China - Day 6 - Time to get to work

June 22
It's my second day at work and it's going very much like the first. I'm having the second safety training session; however, the person giving the training doesn't speak very good English (and I certainly don't speak Chinese well enough to take safety training), so I have to guess at what he's trying to convey. Probably not the best situation for safety training, but I'm going to be spending most of my time in the office and I think I got the general gist of the training (Don't touch anything). After safety training they take me out to another warehouse for more training, but this time it is training to use a five ton crane. That is way more fun than anything else I've been doing, and I start to get the hang of it pretty quickly. It's pretty much a pendulum game, albeit with a 500 kg pendulum. As we walk back to the office, Michael tells me that his boss thinks I "walk lazy." I'm confused, so I press for information. Apparently, the way I walk with my weight behind be, not walking with urgency, makes me appear lazy. I resolve to walk like purpose, to use my "city walk," around the office.

After lunch I finally get my own computer after two days of prodding (and spending the first half of the day studying engineering drawings out of context got grating). The only problem, it's in Chinese and there is no way to change the operating system language to English without buying an English version of Windows. Oh, and the software I'm going to be using (Unigraphics NX6) is also in Chinese. Excellent. After an hour or so of my fruitless searching, Michael comes and changes the language of NX6 to English in 3 minutes. Oh well, I have my own access to the outside world (Internet is spotty at best in my apartment) and something to keep myself entertained at work. I went for a run after work and I got a lot of strange looks, like I'm the first person to run in the history of Xiasha. Oh well, it is nice to get some exercise in.

NZ Day 6 - Fire and Ice (Mostly Ice)

Today was an eventful one. We started off by walking clear across Christchurch to pick up a rental car, which actually only took about half an hour (it's not a big city). Then it took them an hour to get our car ready :/ But it was worth it, because they let me drive (only have to be 18 in NZ), and not only was it a rental car, but it was on the wrong side of the road. There is a pretty steep learning curve, but eventually is feels natural. Except for traffic circles. I fucking hate those.

We drove out to the International Antarctic Center (which touts itself as the world's best Antarctic museum) by the airport where the US (and Italian and New Zealand, etc) Antarctic Programs are based. The museum didn't have much to offer in way of interesting things, but they did have a room with simulated blizzard conditions (awesome) and a giant tractor (like the ones they use in Antarctica) ride (double awesome). If you ever find yourself with a 4 hour layover in Christchurch (but I have no idea why you would), go across the street to the IAC (they even have luggage lockers).

From the IOC we drove out to Akaroa, a little French settlement on a bay on the other side of foothills from Christchurch. I'm sure it's normally a lovely place, but with crappy weather and it being Christmas Eve, everything was closed. When we got back to Christchurch, we stopped at a grocery store (to stock up for our mini roadtrip tomorrow) and an Aussie expat got to talking to my dad and came under the impression that he (my dad) had just returned from the American McMurdo Antarctic Base. No, I'm not making that up.

We had dinner reservations at Cook'n with Gas, whose rather hokey name doesn't do justice to the amazing food. I had the lamb (exquisite) and the crepes (richer than anything I've ever eaten). Their style is apparently New Zealand Bistro, which is very similar to American Bistro, but with great hospitality. We spent more than an hour talking after desert and they hadn't offered us the check once. I absolutely love the hospitality at New Zealand restaurants, they are great to their customers.

Giant Chess. Oh no, it's not the first time I've seen it.




I'm driving on the wrong side of the road!




The headquarters of the US Antarctic Program




It's cold. But I still want to beat kal.

SE Asian restaurants: 3.5
Page in ASHONE: Done
I bought Blink by Malcolm Gladwell to have something to read.

Roadtrip 2008

Roadtrip 08, wooooo!
Travis, Jordan and Myself roadtripped from Friendswood, TX to Palo Alto, CA by way of Austin, El Paso, Phoenix and San Diego. Assorted memories: The Cherries, getting Travis' high school friends to call him Teej, having my manhood challenged in Juarez. meeting lots of new people, seeing casa del deano, eating at freebirds, the first In n Out on the border of California/Arizona, swimming in the pacific (and jordan being afraid of the ocean). Ah memories.




Muggin' at Kemah. Jordan and I often confuse ourselves for Sharks




It seems as if Dean needed some convincing.




At the Williams Tower. This waterfall is awesome. Those guys aren't bad either.




Fake me at the Fwood football game.




Me and my boy Jefferson (or as they call him in Texas, Jeff) Davis at UT. Hook em' horns.




For all my vegetarian friends.




Bull fighting (at least I hope it's fighting) ring in Juarez.