Welcome Post, Pre Departure

Umbrella emails and Facebook and long MSN conversations aren't very practical, so I have decided to try out a web log. I think that this will be the best way to keep everyone updated on my travels in China.

As many of you know, I have been working for 2 months here in Connecticut after returning from Japan. Here are a few things I learned during this time:

I have come to know what working 2 jobs a day feels like, sometimes totaling 13 hours from dawn 'till dusk. It is painful. Especially if one job involves counting reels, tubes, and bags of unthinkable amounts of circuits, fuses, diodes, LEDs, transistors, and capacitors for hours on end in terrible work conditions (no running water (i.e. a porta-potty), no circulation/AC/Heat, and for a while, no lights), and the other involves dealing with senile movie patrons who lose their ticket within 10 feet of the box office, or think they've handed you a $20 when in fact they've only handed you a $10 and believe you're trying to rip them off, or spill popcorn all down the isle. That is real pain.

I have come to know what it is like to make a good amount of money. It is nice. Especially when I can buy myself an iPod and a Digital SLR camera for China, and still have plenty of booty left over to actually live there.

I have come to know what it is like to receive a lot less than I actually earn, due to taxes, even though I've worked my ass off. It is disheartening. Especially when the largest portion, Social Security taxes, are either going to pay for something I won't have in 50 years, or towards our worthwhile (not) billion-dollar-a-day war in Iraq.

I have come to know what it is like to be alone in a familiar place, and to be too occupied by work to make a connection before it's too late. It sucks. Especially when it came time for everyone to pack off to college, the isolation became all too palpable. Luckily, I have been semi-saved by the internet, and can keep my social web alive via email, facebook, and MSN.

I have come to know what having a driver's license feels like, and having a sometimes available car. It is pure freedom. Especially when you have places to go to with friends, or a job to go to, or just want to go find a spot to take some nice pictures.

I have come to know what a car accident feels like...Well, what falling asleep at the wheel and waking up with grass and hay flying up at the windshield like rushing water feels like, and realizing, 'OMG I just missed a telephone by about 5 feet and that it's a good thing I ended up in this field instead of someone's kitchen or off a bridge or into someone else's car!' And finally, 'Damn...My insurance rate is going to go up a ton.' It is like a nightmare come horribly true.

I have come to know a new dog in my family, by the name of Ping (平, balance and harmony). He is really cute and active. We like to call him 'gnip' at home (backwards 'ping', pronounced like nip). He looks like a girl, because he looks as though he is wearing mascara and he is quite petite and feminine.

I have come to know there are a lot of people out there in the world who are more than willing to help me in my quest to explore China.