Email to the guys from China

Nihow, wo shi menguren, boukway sho jung when wo gi do wo shi mingz shi A li ck

That means "Hello I am American, I do not speak chinese, but I know my name is Alec" This is my sentence. Its a pretty cool icebreaker. Not that I really need one over here. I think Chinese people, or at least the girls have a pretty scewed perspective on what a movie star looks like. I say that cause every girl i've met has said I look like a really famous star. Maybe its the beard. Jimmy the Factory liason for Salix (the company we work with) He doesn't speak English, but he calls me Baby Face. At first i was confused because I have a beard which is as far from a baby's face you can get. But latley I think it means I am attractive. I think this because everytime I get a massage (which is often - last night i got a full body...No Rob not that full...I named the girl Helga, because i felt this was the house of pain, she basically massaged every nerve ending in my body instead of actual muscles. I think i was tighting my entire body whenever she'd throw the elbow into some type of tendon or spot you aren't suppose to jab things into. It was pretty weird too when she started massaging my butt. I kid you not, not like the middle flabby part - but like the sides and bottom. At one point I think she pretty well cupped my lower left cheek completely. That was awkward) annnnnyways Jimmy calls me Baby Face to all the girls that are there, which is alot, and they all look 16, then again two nights ago I asked one girl her age...she was 28 :0 well he calls me baby face and the girls laugh or rather giggle. I think giggle more appropiately describes the situation.

I am still sick :( at first I was trying to polietly hide my coughs. I know how germaphobic they are here. But not I just hack up a lung and spit it in the closest garbage. I am tired of being sick, i don't care if they stare at me with they mouths wide open in disgust. Haha i was on the way to the factory this morning when i coughed up a particularly large amount of phlegm (don't you just love writing that word) and rolled down the window to spit. Now you have to understand China roadways are crazy, nobody signals, nobody gives right of way, its basically "if i have a bigger vechile, MOVE" this includes people walking, on bikes, on scooters, on motorcycles, in cars, in trucks, in vans, in buses, in big trucks etc etc. Well i rolled down the window and this guy on a scooter up coming up on the right and I spit the....pphhllleegggmmmm......

out right in front of him. He totally swerved out of its path and just stared at me. Thats the interesting thing about chinese people and road rage. It doesn't exist. They use their horn way more then we do. Here I will count how many times I hear it from the factory office (4th floor) in 10 seconds......1 2 3 4 55555555 6 7 - the 5th horn was held down. But they don't get made, nobody rolls down and cusses - not that I would know what a chinese cuss word sounds like. But they totally honk with faces of calm emotion. Really weird.

Anyways - writing this email was a good break. I spent two hours today taking footage with different cameras of a brick wall. Honestly. That was my day. So this is a pleasant break. I miss you guys and can't wait to come home...really...i can't wait. I am bummed to have missed out on everything, especially the party, but thanks for putting me up on the computer (and keeping me there - Karl) Curt convinced me you left that freezed frame on the TV in the living room. Gosh. Anyways I'll be home this Saturday at the earliest and next wednesday at the latest, thus is the life of China, can't work on schedules.

Mucho lovo, am praying for you all, and am appreciating all of the praying you guys are doing for me.

Love piece and chicken greese (suiting cause all I eat here is chicken)

Later,
Alec


PS. Also worth mentioning I have an official girlfriend here. He name is Ju-dong-lee. She is a hostess at the massage place, she is 18. I just found this out as she apparently texted Jimmy requesting to hang out with me tonight since she isn't working....Don't worry. I will decline. Tempting...actually NOT AT ALL HA! see you guys

Time Traveler's Wife

So I am sitting in the Narita Airport in Tokoyo Japan. I'm getting on a plane to Shanghai in less than an hour and I am super tired. Its something like 1am back home. I am not too sure right now.

Anyways - I watch the movie The Time Travelers Wife just before we landed here. Alot of that movie is sticking with me and I am processing it pretty thoroughly. Just wanted to write down my thoughts;

1. Having a love of your life. How often this is the theme to any good story or movie. A sole individual whom you've known for the bulk of your life and fall deeply in love with and pursue happiness with them despite insurmountable odds. I wish life was like this. It becomes really easy to become captivated by this idea and examine my own life. At 24 years into it and I know with all the most certainly that I have not met the love of my life, let alone met anyone that could come close to her. The task at hand, is to take it all with perspective and look forward to the time I do get to spend with her, whenever that is.

2. The movie really has reinforced my belief and desire for a family. I don't believe I'll be anywhere near a having a family when I meet my wife, however the desire for it..at some point in life...is there. The picture of a family, of a home, of love, of unity, or intimacy. Its one I want. More then any job, career, money, fame, or experience I could ask for.

3. The severity of the desire for the second item brings me to the third. Death. What is it like to loose the one you've loved, in one way or another for your entire life? Where is one left when they are gone. Alot of my head tells me my faith in God and Christ. However in this moment, i am scared. Scared of one day loving a girl, a family enough to have to risk the chance of one day living in a world without them. Its a pain, a loss I hope to never feel. I have never been around death, never lost someone close to me, perhaps this is why I am fearing it so much. I don't know what it will be like. The fear of the unknown.

I'm scared to love someone with all of my being, beyond all reason and logic, beyond doubt, insecurity, indeed any deterrent this world has to offer. Someone who by all means will never fully belong to me, and may be taken away at any moment. But I firmly believe that this cannot deter me from loving them. A life without love is terrible.

Lightning in the Face!

Last night was a most amazing evening.

It was roughly 11:30pm, the housemates had all tucked themselves away into bed and I, being a facebook addict, was up a bit later than anyone else. Well the hour rolled around and I left for the long treck to bed.

First stop, the always important teeth brushing exercise in the 2nd floor bathroom. This is where the night gets interesting...

So there I am brushing away, to the left of the mirror is a window pointing towards the SouthWest. Out of my peripheral vision I see the fattiest lightning bolt blast through the sky! Being a physics major I quickly open the window and count the seconds until I hear the thunder. HMMM roughly 6 miles away, not bad I say. I shoot a quick text message out to a friend and return to the window. This time my head fully extruding into the bitter outdoor weather.

Suddenly
white flash
bang
shaking
fire

I literally witnessed, that is to say I freaking SAW a lightning bolt blast a tree across our alley. No more than 25 feet away from my current location. Needless to say this scared the beejeszess out of me! I started hyperventalating and started screaming into the house! All my housemates flew out of their rooms, half naked, thinking I had been shot!

What followed was a two minute period in which we decided whether or not the tree was on fire. As there was a fiery glow protruding from the middle of the tree. Not to mention embers floating into the air!

We decided it was and I called 911 and reported this awesome event! While on the phone - this is the bizzarre part which I assume many in Seattle can confirm - it started hailing and raining extremely hard! The windows blew up and us, being half naked, caught quite off guard.

All-in-all the firetruck came, I showed them the tree, which at this point was no longer glowing. But better safe then sorry. Spectacular night, mother nature flexing her muscles, or (mother with muscles - not sure I like that metaphor) you get the idea.

Glad my head wasn't the tree. That is for sure. AMAZING, love life.

China - Third Time is a Charm. Give my regards to Hell week

It is approximately 12:43am on a Sunday night. There are two rockstars and a pizza pocket next to me.

Its been hell week. Our company is launching our brand new 1080p camera and this means its needs to be S*&# tested out of it. Hey who tests stuff here? Oh wait me. It started with Friday. 32 hours of testing later I find myself sitting in the office on this magical evening.

I've got a good 5 more hours left to punch out. Luckily it will be roughly 6am at that point. So I can head home and sleep. For like 5 minutes before I grab my bags and drive to the airport. Thats right ladies and gentlemen, I am flying out in around eight hours to China. This will be my much anticipated third trip to the wonderfully quaint city of ShenZhen. If you know the city, you know the words wonderful and quaint DO NOT describe it. Shame

I'll be overseas for a week kicking some Chinese tail (not raciest) into building and testing this puppy correctly.

Here is to a evening of no sleep and six hour layover in Vancouver BC.

Catch you in a week.

The occasional regular, but not explicityly expected update

The following is a subtle and short list of recent happens, events, scenarios, and experiences that I have had the great pleasure in acquainting recently;

Spent a week in California with extended Family
Half Ironman race is one week away
Just discovered Mousse for my hair
Received a raise for being a manny (male nanny)
Improved on my swimming - Feeling more and more comfortable in water
Realized Jordan Sparks sings that song love being a battlefield
Learned how to make a quick and simple yet surprisingly good fruit crisp
Was reminded that I STILL don't understand what a pun is
Dressed up for work on a Friday
Spent 10+ minutes shopping for a wedding present - most I have ever done
Left store with cheap artistic solution
Now have less than a day to complete it
Finally finished buying birthday presents for brothers ( July 30th and August 27th)
Ran in the rain!
Took my shirt off
Showed off my hair chest to other runners
Realized my heart rate monitor strap looks like a bra from behind
Was hit in the eye by a water balloon thrown by roommate in second floor.
Balloon did not pop
Eye still hurts
Was so bored at work that I spent an entire morning watching movie trailers and youtube videos
Morning ended with a redundant and transparent attempt to share life by listing recent events
on blog page.


Thanks for reading!

Sunset Hike on Mt. Si

I decided halfway through the day that I wanted to see the sunset from Mount Si. As being in my nature I still decided to go when nobody wanted to come with.

I thought I would post some of the photos from the hike. They are quite wonderful

Dissapearing

My little cousin Mikayla was in town yesterday. It was absolutely without a doubt a beautiful day. We went to greenlake and walked around a bit, sat on a bench and just chatted for a couple hours.

She asked me a interesting question during that time, "would you rather be able to fly or become invisible?"

I quickly replied that I would want to fly - without a second thought I passed the conversation off as another reason why I love her.

I was thinking about that question last night, as I layed on my bed getting ready for sleep. Above my bed is a world map, its filled with tacks, each one marking a place I want...will visit next year.

What's it look like to disappear? Try leaving to travel the world for a few years. Am I discontent with my life? Am I trying to escape something? Am I skipping out on responsibility, and I tucking tail and running. Am I being a terrible friend/son/brother? These questions ran through my head last night, and in deed today.

No

Sometimes you have to leave to gain perspective. I intend to leave with the intention of coming back, that must say something.

I try to disappear. Yes. But I do it for the sake of what my family, my friends, my life needs - an adventure to invigorate my soul, my faith, my belief that the Lord has so much more for me. Life abundant.

After all if you can't see me, that's when you dream, you imagine, you pray, you believe in the same adventure.