The Occidental Tourist(s)

Ni Hau! that means Hello in Mandarin and so completes the third leg of our journey and begins our year in Shanghai, China. I am writing this from my laptop, nestled comfortably in our hotel, the JW Marriott, in Shanghai, China! Just a note, I have not found a website in my book of favorites that I can not access with ease. The Great Firewall of China has not impinged on us whatsoever yet.

Briefly, we started in Tampa, then hopped up to NYC for three days, then across the pond to London, England for a week of Christmas holiday, and then buckled up for an eleven hour plane ride across all of Europe including Germany, Russia and Mongolia until touching down in Shanghai's Pu Dong airport yesterday at 9am in the morning.

There is so much to write about NYC I have tried to put as much detail in the pics of our visit because I could blog for days and nights about how beautiful and energetic and friendly NYC is these days!

It has been 25 years since I was a young sailor stationed on a Royal Air Force base (RAF Edzell) located innocuously at the foot of the Scottish Highlands, where from me and Kevin and Haj would jump on a train Thursday evening after we got off day watch and roll a quick eight hours down to London for the weekend. Ah, London. One of my most cherished memories is pulling Tug O' War (the National sport in Scotland second only to drinking) in front of 70,000 screaming Londoner's in Earl's Court as we beat the Royal Navy right in front of the Royal Family - Princess Di, Prince Charles, the King and Queen of England - they were all there - mouths agape. Just as I can't pull tug of war anymore, London too has changed in dramatic ways. It is certainly the most modern of cities I've seen in decades - stark, almost sterile with it's glistening glass and cold steel architecture overpowering the old, warm wood of the London I remember. I was pleased to see both and I enjoyed the new London just as much as the old - Bravo!

It's great to finally be here and we are roaming the city today, looking for not only a cool event for New Year's Eve, but jobs and a place to live for the next year...

And for all of you who enjoy and miss Jenny's sense of humor and incredible dance skills, here is a quick video of her as we wait to hail a cab and head out to Picadilly Circus, London, England.


Zaijian (Goodbye, for now)

The Adventure Begins...

It's done and we are on the road.

Jenn and I eventually managed to get all of our lives packed into a 30 x 10 storage cube, turned her car back into the Mercedes dealer (ended her SLK 350 lease), put the motorcycle up on a 2-ton jack, and packed our lives into four bulging suitcases and headed out of Tampa last Friday. Like any good adventure, it just happened to be snowing in NYC so we spent 7 hours at the airport waiting to take off. Finally got to NYC Friday evening and have spent the last three days running around the city having a blast while being blasted in the face with temperatures between 17 last night and 4 this morning - and that is w/o the windchill.

The last several weeks have been nerve wracking and exhilirating at the same time. The nerves have been bludgeoned from the staggering amount of organization and details that have to be taken care of - then multiply these by 2x if you decide to travel with your best friend. But it really all comes down to decisions and priorities. You step back and unearth every "thing" you own and simply choose what to take in your luggage for a year in another country, what to give/sell/throw away, and/or what to put into storage until you get back to the USA. I won't go into all the logistics like communications, leases, insurance, immunizations, contracts, visas, passports, bills, etc...but once all that is done and you finally zip up your carry-on and load everything into the back of a pickup for your ride to the airport, an exiliration may flood over you as it did me when I realized this was indeed a big moment. In a matter of months I had assessed everything and everyone I love in one way or another, and reorganized my entire life. I felt accomplished, sentimental, and deliriously lighter, untangled, and yes - untethered.

It was rougher for Jennifer, but I will let her describe her own feelings about the process when she posts here.

Today we are headed to JFK to fly out over the pond to London this evening, leave at 6 and get to London at 6 tomorrow morning.

Merry Christmas!

A Week on the Road

Just got back home after traveling for over a week saying goodbye to family and friends. We got to say goodbye to my side of the family tree, try out our new luggage and electronics, along with the joy of seeing everybody one last time before heading over to Shanghai on December 18th.

The fun started Friday night with a Triple Threat Party - a going away party for me and Jennifer, a birthday party for Curtis, and another friend Carrie was also having a birthday. Curtis reserved the Fly bar and restaurant here in Tampa which not only has a great bar scene downstairs along with amazing food, they also have one of the only rooftop bars in the city. After some really delicious food, we headed up to the rooftop to party under the Tampa moon in what turned out to be a very chilly evening for this time of year. Overall it was a great night and I was able to 'casually' smuggle in half a case of Moet & Chandon so we could all say goodbye, and happy birthday, in style. I've lived in Tampa for 14 years and the last 5 have been some of the best of my life - thank you all my friends!

The next day we packed up our luggage, and splitting headaches, and hopped in the rental SUV and drove all day to Atlanta to spend some time with my Dad and brothers and family. Eating being one of our favorite activities, Saturday night Tim introduced us to the nation's only South African restaurant, Ten Degrees South, specializing in fusion of French, Portuguese, Dutch, German, and Malaysian, all with Mediterranean influences.


Sunday, Tommy and Nicki opened up their home for a bbq and after an afternoon of thick steaks, grilled corn, mashed 'taters, grilled squash, and brownies(!), we spent the evening talking about hopes and dreams and finished the day off with a competitive game of Cranium. I haven't seen my Dad since he had quad bypass so it was great spending time with him and catching up.

On Monday we packed up again and spent another day in the car driving to my Mom's house in the tiny town of Courtland, Virginia (population 1,900). We ended up having a family reunion of sorts as I flew my two daughters, Aubrey and Carley, into Virginia from up north in NY and Vermont, along with both my sisters and their families, and my brother Tim all coming into town for several days to enjoy Thanksgiving.

Saturday we shuffled Aubrey and Carley back up north and Jenny and I drove a different route home which led us through Savannah for the evening of rainy bar hopping before driving all day yesterday in the driving rain and traffic until we made it home last night back to Tampa.

It was great seeing the people we care about for the last time before leaving, but I am going to miss my family and friends more than I can describe here. A good English major would have a pithy quote for these moments, but I don't. Instead I have the double-edged sword of irony driving into my heart as I look ahead towards an exciting adventure in a far away land, while holding myself painfully still so I can pull my daughters closer to me and promise them I will see them again soon. Ten years in the military and two divorces does not make saying goodbye to your kids any easier. For me, or them.

More or Less Risk?

After two days of wrangling and tossing and turning at night, our contact, Jimmie Schramm (thanks, Jimmie!) over at the Infectious Disease Center of Tampa Bay lessened our stress levels this morning.

It seems that the manufacturer of the Japanese Encephelitus immunization is no longer making the shot available to the public. Jimmie verified this with the Department of Health that it is no longer available and they confirmed that if for some acute reason we needed it then we would need to contact the manufacturer directly and fill out a pound of paperwork. Jimmie even called the Center for Disease Control to verify this.

So even if we wanted to get the shot as a precaution it is no longer available.

Now I feel better about not taking the chance on getting any of those nasty reactions, but what are the chances we will contact JE over in China? Can anyone say Deet 30%?

Stay tuned for more hijinx and adventure!

My Kinda Town...

There are so many appealing things about Chicago that I contemplated moving there after my last divorce back in 2002 - it's an amazing city and if you haven't been lately - it just gets better and better! Even more appealing now is that we get to visit Jennifer's brother and sister, David and Susan, and tour the city with local folks.

Friday night David and I snuck over the border and hit the poker room at Binion's Horseshoe. Saturday had football, shopping, and then an incredible steak over where Frank Sinatra used to hold court; Gene & Georgetti's. We took in the Shedd Aquarium and laughed for hours as Katheryn entertained us with song and dance and general five year old craziness.

Last weekend was the last visit for a while and like always David, Donna, Susan, and Princess Kathryn showed us a great time with the ubiquitious biting cold, some sleet and rain, and even a dusting of snow Friday night - great xmas weather!

Thank you Bevan's for a wonderful weekend and we are going to miss you guys terribly over the next year or so..:(

A Booster of Anxiety

As Jenn and I were grinding our way through the drive-thru line at Starbucks this morning, we were wondering just exactly how dangerous is it, medically-speaking, to move to China and live there and explore the country for a year? After spending the next few hours at the Infectious Disease Associates of Tampa Bay medical center for travelers, we agreed that, in a word: plenty.

The CDC calls China a developing nation in the lower half of the world's economies where the summers are generally hot and humid and winters are cold in all non-tropical areas. A high level of medical care can be received in Beijing. Everywhere else provides what they refer to as 'adequate' (meaning not up to industrialized country standards) and you can get this in Shanghai (fortunately!), and three other major cities. Shortages of routine meds and supplies are common and it is suggested we get adequate evacuation coverage as a high priority.

Here is what is recommended for us since we are living, working, and will be exploring the country for more than a few weeks:

Hepatitus A | Typhoid | Hepatitus B | Japanese Encephalitis | Tick-borne Encephalitis | Rabies | Influenza | Tetanus/diptheria | Measles | Pneumococcal | Polio | Varicella

There is also the malaria and the everpresent traveler's diarrhea to consider, along with the worldwide alert about Melamine-contaminated dairy products and the Avian influenze (bird flu).

All this and they also say we are not allowed to swim in lakes or streams because bad organisms will swim into 'openings' and things get very ugly.

Intrepid travelers that we are, we are still joking with each other about the joys of eating street food when our doctor briefs on Japanese Encephelitis. Suddenly, it is time to sober up.

Basically, (JE) means swelling of the brain and it's spread, like malaria, through mosquitoes. Mild infections cause fever and headache, severe infections cause death - in 1 out of 4 cases. Those are LOUSY odds.

Our anxiety for the day is tweaked when we learn the risks of simply getting the immunization shot:

About 1 in 5 has soreness, redness, or swelling at shot location...no problem there.

About 1 in 10 has fever, headache, muscle pain, cramps, rash, chills, nausea/vomiting, dizziness...nothing worse than an evening of watching Lou Dobbs - we're still good.

And, less than .5% have severe reactions. What's severe? It's a live vaccine so in these cases the patient actually develops Japanese Encephalitis. Rash, swelling of throat, hands, feet, breathing difficulty, hoarsness, hives, neurological complications. Oh, and the kicker - there is no treatment for JE.

Now I don't mind shots, and Jenn is a pharmacist and she is certified to provide immunizations now - but the JE shot has us more than a little freaked out. Out of all the others, this is a precautionary shot that I wish we did not need, but no matter how we look at it, we do.

So we are scheduled to get the shot tomorrow. It has to be given within two weeks of leaving on our trip so we can seek immediate medical attention if we have any negative reactions. Hopefully if I do have a reaction I can continue to type...:)

Tickets in Pocket

Six weeks left. Still.

We are a bit giddy these days. Jennifer made an appointment with a brick and mortar travel agent thinking we could find some great deals using a professional. Uh, that apparently doesn't happen anymore. Even with an appt. she waited half an hour only to be frustrated enough that at one point Jennifer simply asked him politely if he had even heard of the internet (after he quoted us a round trip price that was almost twice what we had found)? So we ended up jumping in ourselves and after a long evening and a great bottle of wine, we ended up purchasing all of our tickets over the internet using Orbitz, British Airways (amazingly efficient customer service), Hotels.com, and a few sites like TripAdvisor and CondeNast Traveler.

We booked our entire trip over the internet, including hotels, but we aren't leaving until Thursday, December 18th, so we will be here in the USA an extra week. No problem there. We are flexible and getting more flexible every day it seems. The trip has morphed from a straight shot from Tampa to Shanghai to what is now another adventure! We start in Tampa then fly to NYC for a long weekend at Dream, then we're breaking up the haze-inducing route by flying across the pond to spend the week of Christmas in London. I used to live in Scotland (in the early 80's!) and hit London on the weekends, but Jenn has never been so we are excited about the sites in this cosmopolitan city. After several days in London we figure we will be refreshed enough to face the last leg of our journey that takes us to Pudong airport, Shanghai, China, and an evening of luxury as we spend our first night at JW Marriott. Out of only a handful of Five-star hotels in this magnificent city, one night at JW Marriott is less than spending an evening on the Gulf of Mexico here in Clearwater, Florida in a Three-star hotel! The prices in Shanghai already have us grinning with anticipation! We just can't pass this value up for our first night in our new city.

Our other plans are coming along nicely. My last day at PricewaterhouseCoopers was last week and although I will really miss that company, this frees up some much needed time to continue to check items off our long list of things to do before leaving. We have managed to have some fun amongst the chaos over the past few weeks including seeing Games 1 & 2 of the World Series against the Phillies (Go Rays!). There was also a Halloween Party at a local South Tampa joint (Wild Wings) as well as our annual Guavaween Celebration krewe parade here in Ybor City, Tampa. This was my last parade as a member of Brigadoon and here's a toast to all my krewe members - Cheers!!

Take a look at a few pics, here

Last weekend found us at Jennifer's Mom's home down in Bonita Springs where we got to win a little $$ at the greyhound track (Win, Place or Show seems pretty easy to pick..:), and even got a day of fishing in on a perfect Saturday (thanks, Jack). After a quick drive back home Sat evening we scooted over to a house warming for my friend Brad and I even got one last round of golf in on Sunday which turned out to be embarrassing since I haven't played in several years, but catching up with friends these days is more exciting than ever.

This week finishes up with a weekend trip up to Chicago to see Jennifer's brother and his family along with her vivacious sister, Susan, and I've been promised a night of poker on the gambling boats, along with the ubiquitous xmas shopping and festivities. If you haven't been, Chicago is an impressive city and so much more so when they decorate for the Christmas season! Gorgeous.

Happy Holidays.

The Weekly Countdown has Begun

Six weeks.

In six short weeks Jennifer and I will be will be on our way to Shanghai, China, by way of NYC. The dream of living, working, and exploring China for at least a year is becoming reality. My heart is thumping deeply as I write this, knowing that what I've been dreaming of and planning since early 2005 is happening.

Although I really do enjoy the planning stages, for my trip to Spain where me my friend Mark Bishop ran with the bulls in Pamplona I almost could not sleep for the entire week leading up to our flight highlighted with nightmares of being trampled by the beasts, this China trip has taken longer and overall been much better organized and an eerie calm has overtaken me most of the time now.

It would be silly to detail everything that we've accomplished so far in preparation for our move but the last big piece was put into place last week as I solemnly sat down and told the best manager I've ever had, Maureen W., about the opportunity and our decision to move - and she surprised me with her excitement! I can not say enough great things about my company, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and I will miss them terribly. Two weeks notice is in, Jennifer hasn't worked in several months which has been a tremendous help, and we are shopping for airline tickets as I write this. So, no, there is no way we are not going now.

Of course my head is spinning and instead of journaling now I'm blogging, so here's what's happening today, Friday, October 31, Halloween, Tampa, Florida, 2008. In the brief time we have before we leave we have to pack both our homes into storage, give away what we are not taking with us or keeping, and handle the details of my home and Jennifer's home. In two weeks my brother is coming into town for a weekend visit, then the next two weeks have us driving to Atlanta (with a cat, Leo) to visit my Dad (first time for Jennifer which will be nerve-wracking) and brother Tommy, then driving on to Virginia to spend Thanksgiving with my mom and family including flying my two daughters Aubrey and Carley down from New England for the week for a quasi-reunion. After Thanksgiving we will be visiting Jennifer's family in Bonita Springs and then possibly a trip up to Chicago to see her brother, David, and family. Then, finally, home until the 15th of December where we will fly up to NYC to spend a long weekend and then catch the flight to Shanghai. All this traveling will warm us up for moving around lean and light as the few final anchors mooring us to the USA are pulled up and cast aside.

We are planning on blogging the whole trip in detail and I've recently purchased a new Gateway laptop, xtra memory sticks, two external hard drives, a nikon digital camera, a bag for traveling with all this gear, wire-mesh bag for security, and there is still lots more to get. We are hoping to put video on the blog also along with written postings so our friends and family can experience what we are going through too.

It's Halloween tonight and there is a party to attend where we can say goodbye to some of our friends, which will be fun! This weekend we are applying for our international driver's license, shopping for winter clothes (it gets very cold in Shanghai and we've been in Florida for a looong time), and I've got a golf tournament with my buddy Curtis that will provide another great time and more opportunities to say goodbye....

Prost!

Transitions of the mind and spirit...

That's it. We've made our decision, together.

We are getting rid of, and getting out from under all (except where absolutely necessary) material possessions, paying off all our debt (except for those pesky student loans), getting new jobs in completely new professions, and moving overseas to spend a year living and working in China as English teachers.

Insane? Brilliant? Enlightening? Madness? Idiocy?

Our material possessions include two nicely appointed homes, two luxury cars, a super-sweet Harley Davidson softail, several bicycles, computers, a finicky cat named Leo Tolstoy, and of course all of the abundance of just plain crap that makes living in the hungriest monster of mass consumerism on the planet, livable. What we don't sell on ebay and Craig's List we are giving away to friends and family. It's my wish to have nothing except the few items I would save if my house were on fire and I can choose what I want to give to the people I love. I'm planning on filling a U-Haul and driving it to Mom's and dropping it off with her until I return, which right now seems about five years away. Pepper is struggling with what to do with her house and belongings and she will need to decide soon. The clock is ticking loudly now.

I know he didn't coin it, but as Tyler Durden put it in Fight Club, "The stuff you own, owns you."

The big picture mantra for us both is now, "We will be drinking champagne in China on January 1st, 2009." The little picture, well, looks more like a kalaidescope of thousands of tiny, sparkling, swirling bulleted items on a long list. It is completely overwhelming when I visualize selling everything and moving to a foreign country, not to visit, but to live and use it as a jumping off point for more years of adventure. The sheer opportunity of being that 'free' takes my breath away.

I/we will be spending the next few weeks filling in this blog with some background so our small audience can get a good idea of where we are in the process and a little about how we got here, Pepper and I. But we both agree that this blog is just a great way to keep in touch with family and friends who are interested in where we are, what we are doing, and especially to know that we are safe and thriving.

I've been writing professionally since 1990 as a technical writer and have over seventy-five guides, manuals, and books published in a dozen languages throughout five continents - but this is my first blog. I've been journaling for almost a decade but nobody has ever read it but me and until now I have never even considered writing anything like a blog, never felt the need, but now I feel differently about blogging because it seems like an incredible tool that we both can use.

This will be our dynamic postcard to those we care about and we will try to make it as personal and real as our travels. So now there will be a transition, from my mundane ramblings in a journal to the open source and baring of the soul on the internet. I'm going to take it slow, feel it out and see how it goes. In the meantime, I will get Pepper on board and up and writing too and in a few weeks we will both be prolific.

Our minds are made up, our spirits will follow.

Chomping at the Bandana

Want to begin writing here because things are starting to move forward but of course, not as quickly as I would like...the housing market here in Tampa is dismal, unless you are an investor - then things are glorious. Folks are putting their homes on the market and investors are offering them half of the asking price to begin negotiations. Half! I'm not going through that, especially frustrating because I'm a realtor, and it's just not worth the hassle yet (I guess I'm just not frustrated enough yet..;)

So I'm in the process of making all the updates and improvements to my home before I put it on the market which I'm hoping will give the market time to get better, at least several months. A lot will depend on who our next president is of course, but even a change in our executive branch will not be able to bring back the housing market quickly...it could be until the end of 2009 before prices rise back up to where they were several years ago - before the overinflated housing market began its meteoric rise...I will do the best I can fixing up my home and hope for the best....