Budding Young Chef!

While we were visiting our Grandson, oh our Son and Daughter-in-law too, "G-Ma" Lightnin and "Little Monkey Butt" decided to back a cake. Santa had given him a cookbook for Christmas and he was dying to try it out! So while we were out shopping we found the little chef outfit that our new chef just "had to have"!

He really did get right in there and helped to make the cake, and decorate it too!



Pouring the cake mix






















Oops! Got a little on the face there buddy!






















Adding the water
























Adding the eggs

















Mixing the batter

Cleaning the beaters

Hey not too bad for a first time!

Afterward he informed his Grandma Lightnin that he doesn't like chocolate cake, or M-n-M's! What a little stinker. I thought it tasted pretty good!

Playing a Little Catch-up

We had an Ice Storm here last night and early this morning so I chose to work from home today. That really wasn't too much of a problem because I had plenty of work that I could catch up on. It also helped me to not have to spend the hour to hour and a half that it would have taken to get home with the roads the way they are, which allowed time for me to get on-line to blog a bit this evening. So I thought I'd take the opportunity to catch up on a few things.





SPC Dude came home to visit in the middle of
January and we took that opportunity to have a small feast. We decided to go with Ribs, Steak, and Italian sausage all cooked to perfection ont he grill. We served this with two types of asparagus (green and white). The green we wrapped in a slice of Prosciuto (Italian ham) and roasted, and the white we served steamed with Hollandaise sauce. It all turned out good.

Like Father like Son

We also took the opportunity to go to lunch with a bunch of the folks that Lightnin works with so they could say hi to SPC Dude and Bon Voyage to your's truly. We had a good time and it was good to see SPC Dude again.

This past week we had to go back to Missouri for Lightnin's Grandmother's funeral, and the auction of her Father's estate. While there we were stayed with our Son, Daughter-in-law, and Grandson. It was good to be able to spend the time with them because when we go back to KC we're usually running from here to there to see everyone and we never get the chance to actually relax and visit with them. This time we were able to get cuaght up with each other. It was really enjoyable!

I was also able to stop by to visit with my folks and my older brother, sorry no photos this time!

I'm glad I was there for Lightnin at the funeral and the auction, and to be able to see everyone one last time before I leave the country. I guess that the delay in my departure was good for a few reasons afterall!

Only 15 days to go! I guess I'd better start making a list of everything I need to pack!

Countdown to China!

Well the countdown starts today (of course I've been counting down since Friday the 1st), because the official announcement of my relocation came out in the company mail today! Only 15 more working days until I hop on a plane and head for the PROC.

The main question is: What can I pack into 4 pieces of luggage? (oh, and 1 carry-on!)

I'm so psyched about this adventure that I can hardly contain myself (ok, I can hardly contain myself on a good day, but this is even worse). I will say though that it was very weird purchasing a one-way ticket to a foreign country!

Both Lightnin and I will be attending a one day Asian Culture course to try to minimize the Culture Shock, both on our part and theirs! ;-)
As preparation for this class we had to fill out one of those personality profile questionaires. They plan to use the information to more personalize the training to our needs, but because the two of us test out at both ends of the spectrum I have a feeling that they'll also want to know how in the world we've managed to stay together for this long! ;-) It should be interesting!

I will also start my language lessons next week too, so I expect my head to explode sometime around mid March!

More updates coming soon (tick-tock)!

Another Great Loss!

This past Saturday morning we received word that Lightnin's Grandmother (Ida Schelp) passed away. This coming June she would have been 100 years old! This was a severe loss for Lightnin and our children because Ida had been so much a part of their lives. She lost her husband many years ago, and yet survived to see her Great Grandchildren and Great, Great Grandchildren.

Humorous Note (Hey you know I can only stay serious for short periods of time): I say Lightnin and our children, and not me because you see they are all Lutheran and I am Catholic which was always the source of a bit of tension between us! Understand that this was mainly in fun, but I always felt like she was keeping an eye on me to make sure I didn't corrupt the others! I also used to joke that she knew Matin Luther personally and had been the one to suggest to him to break away from the Catholic Church. ;-)

Ida was a strong German/American woman who commanded and deserved respect. When you were at her house, you knew who was in charge. This was a good thing because man could she cook! She definitely made the best fried chicken I had ever tasted, but I think the "Old Brick Tavern" gave her some good competition. She also baked some of the best rolls, bread, and cinnamon buns!

I was just thinking about all of the things she had witnessed during her life, so I thought that I'd Google 1908 just to see what happened during the year she was born. It pretty fascinating to see the events, and the famous people that she out lived!

Here's a bit of history that took place in 1908:

• It was the first year that the ball was dropped at Times Square on New Years Eve
• New York city passes a regulation making it illegal for women to smoke in public
• The 1st railway tunnel under the Hudson River opened
• The 46th star was added to the US flag for Oklahoma
• Cincinnati Mayor (Mark Breith) announces to city council that "women are not physically fit to operate automobiles" (At the risk of reprise from my friends, I contest that most Cincinnatians don't know how to drive!) ;-)
• Natural Bridges Monument forms near Lake Powell, Utah
• The 4th modern day Olympic Games were held in London
• A giant fireball impacts in Siberia (Tunguska Event)
• Bulgaria declaired independence from the Ottoman Empire (Turkey)
• Henry Ford introduced the Model T

She had been on earth for every modern day war that the US has been a part of WWI/WWII/Korea/Vietnam/Iraq, she witnessed passenger air flight morph into aerospace and manned space flight, and the invention of tv/color tv/digital HD tv. Not to mention computers to PC's to the new Notebooks and the I-phone!

She out lived the following people, who were all born that same year:
Amy Vanderbilt
Bette Davis
Edward R. Murrow
Jimmy Stewart
Lawrence Welk
Louis L'Amour
L.B.J.
Milton Berle
Rex Harrison
Robert Morley
Thurgood Marshall
Paul Brown (for you Bengals and Browns fans)
Ethel Merman
Greer Garson
Carole Lombard
Grover Cleveland (He died in 1908, but I thought it was worth noting)

This afternoon we'll be flying back to Missouri to attend the service.

Although we morn her passing, given all that she was a witness to I think we should also celebrate her life!

God speed Ida, I know they've been holding a place in Heaven for you!

Slow, and I mean SLOW Boat to China!

Sorry I haven't written for awhile and I thought I'd try to give a quick update on my situation.

Our illustrious relocation group neglected to get the immigration paperwark to me in order for my work permits to be filed in time to meet my original start date. So I've been delayed now until March 1st.

I've beeen rather busy filling out all of this paperwork , and have actaully started my new project from here. Since the time difference is 13 hours I've had a modified work schedule of making late night phone calls to China, to catch them during their work day, and then come in during my normal work day to close out my current reponsibilities. So since I've sort of been working a double shift which hasn't allowed much time or thought to put into my blogging.

I should be done wrapping up my current role this week and will be switching over to Beijing time for February, and will hopefully be able to get back to a semi-normal schedule which will just be like working 3rd shift. Besides that will help me to be better prepared to hit the road running once I do finally physically land in China.

It's a shame though that I won't be there for the Chinese New Year celebration, which by the way is the Year of the Rat. So for all you Rats out there, Happy New Year!

Wedding in a Winter Wonderland

This past Wednesday (the day after Christmas) we packed up the SUVan and headed for the frozen north (Minnesarctica) to bear witness to our Nephew's (Ben) wedding.

On the way up Lightnin' was able to catch a shot of the Chicago skyline.

Once we arrived in the room I snapped a few shots of the wintry surroundings

Yes, that's a snow blower attached to a Bobcat, clearing a sidewalk!

That is serious winter up there with the high temp at 24F and averaging around 18F during the time of our visit. It was supposed to get even colder after we left. It was pretty, and the wedding was a grand event! The beauty of the church was breathtaking, but of course none of our photos did it justice!

Here's the happy couple, looking as though the weight of their commitment is sort of registering. Or was it just that they were listening to the directions from the photographer?

Here's a much happier couple at the reception

We left the reception a bit early in the evening to return to our room to pack as we were to hit the road for home early the next morning. We had a long, cold drive ahead of us.

Sunrise at the Arctic Circle! (OK not quite, but as close as I'll ever get!) We had already been on the road for about 2 hours at this point and went through patches of freezing fog, which added to the beauty of the scenery. The trees were encased in ice giving them a glass covered appearance.

Back home safe and sound now we can snuggle by the fire and reflect on yet another fun road trip, but first I need to get out there and split some firewood!

Merry Christmas!

We decided to stretch the holiday across both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Last night we had the big feast including: Million Dollar Salad, Mussels, Roast Rack of Lamb, and Potato Balls.

This morning we opened presents, while sipping on Mimosa's!

Tomorrow morning we'll be leaving in the wee hours to go to a wedding in Minnesarctica!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Last night in Beijing (or is that my last morning?)

Going against my better judgement (and you all know her name) I decided to post my thoughts on my last night here in Beijing!

Well I didn't get out of work quite as early as I had hoped, and it is an hour drive back to my hotel (on a good day), so I took what little photos I could while the sun was still up (oh that would be a total of one).
I'll also say that it's nice to know that us Midwesterner's aren't the only one's that use time as a measure of distance when giving directions, it's just that we're a bit more up front with reality. For example when asked how far it is from KC to St. Louis most people will reply: "4 t0 5 hours", not 300 miles. It's not so different here in the PRoC except for the fact that they sugar-coat it just a little. When asked a similar question: "How long does it take to get to the market from here?" You usually get a response like: "10 minutes, without traffic." Which translates to: "Good luck making it there before they close!
I'm trying to figure out just when there's "no traffic"! (You'll see what I mean if you check out the second photo)



Like I said , I did manage to get out in the "sunlight" before the day was over (Believe me, this the sky was brilliant, but I was in a moving vehicle and had the "motion" setting on the camera to try to catch a clear shot),











This is another view from my hotel at around 8:00PM. I think this is what they consider "Without Traffic"! (just count the
red and white dots in the center of the photo and divide by four to get the number of cars on the road) I'm thinking it's close to 10Million! (by the way I was a bit off in my facts the other day. I found out there's over 21 Million people in this city, not the mere 17-18 Million I mentioned the other day). ;-)


I decided to stay close to the hotel this evening because I was tired and I knew I needed to get up early to catch my flight back home so believe it or not I decided to do the touristy thing. Yep, I finally broke down and went to the "Hard Rock Cafe". Hey I've been to countless cities that housed this establishment and have never given it a thought, but I figured if this city took the trouble to string up Christmas lights and play Christmas music this entire week, I might as well give in too!


The neon guitar was cool, but I thought the sign above the door was pretty good! ( See Below; by the way the prices were good and the staff was courteous, and yet engaging).



















By the way, the guards quietly stepped off to the side to avoid being part of this photo (I'm thinking that was a showing of improved tolerance on their part and I did not want to upset them in the least!).






Well only a couple of hours to go and I'll be on a plane back to "The States"!
See you soon Lightnin'!

What Day and Time is it?

This is a beautiful structure that is inside the hotel (of course not too far from the bar). The one thing I've noticed is that there are very extravagant looking designs like this everywhere you go. The the city is a wonderful mix of modern and ancient style.

I had just a moment between meetings so I thought I'd try to get a quick post in.

One of the issues that I have been dealing with this week is that good old internal clock! It was only made worse because of my brief stop in Europe before coming on over here. It's now Noon on Thursday here, but it is only 11PM on Wednesday back home. My body doesn't know what is going on at the moment, and this is only made worse because we have been coming into work before the sun comes up and not leaving until after the sun has gone down. It makes it much easier to fool your internal clock is you can get out into the sunshine, even if only for a few minutes, because your brain will help to convince your body that you are following your natural rhythm, but without that it becomes a constant struggle to stay awake in the afternoon and then to stay asleep at night.

If you've ever seen the movie "Lost in Translation" then you will have seen what I am experiencing at the moment, but hopefully with a bit more restraint than that of Bill Murray's character! ;-)

Hopefully I'll be able to complete work early today and get outside while I can still see the sun, and then also provide a few more photos of this amazing city.

First day in Beijing (Peking to some of you)

I left Brussels by high-speed train to Paris, which is the only way to get there via Air France because they have done away with flights between the two cities. This is actually a blessing in disguise because it was scenic and comfortable. the service is pretty similar too. I wasn't able to share any photos of this trip because of the reflection from the interior lights on the train.

The good thing about flying Air France is the comforts and the food. I was lucky enough to fly on one of the newer Boeing 777's, which was awesome, the ultimate in comfort and smooth flight! The bad thing of course is that you must go through the Paris airport. I detest this place even more than JFK. I have yet to have a pleasant experience traveling through either of those airports!

With that behind me I boarded the 9 hr flight for Beijing. It was relatively uneventful, which is always a good thing when flying. The only issue I had was that I had already switched over to Euro time (6 hrs ahead of EST) and now had to travel into a time zone that would be an additional 7 hrs into the future! I was able to catch about 3 hrs of shut-eye during the flight.

I was greeted by my driver (Mr. Guo) and then began my journey into the city.

This is my first view

Beijing is a city of between 15-17 million people. So this is actually a light traffice day. Tomorrow for you, today for me, I'll experience the real deal.

Once at the hotel I was greeted by a very enthusiastic colleague of mine, enthusiastic because he had spent the previous week here without me (my travel plans changed at the last minute due to circumstances beyond our control which I am not at liberty to discuss). Anyway he was very happy to see me and have a regular conversation with another American and, luckily for me, wanted to show me around (I'll reinforce one of my previous travel tips here. I very much felt like going to bed, but it was only 2:30PM and it's much better to stay up, get outside into the sunlight, and stay there until the sun goes down. It fools your internal clock into switching over faster!). He asked where I wanted to go, and my reply was of course "You tell me!". So off we went!

This is me at Tienanmen Square. You may recall the famous scenes of a brave student standing alone in front of the tanks making a statement against oppression. I can tell you this, after standing here myself I cannot even express my respect for his bravery and willingness to give the ultimate sacrifice for his beliefs!

Here's more shots looking around the square. I'm not sure what these buildings are, but I'll find out over this next year and report back!

We then headed to the Forbidden city. The ticket office was closed so we could only get a few shots from outside, but it was still impressive. I'm sure I'll get another chance to see the inside.

It was cold, and fierce wind was blowing. If you look close you can see the frozen pond behind me.

Just a shot from my hotel, and a few random views.

Christmas in Beijing?!

Prepping for the 2008 Olympics!

Classic city lights

Squid, Octopus, chicken, Pork, and Wood Grubs, It's what's for dinner. Andrew Zimmern and Tony Bordaine eat your hearts ou! ;-)

More to come, but it's off to work for me!

Au Revior to Bruxelles

On Friday night I was able to get down to the Grande Platz to take a few shots of the area all lit up for Christmas. It was absolutely gorgeous and I'm sure that the photos won't truly do it justice.

Then on Saturday I was able to stop by "Leroy's" to have one last Kriek (cherry Lambec) before I had to leave to catch my plane. Brussels has always been, and always will be, one of my favorite cities in the world. The diversity of culture is beyond compare, I'm glad I've had the opportunity to experience it.

Here's a few of the photos:

The tower of records:

They were playing classical music on the GP and the lights changed color and brightness, well choreographed with the music.

Christmas trees on the Grande Platz, by night and day

My Kriek, nothing like a glass of "cherry juice" to start off the day

The view from the upper floor of LeRoy de Espagne ("Leroy's") overlooking the Grand Platz. It was cold, but sunny the day I left.

Onward to Beijing, and the People's Republic of China!

Bonjour from Bruxelles (day 2)

Last night I was invited to a dinner that my host was throwing for all of his friends that went through the MBA program together. It was a fantastic mix of cultures, conversation, food, and drink! I was dropped off at my hotel about 4 hours before the dinner was to start, so I had time to take a shower and then walk around the town a bit to take in some of the festive atmosphere.

They had set up a Christmas Village just off of the Grande Platz and it was awesome! Here's a few photos that I'll share:

I'm not sure what the dragon had to do with Christmas, but this thing was huge. It was about 1 story tall and close to an entire city block long (although I was informed that they do not measure distance here by blocks, which is understandable because that distance can range greatly from street to street). It was animated so that it appeared to be breathing, and would roar with each exhale!

This is the Christmas Village. I tried to get a couple of shots showing the lights, the crowds, and the huge well lighted ferris wheel in the distance.

This is one of Lightnin's favorite establishments! It was well lit for the holiday's too.

This is my host, Sergio. I can only get an action photo of him because, well if you ever meet him you'll understand!

His place is a 3000sqft split level loft, and the photos do not do the place justice. You have to take an elevator which opens directly into his great room so that everyone gets to make a dramatic entrance. What a fun evening!

Tonight we will be meeting more of the project folks, and hopefully my good friend Henry, around the Grande Platz. Maybe I can talk them into stopping at "Leroy's" for a quick beer (sort of a tradition of mine whenever I'm over here).

You need to understand that we put in long, stressful, high energy days, but as they say: "Work hard, play harder!"

Bruxelles in Winter

Well I made it in safe and sound. I was able to get about 3 hours of sleep on the plane, and came straight to work. It's a good thing that my host is wanting to leave a bit early today though because I'm beginning to fade. I noticed that I have lost what little math skills I did have by finding myself stumped with simple unit conversion questions that I could normally solve in my head. Espresso is a wonderful thing! ;-)

I found out that my hotel of choice this trip is located right near the Grand Platz and that the palce should be decked out in Christmas fair, complete with a huge lighted tree. I'll try ot get some photos tonight and tomorrow night so I can share them.

Bonjour for now!

Around the world in 9 Days!

Today I hit the road once again, this trip will be a true test of my stamina. I head for Bruxelles, Belgium for 3 days and then from there to Beijing, China for the next 6.

This will be my first trip to the People's republic so I'm completely stoked! I've packed the camera so I hope I have some good weather and a few hours of downtime somewhere along the trip to take some photos. I'll try to post them when I can.

Hasta Luego, bis spator, (insert "see you later" in Mandrin here)