Why?

Why have I heard "Auld Lang Syne" on the elevator twice in the past week? And why did I hear "Have a Holly Jolly Christmas" by Burl Ives at Starbucks on Saturday?

Why is there a small trash can in every public restroom stall? *

Why - since everyone here lives in an apartment building with elevators - does no one here have any common courtesy? Why are these sort of things commonplace:

- anytime the door opens, people think it is their turn to get on - or off- the elevator. It's a mass traffic jam at the ground floor when all the people are trying to get off when the doors open - and the people coming in don't wait and try to get on at the same instant.

- at least once per day I get on the elevator and go up; the elevator stops at a few floors and then some lady giggles; she pushes the button of a floor we already past. It never fails. People don't realize they past their floor. Why?

- at least one per week, I get to the elevator, and I see a person standing next to the elevators, apparently waiting......but the "up" or "down" button is not pushed. I push "up"; it comes, and the person gets in with me and we go up.
Um - do you think it magically knows you are there? You do have to push the button, you know....


And speaking of elevators,
Why is this KFC commercial constantly playing in our office elevator? Do people actually buy this?
(No, I have not tried it - yes, I want to. I will file a full report once I order it).
(thanks to Keith for the link to the commercial)


* - I actually know this answer....I just would like some of you to guess why.

Sports Blogging, part 2

Time for a bowling outing!

A few weeks ago, 5 families got together for a bowling outing at the local lanes - new lanes at the Asia Games sports center.

(Do you sense a theme here? A lot of the "infrastructure" improvements in the city were all sprruedon by the city hosting the Asia games last fall. That's why many veteran ex-pats here just shake their heads at all the changes they have seen in this city in the past 5 years. It really has become a modern city.)

It's a very modern facility a 32-lane center with (of course) automated scoring and bumpers, if needed. They had shoes my size (size 11!) and the lanes were extremely well lit. The flags of the participating countries were still hanging from the ceiling.

The ball racks were all labeled; you would see a "9" on a rack, and that means that's where the 9 lb balls go there. I thought that was ingenious. No more wasting 10 minutes at the beginning trying to find a proper ball.

However, the downside: there were racks and racks of 8, 10, 11, 12 lb balls; in the whole 32 lane facility, there were 6 15-lb balls and 3 16-lb balls. That's it. It's like the complete opposite of the US, where there is one 8 lb ball for the kids and 3,562 16 lb balls for Vito and his pals.

(The adults did get to bowl one game; my 138 was not that awful, considering it's been 18 months since I bowled and the presence of 2 Chinese kids crawling all over the ball return system while I bowled. It's not a jungle gym.....)

Sports blogging, part 1

So if I told you that the boys are in Little League here in China, what would you think? How do you picture a little league field? When I heard that ex-pats were trying to put together a Little League this spring, I thought we would be playing on a converted soccer field, on a lot of dirt/hardpan, with possibly some rebar/nails sticking out of the ground.

I couldn't be more wrong.

Here is a video of the field that the boys play at. The league has rented out the Asia Games baseball stadium every Saturday in the spring (for a fee of 500 RMB/$90 weekly).

I am standing in centerfield; you can see games going on in the left field corner and the right field corner. (Freddie's team is practicing in cetner field; and yes, I throw up a little when I have to wear a red jersey with the words "SOX" on it.)

The fields are immaculate. The grass is always cut, it is perfectly flat (no bad bounces), and we get the use of the locker room (and even the stands, to keep toddlers occupied).

The field is located in the heart of the city- the surroundings are spectacular. The large building right behind us in center field is the Citic building, the 15th largest building in the world. You can also see the Soccer stadium behind the right field line.

These kids have no idea how good they have it. It is 10,000% better than the field I grew up on - the field down the hill behind Sparks elementary that flooded every time we got 1/4" of rain, or the field for Freddie's 1st grade league that was hidden behind the Lakota school bus depot......

(as an aside, I never really knew how hard it is to "teach" baseball until now. Let's say you have a bunch of kids that know nothing about sports. Nothing. They are a blank slate. What's easiest to teach?

1. Soccer - kick the ball in the net, don't use your hands.
2. Basketball - put the ball in the hoop, try to dribble every once in a while, don't hold on defense.
3. Baseball. I don't think we Americans realize how many basic rules there are that has to be taught before even having a semi-competitive game. The rules on force plays alone confuse the non-American kids (and the adults). Why can I overrun first base but not 2nd? What happens on a fly ball that's caught?

Heading Back to Vegas

So in two weeks Carol and I will be heading out to Vegas for her birthday. Her friend, Lauren, will be watching Morgan leaving us 3 days to ourselves. This will be very interesting since my gambling habits have changed dramatically since the last time we gambled together. Let's see what has changed since my last trip:

1. Craps- I can't half ass it anymore. There is a saying in poker, if you get nervous making a bet, then you are playing beyond your means. Well a $25 table doesn't scare me anymore and a $12 wager is boring. There's good and bad things about that. One thing I liked about our trip in March was how easy it was to saddle up to one of those tables and cash in for the correct amount and not just a couple of hundred, hoping the table doesn't go cold. Back in March, craps really went well for me. I played the most I've ever played and did very well. When our group either broke even or was down, I seemed to be up. So I'm set on playing the come from now on. The only problem is can I control the hard ways.

2. UTH- Carol loves this game and when we both played it in Nov 2009, the swings were almost too much for me. Having to bankroll two hands at a $15 table, it can get ugly so quickly.

3. I will take Carol into the Lounge and we will see what her reaction will be. Once again, if she wants to play, then the budget is going to get crazy. Now Carol loves blackjack and I'm not too sure if I can stomach playing at a $10 table with all the riff raff anymore. I've become so pretentious haven't I?

4. Roulette- I only played for 15 minutes back in March waiting for Wiz to cash in his chips and I ended up walking away from the table because the dealer was a jackass. I love the tables at the Mirage and will hopefully be able to spend some time there this trip.

So I never posted anything about this last trip, which now I'm sad that I didn't. Too much work and too much baby time. I rate this trip very high in my book. Its up there with the time we first were introduced to Don and Mike. The UTH dealers were great, the dinners were very good, played golf on an amazing course, and almost came back as a winner. Below are some additional highlights:
1. I was all but done come Saturday. I was down to my last $500 and put all of it on games that day. My friend Brian came out from San Diego and we ended up going to the Mirage wine bar to watch some of the games. I had to pay for dinner that night so I had some funds for gambling. Then I went on an amazing run. Kicked ass at the Palazzo craps table, another great run at the Mirage craps table, and finally did very well at the UTH table. Ventured into the Lounge and did OK at the BJ table. Oh, and I went undefeated on my sports wagering. I was able to get back within $1000 of my original budget.
2. Got a text from Jay on Thursday morning asking how everything was going, and I responded that I "had to pump sea water into reactor one last night. reactor two is showing signs of overheating. Not a good start." That was my worst Wed/Thurs/Fri combo ever. It was horrific.
3. I know that its not fair, but I hold Eric to a different standard than others. When I found out that he bet the don't, I was devastated. When I saw him not being honest and take money from a dealer, I was appalled. And when he told me that he had a previous wager on FSU and he picked the other way in our parlay, I was shocked. SHOCKED!!!!! This is the crap I expect out of Wiz and Lee, not Eric. I'm writing my gamblers manifesto to give to Morgan and my nephews, and all three of these offenses will be in there on what not to do in a casino.
4. Speaking of the book, I have 6 chapters so far; Group Selection, Casino and Restaurant Selection, Room Behavior, Money Management, Gooching, and How to build positive Karma.

The news story that will never end

I suppose that many of us have things in the back of our brains that are there for unknown reasons. I seem to have vivid memories of certain events that occur around personal life-changing moments - for instance, I can tell you that OutKast's "Hey Ya!" was played 24 times on Sirius Channel 1 when we drove from Cincinnati to Iowa in January 2004 during our move.

One of these odd memories involved news reports in August, 1989, when my parents, Layup and I went to Cleveland as I started my freshamn year at Case. We stayed in a hotel for the first few days before I moved into the dorm; I distinctly remember reports of a "John Demjanjuk" taking over the lead story of the Channel 8 newscast.

(Ah, Wilma Smith....)

I still can't figure out why, but Demjanjuk was all over the news during that week. As most of you know, he lived in Cleveland then - in the neighborhood of Seven Hills, southeast of the city. It was fascinating to realize that an alleged Nazi war criminal was living literally down the street from the hotel you were staying at! *

Now, fast forward 22 years later to May, 2011....and he is still in the news. How is this still going on? Can't the wheels of international justice turn any faster? The latest update is that he has been convicted, but is released to a nursing home because of his health. Appeals are pending.

Can't we just end this chapter of history? I have no idea whether he is guiilty of war crimes or not - but you would hope that after 22 years (or even more!), a decision would be made on his guilt or innocence.

What is wrong with our system(s) to have the prosecution of Demjanjuk still going on? It's 2011......


* - for those of you familiar with Cleveland geography, you may wonder why our family would be staying at a hotel in Independence/Seven Hills when Case is in downtown Cleveland, 20 miles away. I think it has to do with "Marriott" points - some questions are best left unanswered.

Summer has started

A weather update: the weather has certainly turned over the past 3 weeks here, and now it is starting to feel like summer. Since the end of April, the temperatures have been in the mid to high 80s for a high with humidity always near 80%. And in most days, the sun is never our. If the sun pops out - that's when it feels really bad.

The worst part about it is the humidity. Once you start sweating, you can't stop - and there's nothing you can do about it. This is my t-shirt after a 20 minute jog on the treadmill. And no, this amount of sweat is not because I am out of shape. You just can't stop sweating because of the humidity.

As you probably would guess, this is certainly not the hottest it will be; the true summers in July and August will be the same humidity, but 10-15 degress warmer. Just great.

We've already had some mornings that felt like a unbearable muggy day in Cincinnati.

But it doesn't affect the natives, however. Our pool here opened up on May 1 - a cloudy day of about 82 degrees and 70-80% humidity (it would storm that night). We went down to the pool on opening day; and we were the only ones. A crowd of 4-5 workers came out at various times to watch the white family play in the "cold" (for them) pool. I seriously think they need it to be much warmer before they will take a dip in the outdoor pool.

Hong Kong trip report

So I am very late to post some random comments about our April trip to Hong Kong. Here is a picture from the Ocean Park amusement park/aquarium; the park is split into two sections, separated by a large hill. You have to take a sky cable car to go from one side to the other. The views are spectacular.

1. It is very disorienting and difficult to walk in the city. The sidewalks are fine; the problem is crossing the street. I have 39 years of experience in crossing street, so it is obviously second nature to look a certain way when crossing an intersection.

But, of course, in Hong Kong, drivers drive on the left hand side.

You really have to stop yourself and think - where are the cars coming from? For example - if you are on the southwest corner of an intersection and want to walk to the northwest corner, you automatically look to your left for oncoming cars. It's empty - you start walking - and a car comes zooming by you on your right, making a left hand turn in front of you. It's hard to override all your instincts.

2. We went to a beach one afternoon on the ocean. While we were there, a few Caucasian families with children were there. One of them starting playing ball with Freddie.

I asked him where he lived. As soon as I asked, I realized that was a dumb question - he could have said anything - a road, a city, a country. He responded by saying the name of some apartment complex near by.

The next automatic question to any Caucasian over here is "how long have you lived here?" I was about to ask the boy that, but then stopped. It is certainly possible - probable? - that this is not a temporary stop, but his permanent home. He could be a "citizen".... For whatever reason, that boggled my mind. For the past 9 months, any "white" person I see is automatically a foreigner and could live anywhere in the world...here I am in "China" and I see a white person - it does not even dawn on me that this person could be a native - and that his parents could have been living here for their whole life.

3. Hong Kong is full of culinary delights! We had dinner by the pool one night - I got a club sandwich with fries. Out came my order - the fries were perfectly done - with a side of Grey Poupon.

Now that's something I have missed. My mouth is still watering thinking about Grey Poupon and how great it went with those fries......

bin Laden notes

Thanks to Layup for alerting me last Monday of the breaking news that OBL was captured and killed. I really don't know when I would have found out about it if he did not text me at 11 in the morning. It's about damn time - congrats to the SEALs, all in the military, and Obama and his staff for making this happen.

Now, some whimiscal thoughts on the operation:

1. They had to have put a GPS tracker on the body bag, right? So someone has got to know the exact location of the body in the Indian (?) Ocean....
2. It's weird what your mind forms from words and reports. As the details started to filter in about how operation took place, the location that OBL was in was described as a "mansion", "fortress", "a house with impenetrable walls". I was detecting some huge structure, maybe a moat involved....
....and then you see the pictures of the compound. It was not at all what I pictured.
3. By now, everyone has seen the famous picture of Obama and his staff gathered around the TV that Sunday evening to watch the operation. My quick thoughts:

a. Obama - intense and focused, as you would expect (like his job depended on it??). However - I read a comment somewhere that I 100% agree with. Who gave him the lawn chair and made him sit in the corner? Why didn't he kick the general out of the command chair that was right next to him?
b. Hillary - I know that look. She's got the same look on her face that I do when the Browns are winning a close one in the 4th quarter. "Can they hang on? Can they do this? I know they are going to blow this. I can't watch."
c. Biden - Doesn't it just look like they had to pull him away from "Angry Birds" on his laptop to pay attention?
"Joe - the SEALs have now landed in the compound!"
"Fine, fine, fine..let me save the game......"
d. Who is the Roberto de Vincenzo look alike that is still wearing the coat and tie, without a button undone, during this high-stress situation? That's a person who clearly voted "no" on casual Fridays at the White House.

The Tribe!

OK, time to start blogging again. Life has been pretty crazy over the last few weeks - and the backlog of blog topics keep piling up.

How about the Tribe! With their good start, I saw this stat from ESPN. If this doesn't give you a nostaglic smile, then.....well, you must be a Red Sox fan....

With Tomlin at 4-0 and Justin Masterson at 5-0, the Indians have two pitchers with at least 4-0 records since Greg Swindell and Tom Candiotti did it in 1988.

Candiotti and Swindell....ah, the good old days.

(It is pretty amazing - every once in a while, I see a Chinese citizen wearing a Tribe hat. This photo was snapped in Beijing (he has this look on his face like "why are you taking my picture?)

This weekend, while walking to the store, I passed a woman in a tan and black striped dress......with a Chief Wahoo logo on it. I didn't get to my iPhone camera in time. They say China is now more technologically advanced than the US...maybe they know that the Tribe will be very popular in October and November this year.....