Fairytale Part 3 - The Huntsmean

See Here for Part 2

Here, our story takes a short turn, where we will introduce 7 individuals: the Vertically-Challenged.

Nice politically-correct title, Ben.

Why, thanks Josh.

Certainly. Do proceed.

Now the seven Vertically-Challenged had not always been as they were. You see, dear reader, they had been very early in life exposed to a dangerous poison that destroyed one’s ability to grow. While the curse had been brought on by the best intentions, their father had no idea of the potency of coffee.

And so it was, that after 34 years of consuming the beverage, the potion began to work its magic, and, beginning with Zacchaeus, the fifth oldest, the men became, as they are to this day, Vertically Challenged.

Now, despite their short stature, they set out to make a name for themselves and quickly took to the art of hunting. Now, it is often thought that dwarves are miners, and, while they often are, these particular Vertically Challenged spent much of their time in a cave not for the purpose of obtaining precious metals and gems, but to hunt for a particular wolf that they had seen seek refuge in the cave; Rumplestiltskin, the second oldest, had first discovered the beast, and, as the animal of that species tend to be villainous in nature, the brothers set out to capture the animal for safe and humane delivery to the Wildlife Refuge. Now unbeknownst to them, this wolf was, in fact, an enchanted Prince Frederick, who knew of a secret exit out the back; however, after digging for years through the cave, the Vertically Challenged had yet to uncover the passage, and so they often returned to the mine in search of him.

Now these seven brothers had all obtained employment from a most benevolent stepmother in a dark, evil castle. Now, only Dorky, the youngest, had gone in for the interview, and the Human Resources manager incorrectly assumed that only one person was interviewing for the position. And so it was that each brother worked one day a week at the castle. This proved most practical since, due to the insufficient lighting that was apparently “required” in an evil castle, none of the other employees could tell the difference between the brothers. And so it was assumed that the queen had a “huntsman” as opposed to “seven brother huntsmen”.

The outcast of the family, however, was Jack, the oldest. Rather than taking down beasts, Jack preferred to take down trees. As this obsession proved quite noisy, his brothers often shunned him, leaving him alone whilst they went hunting in relative quiet, leaving poor Jack often on his own.

Our story begins when the benevolent queen summoned her huntsman to an audience on a matter of great import. As it was Wednesday, Yakovarol, the sixth oldest, brushed off his tunic, picked the mashed potatoes out of his beard, and strode bravely into the throne room.

A Fairytale Part 1 - Once Upon a Time

Once Upon a Time...

 

Dear Reader, if ever there was a historian’s cop-out, this introduction is the epitome.

Generally, when recounting an event, both a time and a place are provided. However, this introduction provides neither. For a time, one may say “1746”, or perhaps “last week”, or (in extremely rare situations) “the same day that my aunt Ruth had her beard shaved off”; an author ought to provide some reference to when in history this recounting occurred.

Secondly, “Once Upon a Time” does not provide a location. Again, bare minimum, dear reader, would be something to the effect of “In France”, or “At my friend’s house”, or “the barbershop with a very gutsy barber”.

While it is unknown whether or not our friends, the Grimm Brothers, invented the term or simply made it popular, they are very much to blame for this current decline in information. Dear reader, certainly, when you sit down to read a fairytale, you want to obtain historical and geographical context for the story about to unfold.

Therefore, in an attempt to reverse the trend in fairytale introductions, we shall open our story thusly:

“We don’t know when or where this happened.”

 

Wait, wait – Ben, what kind of an introduction is that?

Well, Josh, it’s better than the classic version.

But you’ve totally scared them away at this point.

Josh, if this is intimidating, they will never survive the tale about the Prince in the Well.

Or for that matter, the three little pigs – it’s gruesome when you think about the huntsmen cutting out one of their hearts to bring to the queen.

Even worse – what about the prince that keeps kissing seemingly dead princesses?

Good point – Ben, have we rated this yet?...

Glory

"It is the glory of God to conceal a matter,

   But the glory of kings  is to search out a matter."

How often do we sit back and simply expect life to come to us? It has, unfortunately, been a general practice of mine to sit and say, "Well, I'll just take whatever God sends me. I mean, He's perfect, so He won't send me anything that's not good for me."

However, while this is good, this is not the best thing. It is good to react well to whatever God sends our way, but Christianity is not passive. We are royalty - children of the King. A resulting characteristic of royalty is that we will search things out.

Not sure about a theological question? Don't wait for your pastor to preach on it; search it out. Not sure which university to attend? Don't wait for a lightning bolt to tell you which is better; search it out. Not sure how to deal with a friend? Don't wait for them to fall too far away without the right advice; search it out.

Waiting for great things for you to do for Christ? Don't sit and wait for them to come to you.

Search it out.

Let it Be Said of Me

Just a quick thought this morning (as if I had any other type... this one, however, shall be presented quickly).

There is a line from a song that's been resonating with me this morning:

In Christ alone, I place my trust,
 and find my glory in the power of the cross.
In every victory, let it be said of me:
 my source of strength, my source of hope - is Christ alone

Do I present myself in such a way, receive praise in such a way, and respond to life in such a way that people would say that of me? In EVERY victory - not just the ones at church or ministry - in every victory

Do all my friends know my source of strength and hope? Am I looking for ways to tell my acquaintances and the non-believers that I know what my source is?

I may be in need of an attitude adjustment...

The Last Month [or so] in Review

Well, while I have attempted to post here more regularly, I have noticed that my past few posts have had little to do with what’s actually going on in my life.

Not necessarily that you wanted to know anyways, but here it goes…

One of the highlights of this summer has been cliff jumping. No, I’m not talking about abyss jumping where one wears a squirrel suit directly after writing their last will and testament. No, I’m talking about a 30-foot jump into the Columbia River. I got to go twice – once with guys from Bible Study...

And another time with friends from church, though the latter, after a brief time jumping, turned into an almost-ice-cream-run, a Hood River Mexican Food dinner, a halfway-Multnomah-Falls-Hike, and general-fun-along-the-way-ishness.

Another highlight was the Pathways Fundraiser Dinner. My sister Sarah has been volunteering there for a few months now; and the bros and I have been going to do yard-work for them. However, the Fundraiser Dinner was a neat way to hear some testimonies and get an update on the clinic. After obtaining a table, 8 friends from Church and I all attended. It was great to hear about a mission field right in our backyards, as well as ways we were able to help.

My next adventure took me back to Hood River, where I went with Jonathon and Mr. S. to go get apples for Fall Preparation. We obtained 2700 lbs. of apples (Jonathon and I transferring 900 of those from one crate to another), before returning home. Stay tuned for what we plan to do with those…

And finally, and very encouragingly, we attended a memorial service for some friends’ grandpa. Although I never met him, the testimonies and stories shared about him painted a great picture of who he was. He was a teacher, and elder, and a strong Christian friend. One of the testimonies summed up very well who he was, and who I would like to be:

“He made me want to be a better man – he made me want to be a better Christian.”

Talk about a life-goal. Thank you, Cliff; though I never met you, you have given me a great thing to shoot for. This song, played during his life slideshow, does a great job of summing up the impact of his life story on me. May it be able to be said of all of us.

Loving Composing...

Here's a song I found buried deep in my computer. I dusted it off and published it to SoundCloud. This is the second movement of the World War II Symphony, Brittaniarum Regnum depicts one of many raids on London during the Blitz.

Tagged

Greetings, oh blog land.

I currently find myself in the unhappy state of being-reminded-that-I-haven’t-posted-for-forever, and it is most traumatizing. However, as another blogger is now depending on my writing ability to answer his challenge, I shall proceed. I was tagged by my brother Josh to partake in this activity (and a good one, at that); therefore, I shall first lay out the rules so that all present may be aware of the guidelines by which this is to proceed.

1.       Thank the person who nominated you and link to their blog

Why, thanks Josh!

2.       Answer his/her 11 questions.

Which I plan to do below in this post

3.       Add to these 11 random facts about yourself.

Which I also plan to do in this post

4.       Come up with your own 11 questions.

This, I fear may take a very long time, though I am willing to attempt it (in this post, no less)

5.       Tag (up to) 11 other blogs (with under 200 followers) to answer your queries and follow the previous 4 steps.

This, I fear may prove to be the most difficult of all, as many of my blog-friends have already been tagged. However, I shall attempt to do so to the best of my ability... in this post

And now, I shall proceed with answering Josh’s questions!

1.       What is your favorite board game?

At present, I find myself engrossed in the 15-game sequence of Risk Legacy, where current political boundaries have absolved, and 5 factions fight for control of the planet. While it maintains standard Risk Combat, there are cards, rule changes (yes, changes mid-game), and board manipulation that prove to make it quite interesting. For Imperial Balkania!

 

2.       A favorite quote of yours (humorous or thought provoking)?

Action without wisdom is reckless; wisdom without action is worthless; action and wisdom without God is dangerous - Anonymous

3.       A book/series that disappointed you?

Eragon – wouldn’t recommend it for other reasons, but the series was basically a fantasy version of Star Wars… what a rip-off…

4.       Furthest place you've traveled from home, and why?

Chongqing, China – I travelled to the largest city in the world to direct a factory setup for a new printer for HP. VERY spicy food… not for the faint of heart…

 

(yes, this is consumed completely... head to tail...)

5.       Your favorite non-board-game activity (sports, reading, card games, eating, etc...)?

Despite my lack of skill, Frisbee and volleyball with friends; definitely not as fun with strangers… must be with friends J

6.       A favorite character from a book/movie, and why?

Ooh… if I could remember the last book I read, this might be easier… I would have to say Edmund from the Chronicles of Narnia. Even the movies (except the Voyage of the Dawn Treader) depicted him well: he has experienced first-hand redemption, he is completely supportive of his authorities, and while he isn’t “the best” in many situations, whatever he does, he does as well as he can.

7.       If you could have any car, which one would it be?

Bleh… I suppose that as a guy, I should have a better answer for this… something with fuel efficiency, good acceleration, and little requirement for maintenance. Doesn’t need to be flashy or really fast…

 

8.       If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?

Ooh… Warwick, England; St. Petersburg, Russia; or Jerusalem, Israel

9.       How many states have you been in (driving through, staying at, but not flying over)?

Around 25… I don’t remember my exact route on some car-trips

10.   What is your favorite type of pizza?

Whichever bears the most animal flesh… that, or chicken ranch

11.   What's the story behind your favorite (or most infamous) nickname?

The name is “Boo”, derived by my dad from the VeggieTales “Song of the Cebu”… don’t ask…

11 Random facts about myself? Gracious…

1.       Despite being an engineer, I have actually composed 3 musical pieces that have been performed and another that won an award

 

2.       Many of you know this, but I am a volunteer at the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site, taking on the personalities of various gentlemen from the time

3.       Despite my lack of skill, I love to sing songs in a group – choirs or quartets/small groups are so fun!

4.       I am an avid gamer – no, not the video-game type, but any type of strategy board/card game I love. These include, but are not limited to: Risk (all strains), Axis and Allies (all theatres), Dominion (all expansions but Alchemy), Carcassonne, Arctic Scavengers, Euro-Rails, and Power Grid

5.       I am a pack animal – I would much prefer to be in a group than by myself

  
         ... as this poor fellow would doubtless agree...    

6.       I throw tomahawks for fun (not at my house, alas, but nevertheless…)

7.       I am a huge fan of BBC’s radio drama Cabin Pressure – starring Benedict Cumberbatch, it has my whole family in stitches every episode

 

8.       In college, I held the positions of Officer at Large of Alpha Sigma Phi, Vice President of Leadership of Alpha Sigma Phi, and President of WSU-V ASME.

9.       I have been to the midnight showing of all 3 Chronicles of Narnia movies released since 2005; once as a normal human being, and the other times, dressed up in full Narnian garb

10.   I am currently listening to a song I wrote to personify Japan during WWII – if you like, you can hear it below… (in it, you catch bits of  the Japanese national anthem, as well as the bombing of Pearl Harbor)
 

 

 

11.   I am currently on a Facebook fast! (hence why you find me back here in blog-land…)

As far as who to tag, I fear that I am somewhat limited on my number of blog friends. I shall, however, attempt to tag those such as I may!

I choose to tag my friend Jonathan Stephan (who, like me, has yet to revive his blog from near-death)

His sister Joanna Stephan (who can hopefully publish, despite unreliable electricity…)

And Rachel O’Dell (who hopefully can convert back to English from Japanese for the sake of us readers…)

The questions for you to answer, oh challengees, are as follows:

1.       If you were stuck on a desert island with only 1 song on your iPod, which would you choose?

2.       What is your favorite drink?

3.       Aside from English, what languages have you studied?

4.       What trip/journey made the biggest impact on your life?

5.       Introvert or Extrovert?

6.       Hot or cold weather?

7.       Favorite pastime by yourself? With a group?

8.       Do you currently own an HP printer?

9.       Who do you consider the most despicable fictional character that you have ever encountered?

10.   Who do you consider the most heroic mortal in history?

11.   Has God ever changed your plans? How?

 

Gracious, this was a long post. Kudos to you all who made it through it!

Redeem the Time

Wow… it’s been a while since I’ve posted…

The last month or so (wow… it really has been that long since I posted anything…) have been crazy. I started work at HP full-time, began teaching an apologetics course to my family, and preached a sermon… the summary of which is the principle purpose of this post, actually.

“We preach best what we need to learn most” says one of Martin Luther’s mentors in the movie “Luther”. What resulted in the longest sermon I’ve preached to date came from an issue I’ve been having in my own life: use of time.

I’ve been challenged lately to consider how I spend my time, both with myself and with fellow believers. Left to my own devices, I’m likely to be found watching America’s Funniest Home Videos on YouTube, playing some computer game, or reading Tintin (again). I figure that since I just finished 5 years of school and am currently working a full-time job, I’m due a break in the evenings. But why? The Bible never says anything about giving ourselves breaks for entertainment. We are urged (a lot) to watch our time and be aware that it’s limited.

What about with friends? Is Frisbee, Dominion, a strategy card game, and movies really all that we have to do together? What about encouraging one another? (Heb. 3:13) Am I the type of friend that somebody would feel safe in sharing a burden with? (Gal. 6:2) Am I talking with my friends to determine how I can be a better member of the body?

No – I seldom do these things. Does that mean we only get together and have serious discussions around a table wearing starched shirts and speaking King James English?

Fortunately, I can’t find that in the Bible either.

Getting together for fun is fine – laughter is good for us, and it’s best if we’re laughing at wholesome things (more likely found amongst believers). However, car-rides don’t need to be full of jokes and voice-impersonations. It’s ok if the Dominion game doesn’t even finish because a conversation takes over.

Am I being the type of friend to encourage people to Godliness, or simply to have more fun? I’m afraid that I’ve been too much of the latter. I need to remember that I’ve been left here for a purpose - am I spending my time accomplishing eternal goals, or amusing my finite mind? 

Here's the full-length sermon if you'd like to hear it... sorry for the freaky picture

Trip to Europe - Part 4

My goodness... From the look of it, I have hardly posted since we arrived in the U.K... Therefore, I shall give a whirlwind update!

London was (described in a word...) brilliant. We saw (to name the highlights) Buckingham palace, Kensington palace, Trafalgar Square the prince Albert memorial, the Wellington memorial, numerous world war memorials, the Tower of London, the Tower Bridge, the British Museum, Churchill War Rooms, and much much more... In 3 days. I've posted pictures on Facebook (yes, I broke down finally) if you'd like to see them... I am past 1,000 pictures and counting.

This is one of my favorite "things" from London. The British Museum has an entire gallery dedicated to ancient Persia, and this wall carving originated from a palace in Persepolis belonging to Darius (yes, I believe it is the same as in the book of Daniel). It was so weird to be able to touch something that Daniel, Nehemiah,  and Esther all could have seen...

Next was Oxford! A necessary pilgrimage stop for both Tolkien and Lewis fans alike. Josh and I visited Magdelen College (where Lewis taught) and were adequately impressed by its grandeur and beauty. Whenever locals heard about us and college, they always asked if we were going to study in Oxford... yeah, we wish...

Another necessary stop for coffee pilgrims such as Josh and myself included a cup at the oldest coffee house in Europe. However, this proved harder than originally anticipated - one house claimed to be the oldest in Europe, while another claimed to be th oldest in Oxford... Last I checked, Oxford was included when discussing Europe, but I never claimed to know everything... anyway, Josh and I found a happy solution by simply attending both during our stay! (Though Josh ordered tea both times... figure that one out...)

The next stop was, by far, our favorite thus far. If you ever get the chance to visit England, Josh and I would definitely recommend the town of Warwick (this year, the town is celebrating 1100 years since it's founding). In addition to the castle (huge, impressive, and very well interpreted), the hosts at our bed and breakfast and the general atmosphere of the town gave it a very Sunriver type feel about it.

It was hard to pick a favorite from the castle,  but one of the greatest highlights was the Falconer show. Two bald eagles, an Egyptian vulture, some bird with a nine foot wingspan from the Himalayas that eats bones, and an owl named Ernie were all part of the show. It's just... wow, God's creatures never cease to amaze me, especially when they fly right at eye height (plus or minus about 6 inches)

Leaving the small town behind us,  Josh and I were on our way to Newcastle. The purpose of this stop - Roman ruins. We visited two sites - Segedunum and the Corbridge ruins (which had a Latin name that escapes me at the moment).

The Corbridge ruins - including leftovers from a stables (300 cavalry were stationed here), a headquarters building, and two granaries to name a few. A town built to reinforce Hadrian's Wall, these ruins from 1,850 years ago are not only visible, but sturdy enough to the point that visitors are allowed to climb on, around, and all over them. Talk about engineered to last...

Well, that's all for now. Only two more cities - Edinburgh and Dublin, and that post will probably arrive through the Portland Airport WiFi...

Trip to Europe - Part 3

France has been brilliant - what with the castles, the Keep, the food, and the coffee (which was brilliant), it's been a great few days.

The best part, however, was none of those aspects previously listed. It was the spirit of the people that we've interacted with while here. Our cousins are brilliant and our aunt and uncle are brilliant, but it's not just the inside jokes, the random movie-quote-guess-game, or even the hilarious movies they show us that make them that way.

It's their attitude towards their service to the king. Instead of spending their time and resources to build their own kingdoms (with an invitation to God to join them), they are laboring (yes, laboring... you should see their schedules) to build God's kingdom, after being invited by God to partake in its expansion.

I've been very blessed with the refreshing words of "basic" truth. This quick look into what faith could look like, removed from my compartmentalized life. What if, instead of devoting 100% of my life to His service, I recognize that my life isn't even mine to devote?

Neat lessons, cool sights, brilliant company. How would you describe France in a word?

Brilliant!

Trip to Europe - Part 2

 Loches - a town dating back to the 800s with a skyline that will hardly let you forget it. We arrived and it was in the high 60s and clear blue skies. We really could not have asked for better weather. Following are a few pictures with a small explanation for each.

 

I shall not attempt the French term for this location, though in English, we would call it the governor's mansion.  Adorned with French flags, it was rather impressive.

This is the older, though not necessarily used, cathedral. Though you can't necessarily see it here, it's built in the minaret style (pre gothic) as pointed out by...

Our illustrious tour guides, cousins Chandler (caught at an inopportune time on the historic toilet) Graham (who was also caught unawares in this photo, though in an obviously less awkward environment), who were able to read and translate all the signs, as well as give us a personalized tour of...

La Donjon (which is translated neither as dungeon or Don Juan, but rather, the Keep) which was the principle defense should the area ever be attacked. As it turns out, this region is full of castles due to its proximity to sandstone mines. Following are a few pictures of the keep...

From the second highest platform of the keep

The historic costumes room, which I'm sure I didn't appreciate as much as I should, but the costume director at Fort Vancouver would be most upset if she found out that I'd seen this room and not taken at least one picture... (click on it to view it in a new window at full size)

This picture from the beginning is a view of the old cathedral from the top of the keep.

I'll close with a final though: pray for Josh, as he is beginning to entertain the notion that he can fly...

Trip to Europe - Part 1

The following posts will be done via my wonderful phone, so expect more pictures and fewer words...

Before we left, we were all smiles. Note Joshua's smiles...

On our way to the plane in Portland... "They're called 'Aviator Shades'... before Ben forgot to grab them from the airport in Toronto...

At Tornoto... noting that Ben is still alive after forgetting the shades... Ben wisely took the picture before forgetting the shades...

Toronto Airport... the land of many, many long hallways...

Our first chàteau in Loches... more pictures on our tours later on...

Finals Are Coming...

Trip to China Part 3 - The Drive

Have you ever heard that country song about “Jesus Take the Wheel”? Let me tell you, if there was a good lyrical translation into Mandarin, that song would be a hit here in China regardless of personal creed. You want, no – probably more like need, an amazing driver to survive the highways in China.

Let me list off a few traffic laws that, official or not, are definitely practiced by all drivers here in the beautiful city of Chongqing.

1. Seatbelts are only a foreign trinket developed in Germany and the U.S.; they are not necessary (interestingly enough, there are few Japanese cars here)

2. Honking the horn is not a warning of danger; it is an announcement of “I’m coming through!”

3. Lane markers are in place only to give business to Chinese paint manufacturers. If you can fit 5 cars, 3 bikes, 4 pedestrians, 2 scooters, and 1 dog abreast in 2 lanes, go for it!

4. Speed limits are non-existent

5. Policemen are there in the event of an accident. Otherwise, they attempt to direct traffic and wave as people cut each other off and zip by; you don’t need to yield to their cars even with lights flashing

6. Crosswalks are only a formality; the cars will not stop for you

It occurred to me that the reckless, aggressive driving practiced here in Chongqing is not a reflection of personal emotions. Throughout the duration of the transit, our illustrious driver did not so much as raise an eyebrow. Cool as a cucumber, he would cut into a lane (missing a car by literally, centimeters), accelerate faster than a MiniCooper (or so it felt like in the massive bus), and generally make the most daring moves ever attempted by somebody in anything bigger than a sports car.

It was a fantastic ride.

As soon as I overcame the shock, I learned that I needed to just sit back and trust that the driver knew what he was doing. There was nothing I could do either to change the traffic or the bus’s direction. I needed to get to the factory, and this was the method provided to me. Another meaning to “Jesus Take the Wheel”…

After an hour and a half of this madness, we pulled into the factory and proceeded up to the office. All this excitement, and I hadn’t even started my first day yet…

Trip to China Part 2 - The First Morning

I awoke at 6:00 – remembering where I was and recognizing that the van was to leave in 2 hours, I collected my strength and rose, like a monster from his cave, from my bed. I walked over to the window, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes and, upon opening the blinds, I came to a startling discovery.

The 35^th floor is a long way up from the ground.

Room 3513 was, in fact on the 35^th floor. To be honest, I’d never been that high above the ground in a static structure, as opposed to a dynamic aircraft. At least, I certainly hoped that static described the building as opposed to the other.

I walked around, gathering the different items that I would need for the day. I opened my computer to check and see if I’d received any word from that now-far-away land called home. My computer had adjusted to the time zone (smart thing that it is) and whilst google mail was coming up, I glanced down at the clock.

7:26

“Funny”, I thought. “My phone, which I personally set to China time says only 6:26”. Looking for some form of confirmation, I looked at my room’s clock.

7:27

Panic began to set in as I recognized that I had to be dressed, packed, and on board the bus in 33 minutes. After showering in less time than I ever have, I gobbled down a pop-tart I’d brought and packed my backpack with computer, cord, phone, and toolbox. I then rushed out to the elevators to head to the breakfast room on floor 39.

Of course, they’d misspelled “breakfast room” on the elevator and instead floor 39 was listed as “executive lounge”, which was funny, I thought, given all the English businessmen they get here, you’d think they could learn to spell things correctly.

What I was very surprised to find was that the breakfast room looked a whole lot like an executive lounge. Glass exterior walls, wood interior walls, marble floors, and palm trees growing out of the floor definitely made the breakfast room look like an executive lounge.

However, I had very little time to admire the place as the clock was ticking. I grabbed a plate and filled it with a very Western breakfast (fruit, bacon, bread) and sat down at a table with two co-workers. At least, if I was going to be late, I’d be late with them. After a waitress came up and asked how I’d like my eggs cooked, I delved into my first Chinese food…

Soon, we were zipping down 39 floors in an elevator I rushed out the door, taking a moment to admire the 3-story tall lobby, complete with marble floors and pillars, and onto a bus. After greeting the remainder of the team, I plopped myself down on a seat and prepared for the trip to the factory.

Our driver was a gentleman in his mid-thirties (I assumed… age seems to make no difference on this populace between the 21^st and 50^th years of their lives). His hair was neatly combed; he was clean-shaven, wearing a suit jacket and white gloves. I expected a perfectly posh drive to the factory.

Have you ever heard the phrase about looks being deceiving?...


Note - Pictures are not wanting to be uploaded to Blogger... will continue working on the solution...

Trip to China Part 1 - The Journey

The morning began as you might expect – I slept in till 6 and would have remained in my warm hovel of happiness except for family devotions. So I clambered out of bed, tripped down the stairs, and fumbled around until I found the life-drink [coffee]. And so began the day.

I was prepped, packed, and panicked when 8:15 hit. I hugged my family members goodbye (admiring my newly 15-year-old sister in a birthday dress) before traversing the long trek from the front door to the van.

It was quite exhausting.

Soon, I was underway! I arrived at the airport, got oriented, obtained my pass, checked my bags, and texted my compatriots to inform them that I was there 2 hours early.

They replied saying they were already here and asked I’d like to join them for breakfast.

Sufficiently mortified at my failed attempt to impress by my earliness, I went and had a second breakfast with a co-worker. Soon, we were boarding a small plane (carrying about 24 passengers, so I knew it was mandatory to have at least 1 flight attendant… which they did), and after the address from the cabin crew, captain, and first officer, I tried very hard to not picture certain characters from my favorite BBC radio drama. Accomplishments of the first flight included the completion of a book and the continuation of another.

After a quick layover in San Francisco, we boarded “the mon-stah”. An enormous Boeing that could hold more passengers, fly further, and sufficiently engulf me to the point of helping me recognize my insignificance in this vast world.

And the number of White people aboard… me and one other chap. For a grand total of 2…

3 movies, half a book, 2 attempts at Sudoku, numerous failures at Pacman, owning a game of digital pool, and a few hours of sleep later, we arrived at Beijing. There had been a lot of confusion about what we needed to do when we arrived
– some instructions had said that it would be a simple transfer flight. Still other legends told the tale that we would get off, they would “sweep” the plane, and we would get back on again. Darker tales told of the necessity to completely re-check our baggage. And one particular myth had something to do with a pogo stick, egg-whisk, and some fellow named DeKref.

We didn’t really know what to expect.

Finally, we landed in Beijing and after collecting ourselves, we collected our carry-ons, collected each other, then collectively, we exited the aircraft. Right inside the gate, there was a Chinese gentleman holding a sign saying “Chongqing”, the name of our final destination. So we pulled over to wait for further instructions. After babbling off in Chinese to the small group for the longest time, he walked right up to me, ignoring my futile attempts to hide behind my co-workers and gave me detailed directions in English on how I was to proceed. I know they were detailed because it took him so long to say.

But I didn’t have a clue as to what he’d actually said.

Then it dawned on me – my travel companions were not Chinese, but as they were Asian, this flight director had inappropriately assumed that I was the only non-Chinese speaking member of the party.

My, how he was wrong.

After escorting us through security, our guide brought us to “the holding room”, a place with only one exit – onto a bus that would take us to our final flight. There was no way for me to enjoy the Beijing airport, so I decided to let my grief show.

I took a nap on the hard benches.

I woke up just as the guide was opening the doors to bring us to the bus to bring us to the plane to bring us to Chongqing. I brought myself to my senses, brought my carry-on to the door and brought myself to overcome my grief at not seeing the Beijing airport, and climbed aboard.

The flight was uneventful, and in no time we were down to collect our baggage at the Chongqing airport. Then, after boarding a van that had been reserved specially for us, we drove for an hour to reach our hotel. Still struggling to stay awake, I obtained my room key, discovered that breakfast was to be on the 39^th floor, affirmed that the van left at 8:00 the next morning, and stumbled into an elevator.

After feverishly dragging my suitcases into my room, I pulled up the computer, emailed my family to ensure them that I had arrived safely, and collapsed onto the bed.

Tomorrow would be…*

*I would have thought “interesting”, but I was too tired to finish the sentence

**Apologies for the lack of pictures; some will be forthcoming