Damn...

No I did not fall off the face of the earth, it just felt like it.  Been a bit crazy of late, hopefully I will have that fixed soon and I can start playing catch-up.

It takes an intelligent man to be spectacularly stupid

I suppose I could start with excuses here, but I won't.  After three days of bouncing back and forth I finally landed in the home of a dear friend that will be my base here in the SF Bay Area.  It has become normal when I do this kind of relocation to pack a lot of stuff; two large suitcases, a carry on, my laptop bag, and my CPAP.  Oh, and my hat, jacket, water bottle, and whatever book I am reading.  I need a personal porter.

So, when I finally landed here in Oakland (that is an important point) I was tired of lugging this crap around.  And that is when I got stupid.  You know where this is going right?  Yeah.  I left stuff in the truck over night on the street in Oakland.  So in a simple smash and grab some individual walked off with my laptop bag.  Laptop, backup HD, and camera...  all gone.  And to add insult to injury, they looked thru the clothes and such in the other bags, and left them.

The big loss, as always, is the data.  Pictures, documents, etc.  I believe I have a backup on the HD in Seattle.  But it will be awhile before I am up there again.  Damn.

So off to a new foreign country...

 California.  Another fun and interesting project, a tunnel for a water main.  One long basically flat, basically straight tunnel.  Now one might question the sanity of getting in a 3.5 mile long, 10 foot diameter tube up to 750 feet underground directly adjacent to the Hayward Fault.  If that is one of you folks reading this, let me know what you get for an answer.

The good news is I have already been to hospitals in California so I can skip that whole part of my working out of town experience.  I wasn't really enjoying it much anyway.

It will be good to see some friends, enjoy some of the things I miss about the Bay Area, and be reminded why the move to Seattle was such a good idea.

Things I have learned so far...

Now there is no way this could be a complete list, but since it is the start of the year I thought I would cover some of the things I have learned so far.  So, in no particular order:

Having what you need is very important.  So is needing what you have.

Beauty is as hard to define as love.  You know it when it is there, but it is hard to describe to someone else.

Having a village is important.

Having the right tools for the job is important.  Not having the right tools does not make the job impossible.

Nigerian Pepper Soup is really good.

Chopsticks (kuài zi) are one of the most useful kitchen tools ever.

I have been mispronouncing Chow Mein my entire life.  Oh, and Chow Mein noodles is redundant.  Kind of like software programs.

Nigerian women need to teach the rest of the world's women how to walk.  It is an art.

Prejudice is human nature, overcoming that is civilization.

Maggi is for lazy cooks.   Yeah, I used a lot of it.

To really understand a people or a culture, you have to work at it.  Everything you think you know when you start is probably wrong.  But if you are open and truly interested, people are will to show you.

Never let a politically motivated person stand behind you, and if you have no choice, watch the cutlery.

I don't bounce.  Not even a little.  Damn.

The great food I had in the little shops on Changxing Dao made me regret I never got the opportunity to try little shops in Nigeria.

At some point I have to go to India.

And, for all its faults, the US is a really nice place to live.

New Years Eve

It has been an interesting year, not the best year I ever had, but far from the worst.  Made some new friends, caught up with some old ones, and learned a few things along the way.  The weather outside is crisp and cold, really pleasant so long as you aren't working in it. 

I expect the New Year will bring more challenges and discoveries.  I am looking forward to it.  After all I did get the almond in the Risgrynsgröt.

Shanghai Survey Truck

Now those that have been patiently following along know how much I loved the CalTrans approved Shanghai Team Survey truck.  And since maintenance is a vital part of survey operations I thought I would introduce our factory authorized service representative:

He is the guy on the right.  The tent with the cheerful red and blue strips is both his shop and his home.  For various reasons we would see him about once a week, usually for a flat tire, but occasionally for some other tweak or fix.  He always wore a smile.  He most certainly overcharged the lao wài (foreigners), we didn't mind.   Never did learn his name.

Not sure who the woman is, but she really wanted to be in the picture.    Notice the bright red box in the background?  In that box is $40,000 worth of survey equipment.  Security never said a word to us about carrying it back and forth through the gate.  These being the same guys that randomly roust workers as they pass, searching through the papers in the baskets of their bikes and such.  China.

Meet Suzi and Yu

Meet Suzi and Yu.  These two charming young women are part of the new face of China.  Recent college graduates (a college education is a precious thing in China) they are just starting their careers.  Like most of their peers they have a strong desire to learn and practice English.  So we struck a bargain, they could practice their English with me and in turn they would help me with my Chinese and show me their China.  It worked out really well and I wish I had stayed longer to take more advantage of it.  The most interesting thing wasn't the differences, but the similarities.  People really are just people, the same hopes, fears, and dreams.