rationalization ensues. Selfish; but not you know shielded in your bubble.
--
Today, we find out who you really are. You won't give credit when credit is due. You won't even say thank you. You aren't who we thought you were. Instead we find the true you. Arrogant. Too staid to have some fun. Then you are vituperative, unwilling to be conciliatory. We don't mean to disparage you, you may think I am mendacious, but this is from our views. Perhaps I embellish, but so does he. Nevertheless, we exonerate you.

Leaving Her House

noreply@blogger.com (Dave) — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 04:54:00 +0000

I exit the wet humid air into a box of artificially cooled and created wind. I brace myself with my back against the railing. I pay my fair. Sudden acceleration challenges my dexterity as I stumble to a seat. Adjacent to me is a young girl, holding a damp purse. She stares sadly though the window at the night lit street. Her emotions infect me. I stare blindly at the floor. My wet footprints look like a drunk man had staggered in. I watch the light and shadows play as this vessel moves throughout the city. Or maybe the city is moving around us and the vessel is standing still. I look out to see people holding shields pointing towards the sky. I see people on bicycles, scooters, and electric bicycles trying to escape the attack from the clouds. Small rain splatters on the front window but the sides windows are still clear. An abrupt stop forces me to brace myself against the cold metal poles. I feel a little nostalgic yet I somehow think about the future. Of what will be. I've been on this road plenty of times but I'm always amazed at it's constant evolution.

I hope that the ones I love are okay. I yearn for the past, but if I had a choice, I would continue to the future. Life is full of the constant search for the unknown. I want to know what that unknown is. Going back won't help to find the unknown.

I reach my destination. I dare not rise from my seat and I choose so wisely. The driver stops abruptly. If the driver were to deliver ceramic pots, he would be delivering fragments of clay. I let the sad girl in front of me. She smiles at me. Her melancholy face vanishes for a moment. She is beautiful. The cold air disappears and a warm glow radiates from behind her. A warm feeling feels the air. It feels like winter turning into spring. I hear birds chirping as the winter snow melts. I feel the bright sunshine warming my face. But then it fades when her smile returns to her solemn face. When a girl smiles, I truly see her outer beauty.

I'm back in the cold air conditioned air. She exits as I also step off of the platform. Back into the hot and humid air. My glasses fog up due to the high temperature difference. No need to deploy the shield for the sky; the rain has subsided. I walk to a small shop known throughout the world, but to me in an unusual place of which the difference is negative three (-3). I enter and hear the chime to indicate that someone has entered to the workers. I look for my favorite treat; a small coconut pie. I see two fresh ones and I make haste to grab them. But then I remember there is a special spot for discounted items. I see two pies. I return the fresh ones and grab the two-for-one discount. In addition, I grab some other items. The cute faced cashier recognizes me and smiles. She utters to me a question in her country's official language. I nod my head yes. She puts my items in a bag and recites the price to me. I always glance at the display to make sure I understand correctly. As I search for exact change, she utters something to me. I don't understand her but I do understand 'water'. I usually buy two big bottles of water. Perhaps she asked me if I wanted to buy water. But I just give her the money and smile.

I walk down a long road. Very quiet at night. Very busy during the day. It always looks different at night. I pass a restaurant that is always busy late at night. I continue down the road and see a few fruit stands selling a few more pieces of fruit before closing up. I hear the barks of dogs at the kennel. I smell the putrid smell of the sewer near the grates in the road. I pass by a small snack shop that I often visit. The man can speak a little bit of English and I've never seen him wear a shirt. Perhaps that will change when the weather gets cooler. His wife, I assume, always suggests to me things to eat. Usually, I like what she suggests to me to buy, but sometimes I don't like them. Western and Eastern tastes vary greatly.

I walk under my building. Many cars with blinking lights of their alarm system. I pull out my pass card to open the gate. The doorman watches me. I wouldn't like to be on the night shift as a doorman. I would be very bored. I often want to offer them a cool drink on a hot day and a hot beverage on a cold day. Now that my language skills have improved a little bit, I think I can actually try to do that. But then again, it's not that difficult to offer a drink to someone; you don't really need to use verbal language. Nevertheless. I walk through the gate to enter my building. The door to my building is often left open even though there is a sign to close the door. I pull the door shut as I enter. The elevator is on the top floor. I would've taken the steps up but my legs are fatigued from riding my bicycle everyday. As I wait for the elevator to come down, a man has trouble opening the door. I see him struggle with his pass card. Either it doesn't work or he doesn't know where to put it to open the door. I open the door for him. He says 'thank you' in his native language. By then the elevator as arrived and is waiting for passengers to enter. We enter and I ask him "go where?". He says the second floor. He could've taken the stairs.

I finally reach my floor and enter the empty apartment. Home. Though not my home. My dad said "Home is where you hang your hat". We had a sign that said "Home is where you hang your heart". Some say, "Home is where you lay your head." Whatever your definition of home is, I am home. It's a mess as I left it. But the next day is cleaning day so I will take care of it then. I take a quick shower in my unusually large bathroom. I hop on the computer to instant message my girlfriend that I'm safely home. We chat for a while but then say goodnight. It was cool enough to sleep without the air conditioner but not cool enough to sleep without a fan. So I switched on the fan and pointed it towards me. Comfortable, I fell asleep on the couch for the night.

Cheers to the future!

noreply@blogger.com (Dave) — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 01:52:00 +0000

I knew it was inevitable, but I didn't think it would happen this soon. We're growing up. Although, to me, we never grow up, we just have more responsibilities.

My best friend, my roommate, my cousin is moving out and moving in with his fiancee. I have mixed feelings. So proud to see him with his happiness. So sad to be alone for awhile. I don't mean to sound arrogant, but in a strange way, I helped him find his happiness. It was my purpose to help him along the way.

I ran into this random guy at a random restaurant who knew a not so random guy who was looking for teachers. Unfortunately, they only needed one. I let him, my cousin, have the position because I knew he has obligations back home.

I, maybe not so randomly, met this guy who knew this girl looking for a teacher who had a neighbor moving out. We were looking for an apartment. Tada, we found a great apartment.

Directly beneath that apartment, a training centre opened up. I finally got the courage to go in and talk to the owner. Soon she held an event where I met many people. My cousin and I attended. That there is where the magic happened. Our future forever changed (or perhaps it was forever changed when we stepped foot on that jet plane). The love of my life was there and the love of my cousin's life was there, but of course, we didn't know that at the time.

The train rolled on and a close gathering of friends started hanging out. Things reminiscent of high school occurred and D and I are together as well as L and L.

Giddy to see him on the day of his proposal. It felt great to be part of a life changing experience.

A little bit exasperated he has been with the culture difference, but in the end it has worked out just fine.

Only I worry about the financial difficulties that he will face. Several times, I've offered to help with his budget since I was treasurer of my fraternity, but he neglected to respond. Ist it my business to remind him of his duties. Or is it none of my business.

He follows his heart.

Logic will always break my heart.

Nevertheless, I digress to say, onward journey for the rest of your life. To you, much I wish you two happiness! You deserve it for it has been long awaited.

Valentine's Days

noreply@blogger.com (Dave) — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 06:50:00 +0000

Feb 14
I made shrimp scampi for Dorothy. However, the fire alarm sounded so I had to abandon cooking for a moment. I went outside with a few other tenants. The guard spoke on the radio and some tenants from my building went back inside so I followed. I guess it was an accident or malfunction.

I bought three gifts for Dorothy and gave them to her one at a time. First I sat the bunny basket on the table prior to her arrival.

The bunny, roses, and candle

We ate the shrimp scampi but I put much pasta in it. However, we ended up eating it all.

Then I gave her the chocolates. The kisses chocolate wtih almonds was the first candy I ever gave her.

almonds encased in a teardrop shape of chocolate

She washed the dishes, although I told her not to but she insisted. I helped a little but before she was done I snuck off to get her third gift. A necklace. Two hearts, a large heart containing a smaller heart with a ~~diamond~~ cubic zirconia in the middle.

Shiny

She liked them all

March 14
In Asia, March 14 is a response to Valentine's Day. I'm not sure if it has a name, but this time the women give gifts to the men.

Waiting for the bus

I wanted to go to Cafe Flore, a somewhat romantically lit cafe. It has red walls, dim lighting, and really good food. Including an unusual but delicious dish that is garlic bread topped with mashed potatoes and ham. Best. Thing. Ever.

After dinner, we ordered the ice cream for two. It was actually very sweet and very huge. It had four cookie straws, whip cream, chocolate ice cream, four Oreos (real Oreos not fake ones), more whip cream, six squares of chocolate wafers, and more chocolate ice cream. It will cure any sweet tooth as well as rot one.

Chocolate overload

She gave me a unique hybrid of the superman symbol and spiderman . I think it's pretty cool.

Super-Spider-Man-Symbiote

And then a duck. You are probably wondering why she gave me a rubber ducky. And no, I don't have a bath tub.

Our duck faces

Years ago, a random yellow rubber ducky showed up in the back of my dad's pickup truck. We don't know where it came from nor who put it there, but it stayed there and traveled with him wherever he went. So, this duck is for me, to go wherever I travel.

A note Dorothy wrote to me on the gift box

Other Gifts
I can't remember the exact day, but it was well after March 14. Dorothy showed up with a random gift. There's a picture from the Burnt Fortune Cookie blog of a gift that Dorothy gave me. Well, she slapped that picture on a shirt and gave it to me. My dad used to do that; pick pictures or phrases and put them on a t-shirt; it was fun.

So, this a picture of me wearing a shirt, that Dorothy gave to me, with a picture that I took of a gift that Dorothy gave me, Superbunny. [confused]

More Musings

noreply@blogger.com (Dave) — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 15:44:00 +0000

Chasing Bugs
Never chase a butterfly. It will fly away. When I'm not looking, or too tired, the butterfly will come to me. It will land in my hand. It will stay until I move. But I move so slow and gentle that it stays with me. She. She is. She is love. She is my love.

Hope
She spilled her heart out to me. Her hopes and dreams. Began with saying that she could be a model. Asking if she could make it alone. Truly a good guy my friend says of me to her. Two years wait and maybe a common language we will speak. Hope and dreams she said to me, to make a plan. When we go, when we go, when we go. For her, my friend translates, "I know you don't understand me, but just listen to the tone in my voice". When we go, when we go, when we go. When we go to America. I wish I could save her. I wish I could make her dreams come true. But I can't even save myself.

Glass Walls
She winked at me; but not at me. In the background, the other walks in. I know what she asked him because he told me what she asked. Lucky cover for the other two. But the other doesn't know. The other one leaves soon but the other will stay. Should I stay, or should I go. You should not judge a book by it's cover. Because in the end, you know what counts the most.

Superman
Too bad that she was all alone. I wanted to go but I was already committed. Torn between two, but one is not free. Not free to do what they want. The other, an eagle, that soars in the sky. I want to rescue both. But I can only rescue one. I can only rescue me.

Sailing Away
I knew it would come to this. I didn't want it to happen. But this is the way it is. Dependent on. But not so much anymore. Best friends formally, but just friends now. Used to do things together all the time. But now just occasionally. I always enjoy the time we have together.

Two Lions
Not a race to a finish line. Not a race but if it was, I'm ahead in the game. Try you, but blocked. Then a bird of prey bought me back to the starting line. But back, eventually, to where I was. Happy.

Cautious
She knows that I know that she knows. I know that she knows that I know. Told each other we have. Next to her I sit. I calculate. I process. I render. I chose to. Around her my arm envelopes. How endearing. Later do I place my mitt on her gam. Removes it, she does, still and all detaining my paw. Frolicsome she is as she caresses my hand. The first time in a long time to feel.

Jan 4, 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Dave) — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 17:29:00 +0000

Cold and rainy day today. Stayed indoors as much as possible. Went with Ruben to pick up a package from the post office. Amber helped us locate the post office. Opened it up and shared some of the candy and snacks. Went to class tonight. Invited Dorothy, Lala, and Symon to try some of the American snacks. I bet Dorothy would eat it all if she could. Reuben and I talked to my our moms via Skype. It is always pleasant to talk to them and see a little bit of home.

January 3, 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Dave) — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 03:43:00 +0000

Woke up early this morning. Went to class. Went back home. Cold, windy, and rainy today. Took a short nap. Ate spaghetti in the kitchen because it was the warmest place in this concrete fortress of solitude. Headed out back in the cold to hang out with a friend and teach her English. Picked up a tiramisu cheesecake and a walnut cheesecake. She ate them both. I actually wanted the walnut one, but I let her choose. She chose both. Baby sat two kids for a bit. They were so cute but I had to be stern when they pulled on my 围巾. They didn't believe I am American so they just called me an Extraterrestrial. Ate dinner, talked to more friends at the music shop via proxy Aya. Left the music shop and took an adventure back home in the cold wind and rain; I went a new route. Got home watched a movie and chatted with Dorothy via internet chat client. Off to bed and dreams of never never land.

Jan 2, 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Dave) — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 18:09:00 +0000

Woke up at NOON today. Stayed up too late last night. I worked on some things for class. Then went to meet Brandy and Yutta at a local music shop. The owner [of the music shop] is also manager of a nearby bar who recently renovated it. They added a stage so bands can play music. We hung out at the music shop for a while. Mostly because we were waiting for a cab to drive by. The cab drivers are getting new cars. They used to have old green rugged ones and now they are crusin' in shiny blue ones. Mmm, toxic car smell. They are still issuing new cars so every now and then you can see old rugged green ones crawling along. We go to the bar to practice some music. Then we went out to eat. 好吃! Then back to the bar where I played drums, Brandy sung, and two other Chinese played bass and guitar. Then Reuben met up with us and soon after we went for a massage. Our regular masseuses were not present, so it was random masseuse night. I prefer to get new people every now and then. You get to meet new people, practice some Chinese, and each masseuse has their own technique. Back to home to sleep soon after this posting.

Jan 1, 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Dave) — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 05:59:00 +0000

Welcome to what was the future. 2011.

Woke up rather early to clean the apartment before company arrived in the afternoon. Talked to Dorothy over internet instant messenger. She's the one who took me to a western restaurant the night prior. We met for lunch today and we went to a Chinese Restaurant that she has never been to. It was good eating. I don't know how they [the Chinese] can eat so much and stay so thin. Must be the pure natural whole foods. Most people have the day off on New Years day. It was so crowded. More so than usual. Dorothy had some jewelry cleaned and I got lost amongst the crowd. She told me not to move so she wouldn't have to hunt me down in the sea of people. Met up with Rube and Lala. We went to the apartment. Listened to music on the internet and viewed pictures from the previous weekend. We went to market. I was hypnotized by a goat face. It's eyes still intact. Staring just staring. Dorothy had to pull me away. Watched a chicken get chopped up. My Dad told me how his grandmother would catch a chicken and begin processing it into food. At least I did't have to see it alive. I stared at the goat face again. Went back home and the girls made us dinner. Brandy showed up later. We have no plates and only two bowls. So, we ate with food saver containers. Whatever works. Then we played a board game. Brandy left and we watched a movie. Probably too scary for the girls. Sorry. All we have are action movies and kung fu movies. Need to get the box so I can connect my computer to the Television. We walked them to get a taxi cab. Met up with Brandy. Rube went home. And Brandy and I went out for 4th meal. Awesome garlic bread, with mashed potatoes and bacon. Walked home through the newly discovered shortcut; saves me 20 minutes.

December 31, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Dave) — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 19:10:00 +0000

Some what of a wasted day. Woke up late. Worked on a few things that I need to be working on. Went to eat at Pizza Hut with Reuben. Shopped around Wal-Mart, Jusco, and near the fancy hotel looking for 围巾. I found the one I liked on the street near the apartment. A friend took me to a western restaurant that I have never been to before. Met up with Reuben and his friend at our "Central Perk" (for you Friends fans, or "Monk's" for you Seinfeld fans. If you don't know what those are, then you are too young.) Played a board game, talked to friends, played some music, and said Happy New Year to my dear friends here in China and back at home.

Goodbye 2010, hello 2011. Another year in an odd numbered year. 哈哈

Musings

noreply@blogger.com (Dave) — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 19:07:00 +0000

[first entry]
I walk past the gate. I hear the sound of footsteps pitter patter behind me. I use my access card. I turn to see my attacker. Nope, just another resident of my building. I hold the door open for her. "Thank you" she says in Cantonese. We enter the elevator where she asks me something in Chinese. The only word I understood was "floor" or "story". I reply "qi lou". Should I have not understood anything, I would still assume she asked me "which floor". She got off the 2nd floor. Too lazy to go up a flight of steps.
[/first entry]

[second entry]
The elevator doors open and a little kid stands there gazing at me. He walks out of the elevator as I walk in. I ask him to come back in "guo lai" but he resisted; he began to cry. The doors shut. The doors open back up on the 2nd floor with a girl standing there with a surprised look. She says something to me but I don't understand. I simply say 'qi lou, qi lou' while making the hand gesture for seven. She runs up the stairs and everything was okay.
[/second entry]

[third entry]
I lean to the side to put my book of Chinese phrases in my cargo pocket. A million images flow past my mind that I've dreamt prior. "Deja vu" I utter. I see the yellow towel, flowered ironing board, white cold tile floor; I feel my hand grasping my book in my pocket. I see the alley way, the gate, and the building. I have dreamt this before I saw this. I knew you before I met you. I've already done this before. But this time, this time it will be different than the last.
[/third entry]

Untitled Poem

noreply@blogger.com (Dave) — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 06:23:00 +0000

Walking down the street with a sweet sweet innocent girl. I'm walking her home from work at 2am. We walk past a club. I see some expats that I know, but I turn my head and go incognito. A boy and girl fighting. She is angry and the boy grabs her arm but she jerks her arm free. Another boy dragging his, I assume, girlfriend, helping her walk; she is probably drunk. I want to tell my friend that's the reason why I don't drink. But the language barrier is too great.

Here in China

noreply@blogger.com (Dave) — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 01:35:00 +0000

It's day four of being here in China. After two days of sleeping off and on, I finally stayed awake and entire day. The first night here, I dreamed of my friend and her sister and some house with me crawling up a bookshelf for some reason. The second and third night I dreamed of my house in TN but also on the third night I dreamed of a wedding and my GPS messing up. Not sure what that means. Last night I can't remember what I dreamed. I finally got use to this bed. It's not soft like back at home but more practical than comfortable. It is made out of some kind of fiber used to keep you cool not keep you comfortable. Perhaps now that I've recovered from the journey here, we can finally explore outside more and I will enjoy our adventures in China!

In China

noreply@blogger.com (Dave) — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 23:46:00 +0000

In China

Well, to those who follow my blog. I am in China. Yup. It is totally different here. Everything is different. Make sure you follow my adventures in China by going to Burnt Fortune Cookie. We plan on updating it every Sunday but at first there will probably be a flood of posts. So, until next time.

6 Month Catch-Up

noreply@blogger.com (Dave) — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 05:00:00 +0000

I began writing this post in Jan. It sat in my drafts folder. I added to it near the end of February. It sat in my drafts folder. Rinse and repeat. So here it is to you, finally after gathering digital dust...if there is such a thing.

January
The day before my birthday I find out that I can move some stuff down to GA. So, Mom and I went to town looking for a Uhaul to rent. However, the address of the Uhaul renting center forgot one little detail: South. I cannot remember exactly which road they were on, so take for example that they were located on Houston street. There just happens to be a North Houston Street and a South Houston Street and they are about 8 miles apart. So, Google Maps pointed us north. After exploring the wonderful northern part of the town, I decided to call them. I forget that my phone can make calls (b/c I mostly text) so I called them up and in a southern voice asked where they were located; I like to blend in when I can. Indeed they were on the south street. It would be nice if they provided their correct address.

Nevertheless, I wanted to get a trailer to tow with the truck. But I have never driven a truck with a trailer so we got the smallest truck that they had: 10 foot mover. I have not driven a vehicle that big in a long time, but it was great getting behind the wheel of an eight cylinder engine. Vroom vroom.

For the next six hours I hurriedly packed stuff and took it out to the truck. Amazingly, I am proficient at moving things solo. Why, because I know physics and geometry. Not really. I just wing it. It also snowed that night.

On my birthday, I got to drive this massive truck with a graphic with Vermont's own Lochness Monster: Champ. Oh, and the license plate was from our old state of residence: Arizona. The drive was not that bad. Mom caught up with me as soon as I hit Atlanta. It was nice to know that she was behind me in case anything happened.

By the time we arrived, the room in which I now reside was not ready to be moved into. It needed another coat of paint, not fur. I helped put another coat on by cutting paint while Reuben rolled the walls. The next day we moved everything inside. As usual, I setup my room by applying Feng Shui principles.

From scratch, Aunt Pam made me a coconut cake for my birthday. It was good.

Ironically enough, we had some trouble returning the Uhaul in GA. This time they forgot to include the "Old" in their address; as in Hwy # as opposed to Old Hwy #. I suppose they do this to try to get renters to go over their mileage, or under their gas tank mark.

I switched cell phone providers because ATT does not provide service where I am in GA. The funny thing is that when we first bought cell phones, we went with Verizon's services. So, now I am back on Verizon. I port forwarded my number so my number is the same.

February

At the end of February, Mom bought her an iMac. She bought one of the newest ones (at the time) so it comes with a wireless keyboard and the new wireless Magic Mouse; the entire mouse is a button, it has no physical scroll wheel, and its entire surface is like a touchpad/trackpad on a laptop. I am amazed at how easy it was to set the iMac up. Pull it out of the box, plug it in, put batteries in the keyboard and mouse, sync the keyboard and mouse, run updates, and done. The only wire is the power cable. Practically ready out of the box. And no, I am not an Apple Fan Boy. I would only recommend an Apple to you depending on what programs you use and how you use your computer.

March
March 1st was a bright and beautiful sunny day outside and I wanted to start running again. While sprinting, my knee gave out and I took a tumble. I first injured it in 2006 during Taekwondo and had to have physical therapy. It healed well. But this 2nd injury was strange. I wrote a blog about it somewhere on here. I now have the treadmill to run on so hopefully the treadmill should have an even running surface.

April

The only major thing that happened in April is that I went to a concert with Kelli, one of my close friends that I met in college. Her favorite band, Relient K, was playing with my favorite band, Paramore. But she likes Paramore too. I did not really listen to Relient K before, but I checked them out so I could get familiar with their music and they have pretty good music. They fall in the genre of The Academy Is, Unwritten Law, and The Starting Line; at least in my opinion. I will probably write a more extensive post about it...sometime.

May
[Edit] I forgot to mention that my cousin, Steven, graduated from college! How on earth could I forget to mention that. It was probably the four hours of sitting there that made me forget. Just kidding. But after 5 long years of college, he made it through. Just like me.

I attended a birthday party of one of my high school teachers who is a dear friend of mine. It was her 1/2 Century birthday and she requested a lemon meringue pie. So, I made a lemon meringue pie from scratch from my Dad's old cookbook. And it is a very old cookbook. It is falling apart held together by duct tape and box tape. But at least there was not scrambled eggs in the pie filling this time.

Aunt Pam joined a co-op recently and every week we receive food. I do not know the details but hey, we get food inexpensively. We received a bunch of bags of limes. Uncle Jim made a key lime pie. It was a bit too tart. Then I made one similar to the lemon meringue recipe. Then Aunt Pam made one. They were all good, but I like my homemade crust the best.

June is a whole nother blog post.

Old Injury Re-injured

noreply@blogger.com (Dave) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 15:43:00 +0000

March first came around and I thought, it would be a great day to run outside. So, I did. I was so blissful to run outside in the sunshine and trees. Unfortunately, I did not adhere to the first rule of exercise: warm-up. Instead, I jogged a few laps back and fourth along the dirt trail. Then I decided to sprint. I ran as FAST as I could. Nearing the end of the trail, I slowed down. My muscles relaxing and then I heard a POP in my left knee. I remember thinking, "that's not good', as I took a tumble. So, I sat there for about a minute to recover cradling my freshly injured knee. Then I hobbled into the house to rest and recover.

March 1, 2010: At first the injury was not that severe, but I knew in about 10 or 12 hours, my leg would be stiff. I could not lift my leg under its own power.

2000 hours: That night it was stiff. So, if you have ever seen a zombie movie featuring the slow moving zombies, that would be me.

March 2, 2010: In the morning, my leg was better. It was not as stiff, but it just takes longer to move. I can lift my leg under its own power, but it is slow. On the standard doctor Pain Scale of mild, moderate, to severe: it is mild.

And that is all I documented. But for the first week or so, I could straighten my knee just fine but I could bend it to about 30 degrees before it would hurt. During my research on knee injuries, medical sites said the same thing: 30 degrees. This type of injury is a medial collateral ligament (MCL) sprain. The MCL is the ligament is on the outer side of the knee. And yep, that is where it hurt. Which meant I couldn't squat.

I did leg stretches everyday twice a day for about two weeks. After that I began to ride the stationary bike to help build my muscles back up. April is now here and I am doing more leg muscle strengthening exercises.

Now if you have paid attention to the title, it says "Old Injury Re-Injured". So that means I have injured it before. I think. Right. Anyway, the first time I injured my knee was in 2006 in Taekwondo class. I did some fancy spin kick, landed improperly, my knee bared all my weight, and I heard a pop. The pop did not hurt but the after effect sure did. It was fine for 20 minutes; which was enough time to get me home. It was a good thing, because my leg became stiff by the time I got home and I was driving my Dad's truck which was a clutch.

So, with my first injury, my knee was weak. I could not stand on it nor could I straighten it. I could bend it just fine. But I had to walk (hobble) across campus the very next day with a heavy book bag filled with, oh you guessed it, bricks. I mean books. I ended up going to physical therapy for about 3 weeks. I did stretches and strength exercises.

This time though, with my second injury, I injured it when I was slowing down from running. I read some medical sites that said MCL injuries can occur while slowing down from running. As for why, I did not research that. One thing I can guess is that the muscle around my knee wasn't as strong as they use to be, I didn't stretch, and I wasn't accustomed to sprinting. This time, I could straighten my knee, I could bear my weight on it, but I couldn't bend it past 30 degrees, and it bothered me if I wasn't constantly moving my knee around. So, it was difficult to sleep for the first week or so.

My cousin said that the body can adapt to many things. Perhaps my body repaired itself in a way that it would prepare for a 2nd injury. Who knows. But I've recovered and I will keep it in shape, but it will never be 100% again. .. until I get a T-800 endoskeleton that is (Terminator reference).

But I made pretty good time during my sprint.

Ten Years of Service

noreply@blogger.com (Dave) — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 07:43:00 +0000

For the most part, I am the type of person who wear something until it just isn't presentable or just falling apart. I still have hand-me-down clothes that my parents have worn; that means those clothes could be older (or old as) me!

But in this particular case, this was a special article of clothing. In the year 2000, I went on a church trip to Gulf Shores, Alabama. It was my first trip away from home sans my parents. As I watched the terrain, I was amazed how the mountains had disappeared and everything was flat. I cannot recall when I noticed that I forgot to pack a pair of sandals!

I remember stopping by a wal-mart so everyone could grab last minute items before we arrived to the camp location. I definitely bought me a pair of sandals...for $1.99. It was the best 1.99 that I had ever spent.

I knew these sandals were deteriorating and that the strap would soon break away from the sole. It finally did, when I tripped and the sole caught on to something and ripped the strap away.

Now either bring me the duct tape! Or it is time to retire these babies.

January's Letter 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Dave) — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 07:57:00 +0000

December began with giving Mom early birthday gifts. A BluRay player and all the Star Trek movies on BluRay. We watched the new Star Trek movie and Reuben commented that the sound was more clear. I wasn't even paying attention to the sound. I was all focused on the picture quality. When we watched Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, it was like I had never even seen the movie at all. You can see the stitching in the fabric! I am just amazed by BluRay. I decided to finally get BluRay because they were finally selling BluRay Discs at DVD prices and the players were at a reasonable price too. But BluRay has a short amount of time to catch on because On-Demand Streaming is becoming popular. Luckily, Mom's BluRay player has streaming Netfix. Which means she could watch almost any movie any time for 8.99 a month (not a plug).

Mom, Aunt Pam, Uncle Jim, Reuben and I went to P.F. Chang's for Mom's birthday. P.F. Chang's is an Americanized version of Chinese food; but it's still good. The waitress was fantastic and suggested our meal for us. We made a few modifications, but for the most part we didn't really have to read the menu. Dessert time came and we seemed to not want anything but eventually we gave in and a few of us got dessert.

I also gave Mom a birthday card that I bought her a few years ago but it got lost from moving stuff around. I found it and put it some where I would not lose it: my car's glovebox. The card is about the size of a LP Record sleeve (yes, I know what an LP record is). On the front it says "A long time ago...", in the Star Wars style font. Open the card and BAM, it plays the opening theme to Star Wars. Mom kinda jumped when she opened it. The inside reads "...you were born."

I attended Tech's winter graduation (the college of which I am an alumnus). I went to see four of my friends walk that long walk, but it turns out that there were ten people I knew that graduated. It was quite cold that day and there was some snow on the ground but not a lot. There were about 700 graduates total. I caught up with a good friend of mine, Robby, who's step-sister was graduating. And I got to sport my new suit.

Christmas was nice. It was the first time we attended the Aunt Pam's and Uncle Jim's Christmas party. There were a lot of people there, but they said they usually had more. They give presents to the kids, read the Christmas story, and even have a small music recital. I am not really the gregarious type but I enjoyed watching everyone. When I attend a party I usually hang around for an hour and then sneak out.

For Christmas I gave Mom a customized 2010 Calendar. It contained pictures of our family over the years. I went through six boxes of pictures, scanned about 200 pictures, and made it all in Photoshop. If you are reading this on my blog site, then you will see a sample from it. If not, go check it out. Like now.

I finally got to see a good friend of mine that I have not seen in 5 years. Leah has been in England going to school for the past few years. She developed a British accent. I asked if she could fake an American accent and she could not do it. I also got to meet her British boyfriend. If you want more details, check out the following post: http://tangentdave.blogspot.com/2010/01/from-across-pond.html

Oh yeah, Happy New Year! I hope you didn't miss Palindrome Day: 01-02-2010 and 01-11-10. Although, February 2nd would work to if you prefer the: DD/MM/YYYY format.

Until next time.

Wedding Etiquette

noreply@blogger.com (Dave) — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 06:24:00 +0000

Rant

A friend of mine got married and I attended the wedding (and briefly the reception, which was fancy by the way). The bride and groom and the wedding officiant at the podium was well microhponed. No matter how good someone is microphoned, the shrill cry of a baby resonating throughout the stone floor and brick walls will always overpower the sound system.

I believe that small children and babies should not be brought to a wedding. Either do not bring them or they should have a nursery at the wedding.

I cannot remember, but I think a cell phone went off too. But cell phone etiquette is another blog.

As far as cameras with flash, it is up to the bride and groom. Usually the photographer gets dibs on taking pictures but it is always up to the wedding couple. I have been to weddings where it was like a red carpet event. Flashes everywhere.

As for my wedding, I do not want any flash photography from anyone except for the paid photographer and no young children or babies. I will have bouncers to enforce the request. But I am in jest. I will cross that bridge when I reach that destination. I will probably end up embarrassing myself by pausing the wedding to tell someone to take their baby outside, turn off their cell phones, or to turn off their flash. HA.

From Across the Pond

noreply@blogger.com (Dave) — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 07:11:00 +0000

Back in 2005, a good friend of mine, Leah, went to England for school. It has been quite a long time since I last saw her. She came back to the States for a short visit but for some reason, I did not have a chance to catch up with her.

She must have been assimilated into the British culture because she has a British accent now; I wasn't surprised though. However, I still have no accent even though I have lived in the south for 13 years. I guess I don't blend in well.

I finally got to meet her British boyfriend, Ollie, and he finally got to meet me. He said that I was an enigma because I was always mentioned in Leah's stories; especially when it came to computers: "Oh, David would know how to fix that." In the above picture, Ollie is pointing at me because "I do exist".

While she was here in the States for her short visit, we looked at old photographs and yearbooks from high school. We looked at all our senior pictures and pointed out who was doing what these days. ie. if they were married, had kids, where they lived, where they work, etc. It was quite entertaining.

We caught up with some friends and spent New Years 2010 at some club playing billiards and darts.

It was fantastic to see her again and meet Ollie. Someday, I hope to visit them in England.

December's Letter

noreply@blogger.com (Dave) — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 18:46:00 +0000

Well, November began with taking Benny to the vet to have his abscessed tooth removed. Mom took him to the vet a few months before and was just given antibiotics. The abscessed tooth cleared up for a while but returned. I dropped Benny off at 0830 and they told me they would call me in the afternoon to tell me how he was doing and when I could pick him up. I would be lying if I told you that I wasn't a little bit worried about him. But I knew he would be just fine. Before I went to pick him up, I bought him some soft dog food. It was somewhat humorous when they brought Benny to me. His eyes were kinda half open as he was still woozy from the anesthesia. He was probably thinking "What have you done to me?" For the rest of the night he was confined to his crate. The next day he was still a little bit listless, but by day three he was back to his usual hyper self. But I could still tell he was still hurting b/c he would still grumble every now and then.

I was trying to reseal the back porch in the 2nd week of November. It was still somewhat warm at 75 degrees F. However, the bugs like to explore during the warm hours before winter sets in. There were plenty of wasps and Japanese lady bugs flying around. I was concerned about the wasps, so I read about natural ways to repel them. If you fill a zip loc bag with water and a penny, it will resemble a spider web and a spider. Bugs won't voluntarily fly into a spider web. It has to do something with the wasps compound eyes that make the bag of water look like a spider web. Well, that didn't work. I even saw a wasp land on the bag of water. Another way is to blow up a brown paper bag and hang it up. It resembles a nest; wasps are territorial and will think this area is already occupied. But I did not have a brown paper bag to try that one out. The best way to repel them was to wait until the sun was about to set. They like to sleep too.

I was supposed to go to a friends wedding, but I slept in and missed the time at which I was supposed to depart. It was in Alabama. Does it mean that I am old when I have gone to 6 weddings in the past 6 months. I have another friend who is getting married in January. Maybe I won't miss that one at least.

So, since I donated all my late Dad's suits, it is time for me to start a collection of my own...slowly of course. I have 2 sport coats and I kept one of my Dad's sport coats because it fits me well. But doing research on suits brings me into a whole new world. I will tell you this, I don't like cheap stuff. Cheap as in "it's good for one use, then it falls apart". I won't go into all the details of what makes a quality suit but I found a store in Chattanooga that has quality suits. I decided to go all out and buy a whole new ensemble except for new shoes.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Ours was spent at Aunt Pam's where we ate twelve pies. Okay, twelve pies were made, but I thought about eating twelve pies. But if I did eat twelve pies that would be gluttony.

I've been playing with post-process Tilt-shift photography effects. It's where a large scale image looks like a miniature. A photo is attached of what I think is the best I have done.

I now know how to tie a tie four different ways. Only eighty-one more to go. There's an app for that.

Until next time, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!