First Night in Shanghai

Yesterday I woke up, worked out and went for a hike. I hiked down to the big reservoir which I had hiked to nearly 6 months ago. This time the reservoir was nearly empty due to lack of rain. Not nearly as pretty, but still a great view. I then decided to walk around the mountain and eventually hook up to the trail that goes behind our old Repulse Bay apartment. This ended up being a great plan as I spent a nice, warm morning getting some nice exercise and talking to my family from the trail.

In the evening I attended the reception of one of our employees here in Hong Kong. There were several people from work, so I knew I would have someone to talk to. I realized that wedding receptions all around the globe appear pretty much the same: boring. We were served one of the 15 or so course meals that I still can't get used to. It's no wonder I gain weight here. How do the locals stay so thin??? It ended up being a late evening. There were plans to go to Lan Kwai Fang, but I passed.

Today I woke up and went to church. I found our regular chapel empty upon arrival and thought maybe I had the wrong time. But I was informed that church was on the 4th floor today instead of the 1st floor. It was good to see people again and the talks were wonderful as usual.

But what I had been waiting for all weekend - indeed all week - was to get on the plane and fly to Shanghai. I am here. I am staying at the Shangri La Hotel, which is very nice. I arrived pretty late as it took nearly an hour to get here form the airport. On the way back I will take the maglev train - which I would have done to get here, but one of our other employees was on the same flight and she wanted to take a car service, so I said I would go with her. Here is a pic from my room. This is the Pearl Tower which is the most famous landmark in Shanghai. (Interesting, as I tried to make the link for the Pearl Tower - Pearl is a TV station - since I am in China I am unable to access Wikipedia. In fact, you can't even search for the term as the search page comes up blank.)

I believe a bunch of the guys were going to go out tonight, but being the loner that I sometimes am when it comes to going out to bars, I grabbed my long sleeve shirt (it is a little chilly) and camera and headed out. I walked over to the tower and then down to the river. Upon walking back I stopped at a huge mall and grabbed something quick at McDonald's (I like to try different McDonald's in each country). The vanilla shake was awful - and I threw it away so as not to waste the calories. The Coke, on the other hand, was perhaps even better than Mexican Coke. I looked at a few stores and realized that this part of Shanghai is VERY expensive and thought I'd save any shopping for later in the week when I am in the more local parts.

What is interesting is that unlike Hong Kong, hardly anything is in English and almost nobody speaks English. I know quite a bit more Mandarin than Cantonese, but I found that I mostly just told people, after greeting them, that I don't speak Mandarin (wo bu shuo hanyu) which is ironic since obviously I know how to say that. So I definitely will get a chance to practice this week. :-) I've also learned that crossing streets here is different from any other city I have been in. There are no crosswalks in the sense that little green lights or hands show you to go or stop. There aren't many streetlights at all, in fact. So pedestrians just go. You go and hope the cars stop. It's pretty cool.

Now I'm back in my room and await the awakening of my loved ones. Then I'm off to bed and start my week in mainland China.

Malik's Restaurant

While in Hong Kong several times we passed a restaurant called Shaffi's Malik Restaurant. We always had said how we wanted to go to the place since it had Malik's name. Unfortunately we never did as a family. Last time I was here I wanted to make a point to go as well but it never happened. Today a bunch of us went for lunch and they had picked out an Indian buffet place. We walked quite a ways and I said to them that this was almost where this one restaurant I have always wanted to go to was. In fact, it WAS the restaurant. So today I ate at Malik's restaurant. It was actually pretty good. Dang the good food in Hong Kong. I am trying so hard to eat less and work out more to lose some weight. I ate a little too much so I will have a small dinner tonight. And maybe work out again (I worked out this morning). It was fun eating there and thinking of my son.

Today was one of the rare days where it was overcast and layer of mist was surrounding my apartment. Though Hong Kong usually gets quite a bit of rain, as most of you know my powers of good weather usually prevent rain. That has definitely been the case as it hasn't rained much the last 8 months. So today was a good change, though it didn't rain.

Work has been extremely busy. This has been good as it makes the time go by quickly and isn't such an issue since I can stay late and not worry about not seeing my family as going home early doesn't get me any closer to them at the moment. So it is hard to believe tomorrow is Friday. The reality is 3 weeks from tomorrow I fly home, so time is going quickly. I let my company know of my intention not to stay long term in Hong Kong. I have not heard back from them so I am curious what will come of it. I have really been at peace since making the decision. I didn't blog about that experience and should probably fill you in.

Last time I was in Hong Kong Tevia and I had decided to make this decision and then take it to the Lord in the temple. Though we were thousands of miles apart we actually both had the opportunity to go to a temple on the same day. She was in Snowflake and I was here in Hong Kong. I went to the 1 PM session on Saturday. It was a cool experience as the session was in Mandarin. I had to wear headphones for the English but for the most part I just listened to the Mandarin. Though I am far from knowing Mandarin enough to understand much of what they said, it was fun to recognize certain words and phrases. As I'm quite familiar with the English version, this also helped. I really enjoyed it.

Afterwards I sat in the celestial room and prayed hard about my decision. I was soon overcome with a strong feeling - but a feeling I hadn't expected. I felt - sad. I have prayed many times for answers and almost always felt an actually very strong happy feeling while receiving the answer. So this was a little confusing to me. I didn't know if this meant my decision was wrong or if my decision was right but I was sad about the response. I spent quite a bit more time in the room (this was the last session of the day and I was the last one in the room and I started feeling a little pressure to move on) thinking about it.

In the end I spoke with Tevia and after discussing with her I was sure it meant that our decision was confirmed - and that indeed I was sad about the decision not to move back. But I know this is the right decision at this time. Who knows what will happen later on this year, but I know that it is not for us to be in Hong Kong in the near future as a family.

I am extremely excited about going to Shanghai next week. We have a business conference next week and then I will be staying for the rest of the week as we have Friday and Monday off in Hong Kong for Easter (yes, isn't that ironic?). So I plan on spending some time in Shanghai and then also visiting Suzhou and probably Hangzhou. I am super excited to speak some Mandarin (though locals speak more Shanghainese) and eat the Shanghai food. Of all Chinese food Shanghainese food is my favorite! I also look forward to attending church in mainland China on Easter Sunday. How cool will that be?

On the road again

Well, here I am again on my way to Asia. Who would have imagined a year ago that I would have beeen spending the better part of the next year in Hong Kong? Not me. And though it started out wonderful, this being away from family stuff really sucks. I am sitting in the Singapore Airlines lounge taking advantage of their wireless to pass away the time until I board around 1 AM. I then arrive in HK at 6 AM on Tuesday - so I completely lose my Monday. I figure this is my 5th trip to HK now and so I have lost nearly a week in time. And yes, you can argue I gain that back when I fly back, but do you count a day in an airplane as gaining back time??? I don't think so.

I also never imagined going to a place like Hong Kong would not get me excited. It has almost completely lost its exotic appeal and leaving PHX today was as sad and uninspiring as going on a normal business trip. But I do look forward to going to China next week. That should be fun. I am very curious to see how all this plays out. I will be informing them of my decision not to go on a long term assignment this week. I'm not sure if they will be upset about that and just send me home, or if they will still want me stay through the next few months. I am not sure if they will be upset and completely ignore my career progression or if they will actually pay attention to me now and let me utilize my talents where they can best be used. It is the first time in a long time that I really feel I don't have control over what is going on. I feel like I should not only be looking for other opportunities because I perhaps need a change, but because I need to in case I get laid off. As we enter a recession and the company I have loved continues to change and look less and less like the company that hired me years ago, I really do fear that I could be at risk. It is strange to think that. Though I think the chances are quite low, it is still a new feeling I have never really felt before.

So let's see what the next few weeks bring. It seems every meeting I am asked to attend I approach with trepidation and caution. I feel like for the first time in a long time I worry about what I'm going to hear. And this is just weeks after the president of the company tells me how important I am and how much they need me. It seems I am paranoid. I know most of this just comes from not knowing what is going to happen. The unknown creates fear. Fear is not something I like to feel. So I must be prepared. But I also must avoid paranoia. :-)

cedar point is growing!

Good news! Now Rachel wants in! She is planning on it, so we need to decide for sure if we are doing this. Kathy's family plans on staying 2 nights in the hotel at C Point, and 2 nights at a hotel with a nice pool in Cleveland. she will let you know which hotel she picks, because she knows the good ones. She said it would be great if you all stayed at the same hotel she did. The kids could all swim. I am excited. Michael and Marsha are also in on the Friday night get-together, and they will tell Jesse. we can meet at a park,, but Kathy will look into using one of the rooms at the hotel in case of bad weather.

Spreadsheet

As some people have indicated a desire to buy us (well, Hazel really) a gift, Jacob and I put this spreadsheet together so as to avoid overlap problems and give people a general idea of things we need and would want.

http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=pAaEZKnzkVZP0jfnovo2rKw&hl=en

Cedar Point

I think it is funny that some of us don't even know where we will be living in August, be we do know we will be meeting at Cedar point!
I am now officially excited about this! and I don't even like the rides.
We are all in, including Cari and Hazel! Kathy will depend on when Jimmy returns from Iraq.

in addition! I just talked to my sister, and it just so happens that Sarah will be up there with her that week, with her kids. Kathy is now really excited to go to Cedar Point with all of us and Sarah, Trevor, and Alexa, and go on to Cleveland and be together! So some of us can meet each other's children finally! How fun is that?!

So, unofficially, the best date is August 7th. People should plan on flying in the day before, and probably getting a cheap hotel, because you can bet my mom won't put everyone up. :)
My sister stays in a place there often that she says is very nice and reasonable.

Then we would drive into CP early Thursday, check in, (although we can't get our rooms till 3), and then have fun!
I would also guess some of you will want your own rooms. They range from cheapies like we stay in at 145. a night, to 200ish, depending on the floor, newness, etc.
Just go to cedarpoint.com to start living the dream!
I wonder what they built this year?

Priceless memories

I found 4 tapes when I was going through journals. Two of them are Bret from his mission. It was so fun to listen to as I made a poster for our talent show. Bret, your voice sounded so much like Jacob, at first I thought it was him! Really! I was amazed. I will bring it next time we are all together. It brought back memories of how hard it must have been to have been so far away in a strange country. You mention how you got robbed, and how you had fleas. You sounded so mature about it all.
The next tape was our family making a tape to send to Bret on his mission. Tom sings on it, Kathy talks so adorably about her friends and such. Jacob, there is just a priceless piece of you telling Bret about how Kathy took up too much of the tape. :) It was so funny. What great memories on these tapes.
Then I have one my sister Kathy sent to us, with her and her little girls singing us Christmas songs. I loved it! So cute!
What fun things to listen to as I work on young women stuff.

maybe the reason I have such a blessed life?

I knew I had to stay home today, due to weather and waiting for news about if I need to run to Cleveland or not, so I decided to do one of my long-term goals for this year and organize my journals. I found my very first one, I was 13. It is a cute diary with a key.
Every single day I started out with, "went to Mass and Communion", and then listed what I prayed for. I also listed when I said rosaries and who I said them for. I went to Mass that year 179 times!
I am just impressed with my level of spirituality back then at that age.
The person I listed most as praying for was my dad. Others, not in any particular order, but interesting to see what a 13 year old girl prays for: my family, peace, world leaders, nations of the world, the sinners in Cleveland, the Negroes in Cleveland, my mom, my sister, friends, and a few times my teachers. How funny is that?
At the end of the journal, I list people I will never forget. There is a name on there, John, (Joker). How funny, because I have no idea who that is! :)
I also listed my grades on tests, and what I wore, and when I 'washed and set' my hair.
It was a fun read.

granda

Grandpa has his surgery tomorrow at 10am. He is soooooo nervous. He says he has a bad feeling about this. I will keep you posted.

Some good news

I'm posting this news at Jacob's request because he said the family could use some good news. My boss (the one who lives in St. George) was in town this past weekend, and this morning, I had a meeting with him and my other boss who handles the benefits and raises, etc. The basic point of the meeting was to discuss their offer to me for when I go part-time after having the baby, which I had already told them was what I wanted to do. In a nutshell, they told what my raise will be in April and then they added in what I have been getting as paid time off and as paid holidays and used that to calculate what my hourly wage will be once I'm part-time. The raise is going to be for $6000, which will put me to $50,000/year if I was staying full-time. With the holidays and time off added in, they hourly wage they offered me was $28/hour, which honestly, is way, way higher than I was hoping for. So once again, the Lord is blessing us through this really good employer. And as if all that wasn't enough, my bosses informed me that all this is separate from my April bonus and that the bonuses will continue (proportionally smaller, of course) once I'm part-time. So a very good day from the career front.

I know there hasn't been a blog about my health and the baby, but I'm pretty sure everyone's aware of the little scare we had with my close contractions last week and trip to the doctor's office. The current report is very good. The contractions have slowed way down from last week, though I'm still getting them more often than either Jacob or I would like. So we have canceled our trip to Phoenix in March, though Jacob's still planning to go on the desert trip later that month. I'm quitting water aerobics (probably the thing I'm most bummed about at the moment) and Jacob doesn't allow me to walk more than the equivalent of a block at a time. Both the baby and I are doing very well. She spent most of the day exploring with her knees and elbows and any other part of her body that was pointy and she could poke me with. :-) She's a cutie and as excited as I am to meet her face to face, I hope she stays put for another couple months.

Life is very good for us right now. It almost feels wrong to say that will all the bad news that keeps pouring in from other parts of the family, but I think we'd just get ourselves in more trouble if we weren't open with our gratitude. We love you all and are praying for you.

I feel like Anakin

Along with the Star Wars theme this week, after hearing about Jarek's heart, I must say I was very upset. It certainly seemed to fit into the whole happening around us not staying/going to Hong Kong, but I really had hoped we were long past having to worry about this again. I have spent so many hours praying and fasting for Jarek's heart. I was surprised to hear that he now needs to be monitored more carefully. Now, I'm not jumping to conclusions at this point. Nothing has happened and so far it would appear there is no need to worry. But just the fact that we go from monitoring every 2 years to 6 months brings a lot of worry to a father.

As I went through this very busy day I was definitely distracted. I had to give reviews today, buy my airline tickets, and a bunch of other things, but I kept thinking about Jarek. And as I thought about him, I thought a lot about Anakin in Episode III. I was reminded of the pain he felt as he worried about Padme dying. And how that drove him to do ANYTHING in order to save her. Yes, indeed he was willing to give up all he believed to save her. And though I am certainly not at that point - nor is my situation so grave - I can understand the feeling to do anything to save someone you love from pain, from death. And how easy is it to rationalize? We are doing it for love? What a test it is.

I recall reading (Journal of Discourses?) a quote from Joseph Smith saying that he would go to hell in order to be with Emma (this comment is worthy of a post by itself). This showed his dedication to the woman he loved.

When Tevia was here in Hong Kong we visited some Buddhist temples and of course she visited the Big Buddha. She marveled at how sad the philosophy of Buddhism is in that you should not be attached to things - and how life is pain. This is exactly the philosophy George Lucas borrowed for the Jedi. And it was exactly what Yoda tried to convince Anakin to do. To forget about the one he loved. Attachment only can bring pain. It was the Emperor that convinced Anakin the folly of that idea; in reality he espoused we should embrace emotion.

The reality is that attachment WILL bring pain. It has to. We all die. We all suffer pain. So anyone we love will go through those and we will feel for them. Or vice versa. So why do we have to go through these things? How many people have asked this question? Of course, I believe that it is because we need to experience the pain in order to truly understand joy. But even this understanding doesn't always bring comfort in those times of pain. Maybe this is the key to the role of the Holy Ghost. God gave us something to get us through those times; maybe we can't do it on our own. And don't we have proof that we can't?

So imagine the scene from Episode III where Anakin is in the temple looking out over the city imagining what is going to happen to his wife. And what is going to happen to the one person that could possibly give him the power to save his wife. Just a few hours earlier he had avoided the temptation to destroy the Sith Lord. He had been strong enough. But there alone, he faltered. The pain was unbearable. He needed to be closer to the temptation. He couldn't let that hope be dashed.

And here I am. Looking out a window into the dark. Thousands of miles from those I love. Far away from the boy I want to embrace and tell him it will all be fine. Far away from that loving friend who has always supported me. Thank goodness no Sith Lord is out there tempting me. And thank goodness I will be back with my kindred spirits in a couple of days. I love you Fett Junior.

Jarek's Heart

Well, we were not sure exactly how this appointment would go, as it has been almost two years since his last appointment. The initial appointment went pretty well albeit for the strange extra heartbeats that popped up on both the EKG and the echo cardiogram. Jarek had to wear a holter monitor for 24 hours to monitor his heart activity and see how regular or irregular those extra beats were. At the end of the appointment Dr. Jedeikin said he would see us in two years, unless the echo results came back with something not great.

This afternoon I received a call from the Dr. Jedeikin. It seems that the echo didn't go quite as well as we had initially thought. Apparently there is a small problem in the left ventricle. The function is, as he put it, "low normal". So still within a normal range, but lower than he would like to see it. So, here is the plan of attack. He needs us to go see the neurologist again. Ugh. Dr. Berns is not exactly the most, shall we say, fun doctor on our list of doctors. This was the doctor that was actually disappointed that he guessed the kids' diagnosis wrong. Anyhow, Dr. Jedeikin needs to know more details about Jarek's muscular diagnosis in order to proceed with any further treatment for Jarek. And our follow-up visit just went from 2 years to 6 months. So, we will be delving further once again into Jarek's cardio/muscular health. He is also pushing to get him into a geneticist. I told him we will wait a little longer on that since it isn't going really give us any information that will help with this current issue.

We knew that at some point things would change with his heart, and to be honest I am amazed that it took this long. We will gird up our loins and dig in. I don't like going to so many doctors, but since it is in the best interest of Jarek, then I will garner up a good attitude to last me as long as needs be. I know everyone is already at breaking point with prayers for other people, but if you wouldn't mind squeezing in a little one here or there for Jarek, it would be much appreciated.

grandpa pylick

Good news! dad is only in stage 1 cancer. This doctor today says he should have surgery, and get this cancer out asap; so he is having surgery this Friday. It does not look like it has spread. He will be in the hospital 4 days, then 2 weeks recovery, then he will have pulminary rehab. They will teach him how to breath better. He should not need chemo. This surgery should improve his life expectancy from 1 year to 5! wow! I am so glad. He is very nervous about the surgery. He didn't want to talk to me today, he was resting. He says I don't need to go down there, there is nothing I can do. I am glad of that also.

star wars

what is with the recurrence of Star Wars? dad has been watching it, the Jacob Wall house has been watching it, and in youth conference, the Boston temple president referenced it, and a youth said something about it in their testimony; then, yesterday in a talk, someone referred to it. Then Bret watched Episode 3, the sad one. I still say Yoda was very brave to face that really bad guy all by himself.
anyways, dad wanted to watch the middle 3 ones, and we don't have them here. Do we have them and one of you sweet kids took them, or did we never have any of the middle 3? Sorry, I don't know the names.
If we don't have them, that may be a good father's day gift.

to share the quotes used:
one is from when Yoda was teaching Luke to move the ship, and he said, "there is no try, there is only do or can't do it." (something like that)

other- "you are entering a big new world", but I forget who said it when.... :)

Half way

I'm more than half way through my first trip here to HK. I leave Friday and I'm excited. The weekend was good. I went to the temple yesterday. The session was in Cantonese, so I had to wear a translator. I actually listened to it in Mandarin more than I did in English. That was fun to listen to and was great as it made me pay more attention than usual. I attended the last session of the day (1 PM) and was the last person to leave the celestial room.

I was going to watch a movie, but all the movies I wanted to see were sold out, so that didn't happen. But I moved into Parkview and have loved every minute of it. It has been great. I'm back with my high-tech toilet, Bulgari bath products, high-def TVs, and more.

Today I went to church and surprised quite a few people when they saw me there. Like usual, it was a great sacrament meeting and I loved it. Today I watched Episode III in Spanish. It was great to see in Spanish as I love to hear the different interpretations they use. Of course, I've seen this money so many times, but this time I really saw how sad the movie is. There really is no "happy" ending. Obi-Wan and Yoda fail at their missions. The rest of the Jedi die. Anakin loses Padme and his soul. I really wished I was watching it with my boys. I missed them.

Tomorrow work starts again. I leave on Friday, so really only 4 days this week. Then I'll be home for two weeks. I can't wait.

Thoughts on a Friday Night

As Jarek is reading HP6 I thought I would reread this classic as I only read it once. I bought the paperback version here tonight which has a really cool cover showing the potions book of the mystery character. I'll prob start on the plane back. Can't wait to hear Jarek's perspective on things. I can't believe he reads these books. He just doesn't seem old enough.

It is cold here. Cold, cold, cold. Tonight for dinner I felt lonely and the thought of American food sounded comforting. So I went to California Pizza Kitchen for some salad and a pizza. The pizza was great. The salad not that great. I sat alone in a pool full of Asians. Afterwards I went downstairs in Times Square and bought a Hot White Chocolate. It was wonderful. I'll probably get a few more of them before I leave. I am told by the time I get back it'll be warm again.

I am currently in a Holiday Inn Express which is across the street from the office, which has been extremely convenient and nice. There are some drawbacks, though. There is no iron. Isn't that odd? It actually is very inconvenient since most of my clothes arrived here in a suitcase. There is a room on the 11th floor (I'm on the 25th) you can go to and use an iron. Dumb. There is also a big sign in the bathroom that says the tap water is not drinkable. That sucks. The bed is also like a brick. I have never had a problem sleeping on a hard bed. But I do here. There was one good thing. I took some laundry to the housekeeping where you can pay to have them do laundry. They dry-cleaned my suit and washed my dress shirts. They came back SO nice. I haven't seen them look so good --- ever. They even had creases down the sleeves. Pretty cool.

Tomorrow I move into my new place, go to the temple and hopefully get to a movie or something. Should be fun.

Hurray for Uno the beagle

For the first time ever in history, a beagle made best in Show! she was sooo cute!

curse

Ok, who put the curse on the family? Is someone stepping on lots of cracks?

Chinese New Year

Though I missed the earlier part of Chinese New Year, the celebrations do go on. The whole of Hong Kong is filled with rats (it is the year of the rat), peach blossom trees, and mini orange trees. The peach blossom trees, which are bred specifically for new year and don't have leaves - only blossoms - are beautiful. I feel a little bad for all of the waste as apparently all these trees just get tossed like Christmas trees at the end.

Time is going quickly here. I have appreciated something that I haven't had in a long while: a boss I respect and can learn from. It is amazing what a difference it makes. It is a HUGE difference from when Kim was here. Working with my first boss from Prudential has been a pleasure. She trusts me and knows I can bring value. It makes me motivated and want to contribute. It is something that I haven't felt in a long while and have enjoyed it a lot. It is amazing that just a few weeks ago I would long to leave the office and dreaded seeing my boss. Now I look forward to it. I've always known that a person's boss is a huge factor in terms of being happy at work. But it is interesting to see it in action here. It's been nice.

Today I walked into the bathroom on our floor and realized that things are so different now. So much has happened in 7 months. 7 months ago I entered that bathroom for the first time and I can clearly remember my thoughts as I recalled the new smells, the rust stains on the toilets and walls, the sound of the subway so many floors below, and the atmosphere that felt so foreign on that day. Now I enter every day and don't notice anything different. The most interesting thing to me is that when I am back in the US now, being THERE doesn't feel different either. This means that I have absorbed a whole new culture and atmosphere as part of my life and have not displaced my old one. This is one of the great things I love of international opportunities as you are able to absorb differences and come to take them as "normal."

I have noticed that all of the sudden my prayers are full of people to pray for. There isn't a time in my life that I recall that I had to pray for so many people. It is almost hard to remember them. What a crazy year so far. I know we'll get through it. But for the first time in a long time I find myself almost in tears in my prayers with my heart going out to so many people. I know I try to say this as often as I can, but thank you all for being a part of my life. Each of you has had a huge impact on my life and I would do anything for each of you to try and make you happy and comfort you. I realize that this could be a period of "apartness" for our family. With Tom on his mission, Kathy in Hawai'i, and a possibility of us in Hong Kong it feels odd. And with Tevia's family having Brandt in Uruguay, Nephi in Japan, possibly Risa in Korea and us in HK, it seems our families aren't necessarily coming closer together physically. Hopefully we are in other ways.

A fun day at the park

On the Saturday before Bret went back to Hong Kong we decided to go to Saguaro Park. We thought that Enok would like to chase the chickens and roosters there as our other kids liked to do. Well, he wasn't very interested in the chickens, but did like chasing the pigeons.

While there Bret overheard some girls talking about baby bunnies over by the house near the orchard. Many years ago when Jarek was a baby we caught a bunny there as well. We all know how much Bret loves animals so he just had to go over there to try and catch the baby bunnies. He is so patient and persistent. He got the poor little creature trapped under the stairs and waited and waited and tempted the little guy out with clover (since we all know that is what bunnies love to eat) and was eventually rewarded with catching the little guy. It was so cute! The kids got a big kick out of petting it. Who knows how many germs and diseases this thing had. No worries, when you are a kid you don't think about those trivial things.

Bret let Jarek hold the bunny and that made me laugh as Jarek seemed rather frightened of it. He held it far away from him as if it were going to bite him any second. Malik was very good with it and very gentle and loving. He wanted to kiss it too and even though I told him no, he still did. Enok just wanted to poke its eye out and squeeze it to death. He liked it a lot though. And of course Bret was glowing with pride because he caught the bunny. He makes me happy.

Anyhow, we had a nice time at the park. We kicked the soccer ball around, blew bubbles, threw the football and just enjoyed the nice weather. We decided to leave as soon as the big, black ominous clouds and a chill breeze started to move in.

I am glad we got to spend that time together before Bret left. We are looking forward to him coming home. We all miss him!!!!

now the bad news

my dad does have lung cancer. they will do some testing to see if he can handle surgery and remove the bad parts or not. I will keep you posted.

good news from aunt Kathy

She had a beautiful long blessing yesterday, from someone who she trusts and has given her amazing blessings before. She will be healed, her life pro-longed yet again, for her mission is not finished! Her healing will come through fasting and prayer from those who love her. She has been close to the veil, and may be again. She will be able to be a big help to Rachel.

Wow!

how cool! she said the Spirit was so strong, they didn't want to leave the room. She just wanted to stay and bask in the feeling.
she has a cat scan today, and her prayers are now that they find whatever it is and can fix it quickly.
Thank you to those who have prayed for her! Prayers work!

A Long Day

Today was a long day. Not a bad day. But long. I was quite busy. I woke up after sleeping for nearly 7 hours, which is always great when travelling. For some reason coming to HK is much easier for my body than going back to the USA. I woke up, watched some TV, read my scriptures (I am reading the Book of Mormon "backwards" in a way as suggested by some; I am now in Ether), got dressed and went to work. People were enthusiastic to have me back. Funny thing is I was only gone two weeks.

My old computer was there and I decided just to use it since it had the printers and everything set up. Why take the time to set up my new computer when my perfectly good old one was there? In fact, I took the old computer to my hotel after work and since I have admin rights on it, I was able to get the internet to work. :-)

For lunch a bunch of us went for dim sum to celebrate me coming back. It was good and fun. It was very nice to see everyone. Most people have been very sympathetic of our family's ordeal of coming and going and deciding. That makes me feel good and makes me feel less pressured to make one decision or the other. The Chinese New Year was last week and this was the first day back at work for most people. In our building they had dragon dancers (or lion dancers) and drums as they scared off evil spirits and brought good luck. I handed out "red packets" to all our employees which is traditional for employers and managers to do. Each packet contained 100 Hong Kong dollars. This also gave me the opportunity to say hello to each person in the office.

By 6:00 PM I was very tired. I was waiting for some information to pass on to a customer who had a rough time but decided I couldn't wait any more. I sent him a note saying I would pass it on in the morning and came home. Maybe I'll try to log on later, but I doubt it.

In the end it was a fun day back. Now I am tired and wonder if I will be awake tonight to talk to Tevia when she wakes up. Tomorrow I have a meeting and dinner with one of our large clients. It is back to work as usual.

Back in Hong Kong

Two weeks ago I posed the question to myself whether or not I would ever see Hong Kong again. And now here I am. The last few weeks have been crazy, that is for sure. And as I sit at a local internet corner at the hotel here (the internet does not work on my laptop since I have zero admin rights and therefore my computer can not be adjusted to work with the free internet service) I wonder why I am here. I mean, my mind had been set on living in the USA again. I certainly never would have imagined agreeing to spend so much time away from my family. January was hard enough. What am I doing?

That is the question on my mind. I know I am helping many people - and not just Prudential - by being here. But is it helping me progress in my life? Is it making me a stronger person? Is it strengthening my family? Is it really helping my career? My answers to these questions change frequently. I think for now I am really just trying to help. But there comes a point where you can not help everybody. As my mind has been stretched back and forth over whether or not we should move back to Hong Kong I have been able to think long and hard about my priorities. I want to make sure I do not make this decision for the wrong reasons. I don't want to go just because of the money. I don't want to stay just because I am lazy and just got back. I don't want to go because I feel pressured to accept a promotion. I don't want to stay because I am mad at my company. So many things to think about. I asked for 2 months to think about it, but now that seems like an eternity. I just want to make the decision now. Pray and go to the temple and say it's done. I look forward to that day.

In the meantime I will most likely be blogging much more as my free time will have grown substantially. I am here safe. I miss you.

I think I miss my bellybutton

I think I miss my bellybutton. It was nothing too fantastic to start with, just your ordinary innie. But it was mine and I liked it. But now, as I have this wonderful and adorable little parasite growing in me, it's slowing disappearing. First it grew wider and shallower. Now it's just very little and very shallow. Sometimes, when I take a very deep breath, it even pokes out a little. Yikes! I just hope that in a couple months, after my wonderful and adorable little parasite makes her entrance into the world, my bellybutton will return. Until then, I'll remember it fondly.

Where do we turn?

1 So many people have so many real sadness in their lives lately. Just last night, terrible tornados tore homes down and people woke up homeless and 30 people killed, just by freak tornados in February.
1 The sting of pain from sin, the heartache of losing loved ones, is all around me.
Just in my temple recommend interview this past Sunday, I told President Ketcheson how I was happy, and able to help many people; how I am having a friendship luncheon this Friday with 10 women to make Valentine cards for all the people in our ward who need extra love; how I have time in a world when no one else seems to, to be able to bring dinners in and serve in the temple and do genealogy work and help others; and how I have such a loving husband, who holds the priesthood and loves me; and how our family is so close and supportive.
This morning, I am saddened by news that my sister's cancer may be back. and as I ponder her life, she is always Christlike, and she has always been there for me. I wondered who can I turn to when I need to talk? she is been my listener, and now, I will certainly not burden her with my cares. and I have a visiting teacher who really is only mine so I can help her... and a mother never wants to call her kids and tell them her problems, as they usually have plenty of their own. as I read my scriptures, I remembered again, for the thousandeth time, that I can turn to the Lord for peace.
My tears flow freely and far too often lately for good people around me grieving and sad.
I have never had this many people going through so much. I wonder if we are being prepared for more things to happen. we need to be strong. let us make sure we help each other, comfort each other, and make each other happy. someone please send me a good joke! :) I was going to give up cookies and candy for lent, but it is going to be a cookie, candy, and diet coke type of day for me.
I will send you Kathy's updates as I get them. she is down to 115 pounds, and has test after test and doctor after doctor to go to. Fred is being his stubborn self about the church, but that is another whole blog.
Kathy says she doesn't care if she lives on this side of the veil or the other side, she was blessed to see her grandchildren, in her last blessing, and she did. she is so brave. I am not saying this is final, but it looks bad. she knows it is up to the Lord to heal her or take her. she is ready for either. she gets a blessing this weekend. the sooner the doctors find the cancer area, the better. They knew her cancer could come back, so she was ready for this. Please add her to your prayers, and add Fred also.
ps- Kathy, I have felt your sadness, and prayed for you and Jimmy every single day, as I do all of you.
This sounds like it will be not just a year of change, but a year of challenge and growth.
Be faithful and true always.

Happy Groundhog Day

So like mom already mentioned to everyone before, I got into BYU Hawaii. I opened the email last night as I seriously could barely breathe and as I read it, tears came to my eyes. I AM SO HAPPY AND EXCITED! AND I am definitely going and will.... be in Hawaii next fall. The cool thing is that I really have always wanted to go there since I was little and although it feels amazing because Jimmy will be there, it also feels really good to accomplish something that I have dreamed of for so many years. I can't even think of all the things Hawaii will actually bring but I know it will be an incredible experience. It is so nuts to think about what God has in store for us and our plan here on earth. The best thing about this is that I feel 100 % that it is right and this is the path I need to be on which is beyond amazing considering how wonderful the path is. It is going to be hard being away from everyone but it will not be the one person who's hardest to be away from anymore. AND knowing that, is the BEST feeling in the world. So family, it is obviously not set and stone yet because my hand does not possess a certain ring on an important finger but a possible wedding in Hawaii is looking pretty likely and if it could be considered in your plans for the later of the year that would be appreciated since I want so badly for all of you to be there when I get married... not that I'm jumping the gun or anything =)
Also, Jimmy leaves for Iraq today. If you remember to occasionally keep him in your prayers that would mean so much to him and me. I love you all!!!!!! and Happy Ground hog day!!

Congratulations to Kathy!

I know how hard you worked for this, and I am so proud of you! You have always wanted to go to a far away college, and I guess BYU Utah isn't far enough.... :) All of you are so talented and successful in each of you own ways. You can each do whatever you put your mind to do. I hear so many parents these days say that they can't 'make' their kids to homework, or get 'A's, go to church, or do chores. How blessed am I as a mother!

Where have I been?

I notice that I already did a post with this title before, but hopefully it won't confuse anyone. I have so much to write and know that I can't possibly put it all down. It has really been a rollercoaster ride the past month. I am so used to having such control over my life and it really feels like I haven't lately. It is amazing how things can change so quickly and how life is so open to possibilities. First let me say that you should go see Cloverfield. I know Tevia blogged about this and said I would blog more. I'll just say that this is one of the few movies I have seen in years that made me really excited and think about things. It is pretty "choppy" so expect that. This is a movie to see in theaters - which are rare these days. Go see it. Enjoy. It is like being on a ride at Cedar Point. I have noticed that it is a very polarizing movie. I absolutely loved it so looked online to see what others thought. I saw that many people were like me and loved it, but that a large portion of the people HATED it. I mean really hated it. Some said that the people in their theaters booed. Nobody booed in ours. So go see it and see which end of the spectrum you are. Jake, Tommy, you will like it.

As you know from my blog the last month has been emotional. We were asked to come back to Phoenix and the whole situation made me upset. I really felt like Prudential no longer cared much about me and in the end really made a decision to look for other opportunities outside of Prudential. I have been in contact with a few companies and had started to consider moving outside of Phoenix. Tevia was on board with this decision and I must say that overall I had a very negative attitude about my work and was feeling like life was being a little annoying.

Tevia and I arrived from HK on Saturday. I loved being with her our last week in HK and was excited to be back. I embraced my boys and enjoyed the weekend. Monday was work and I headed back to the office here in AZ. The first part of the week was our "Team Forum" which is like our annual company meeting for management. It was great to see many of my friends and colleagues from Phoenix and around the globe. I was reminded of how many great people I work with. And then I heard the shocking news. They had fired my boss in Hong Kong. Upon hearing the news I was reminded of my prediction to Tevia earlier this month: that Prudential would soon be asking me to return to HK. Who knew that request would come just a mere 3 days after returning.

Over the past few days I have spent a lot of time with our Exec VP of EMEA/APAC and the President of our company. Their goal was to convince me that things had gone awry in Hong Kong and that they screwed up and needed me to return. I told them that we should have had this conversation weeks ago. At this point our children are already in school here in AZ and we weren't going to take them out. They therefore asked me to consider two solutions - one a short term and the other a long term. The first was short term. They wanted me to go back to HK for the next 3 to 4 months. Understanding that my kids were in school they asked that I go for 4 weeks in HK and then 2 weeks back here in PHX. The second solution was a long term solution where they wanted my family to return to HK on a long term assignment for the next 2 - 3 years.

These days have been filled with a lot of emotion, frustration, deep thoughts, and questions of trust. Now all of the sudden I am the golden boy that has the solution to their major problems. In speaking with them it is apparent that my boss in HK really screwed things up by literally lying to them about our desires and options in HK. They also have sincerely apologized for putting us through this and the President offered (and has continued to offer) that he come by my home to speak with Tevia personally to apologize and ask for our trust.

I asked that they give me 60 days to consider the long term solution. But I needed to get back on the short term solution by this weekend. That didn't give us much time. In the end they have offered me some nice incentives to go, which is nice since it would be a very large sacrifice. The whole decision has made me really question myself. What it comes down to really is whether or not I can trust our President. Honestly I have always trusted him - even though I am skeptical of most senior managers. Not many people in my position have the opportunity to work as closely to the President of the company as I have been able to - and certainly not on a daily basis as I have this week. But the biggest question has been: am I getting played? Am I a sucker?

I would never have imagined ever agreeing to spend nearly 3 months away from my family. NEVER. Yet here I was contemplating it. Contemplating just days after I had decided that it was time to move on to another company. Contemplating it because I care about the people back in Asia and know they need help. Literally in tears as I imagined spending such time away from Tevia and my boys. 3 months isn't that long in the scheme of things, but at the same time each day is a blessing we have to be with our family. What if something happened to my family and I had missed out on just a few days I could have been with them? What if I was selling out my ideals for a few bucks and a step in my career?

I didn't have the time to make the decision that I would have liked. I didn't have the time to spend days in prayer and then go to the temple. But Tevia and I decided that this short term decision wasn't as big of a decision as the long term one which we definitely will spend much more time on.

So today I told them I would help. I haven't signed anything and will pray and fast about it this weekend. But I think that it will go forth. And I'll be buying a ticket to be in Hong Kong by Feb 11. I really hope that I am doing this for the right reasons. I think I am. I don't think I am being lured by the money. I really don't care about that - though I do think they should give me some due to the time apart from my family. But more than anything I really hope that I haven't been sweet-talked into the decision by management. I hope they really do see the value that I have to offer them and that I'm not just some quick solution they need to fix a problem. I think my biggest fear is that we help out with this short term solution and then decide not to go to HK. How will they react? Will it be perceived negative? I posed this exact question to the President and he assured me he understands it is a family decision and we must do what is best for our family and that there are other opportunities for me here in PHX. I think that would be the true test. I think that is the only downside. That is my only fear: that I sacrifice a lot to help them out and then decide to stay in Phoenix and then I go back into the background and feel betrayed. I am a trusting person, but I don't think I've ever had to put so much trust into management at work. This truly will be a HUGE sacrifice for me. I HATE being alone. I HATE being without my family. But I guess in the end even if it does work out for the worse it only means a delay of a few months in our original plan. Life will go on. My family will still be here. We will still love each other. Many families go through similar situations. Kathy may be looking at a lifetime of this situation.

So in the end I guess my biggest fear is to be a sucker. I am a trusting person at heart, yet always skeptical as my generation is of authority. So I feel valued, important; skeptical, scared. Mom's posting about these moments in our life is so appropriate. I will take this on as a challenge and grow. I will hope for the best. And I pray that those days I am away from my family will not be in vain.

Our Greatest Growth

Oh remember, that it is when we are going through trials, adversity, and even just when we have hard choices to make, that we learn and grow the most. Our continual refinement is what we want, and need. This is done by the events in our lives that challenge us. What a blessing it is to get to make choices. What a blessing it is to know how to make wise choices. Is it hard, yes, it is. That is why we teach our children how to make easy choices as they grow, and then they learn to make more and more choices on their own. We all will have choices this year, and it will be a year of change. We knew that at Christmastime. I am personally glad that I know that all of you have learned how to make wise choices. We came here knowing we would experience comfort and pain, sickness and hardships, success and disappointments. We can look at this life as a challenge, a fun puzzle to figure out. These times will enable us to progress, and to learn our powers and talents. These tests are interesting, and we should rejoice in the opportunity to have them. How awful it would be without choices, without chances to change, or if we had to just do what everyone else said to do. Bret, I know you will make a good choice. It may be that both choices are good. Sometimes that is the case. I know Jacob and Cari will have choices also that affect their home, family, and life. You guys will be fine too. Tom, you have a decision to make, but it is simpler than Bret and Jacob's. Remember, all of you, that it helps to actually write down the advantages and disadvantages on paper. Sometimes just seeing it written helps. Sometimes the advantages of one way outnumbers the disadvantages, but the Spirit moves you in a different direction. I remember making those hard decisions about jobs and moving and having children. Dad and I wrote it all out, prayed and fasted, and worked it all out in our mind, then prayerfully. One of my favorite decisions was my choice to move to Utah. Everyone was against it in my family. It sounded too hard, too far, too crazy. Yet, when I was on my knees, I knew it was right. It was scary, and it created hardship for me, and fear. When the Spirit talks, and you know it is the Spirit, there is no denying it. It became a great blessing to me. What a great experience it was for me to learn to follow the Spirit, even against other advice. What a testimony to me that if we do, it works out for our best.
I am proud of you, and have great trust in your abilities, talents, faith, and courage. Be brave, patient, and true to yourself. We are behind you and support all of you in any way we can.

Just plain weird....

So I know that I am a complete romantic, more than most but I really wonder about the father and mother of the kids that I nanny for. Last week the dad came home from about a week long business trip and when he came in the kitchen he said hi to the kids and honestly did not even look at his wife until she finally said hi. He returned her hi with a simple hello and that was it! Not a hug or kiss or anything and she hadnt seen her in a week! Now maybe they are so used to him being gone all the time but I thought it was so strange. Also, a couple days ago a few more peculiar things happened. One, I was left alone with Amber (the baby girl) and she was so good and actually took a two hour nap together on the couch and then when she woke up she was all smiles and then the mom came home and when I told her how well it went with Amber she was like wow, I was so scared because every time I leave her alone with Roger (the dad) he says it drives him crazy because all she does is scream.... I have not yet heard this baby scream. I understand maybe she doesnt recognize him or idk something along those lines but still... weird. Then he was mean to Dawn (the mom) for the first time in front of me and I wanted to cry for her because she just looks at him and nods. Lastly, the mom mentioned to me how she would like it if I came earlier some Thursdays because she wants to volunteer at Christians school and said she could never leave the boys and Amber a lone with the dad for more than an hour even though he's home. I don't quite understand. And it makes me sad because the mom is one of the sweetest people I know and I feel like she is a single mom sometimes and really would go insane if I wasn't there. The kids are still crazy but I am being more strict and it is helping. I love it still and am so glad I have this opportunity. It does make you wonder though, when you know more about some one's kids than the parents. Anyways, I hope that I'm paranoid or something but really I get worried sometimes. Maybe they're going through a rough spot but either way I'm praying for them.

Insomnia?

So maybe Jacob's insomnia is catching. I woke up this morning at 5:30 am and couldn't get back to sleep. Granted that was the time everyone else in the house was going to bed, but they weren't that noisy. (They were doing homework - I saw proof on the whiteboard). I didn't even go to bed that early! So I got up and cleaned the kitchen to see if that tired me out enough to go back to bed - no luck. So I went ahead and came into work at 7:30. This happened once before last fall - up at about 6 am for no reason and I couldn't go back to sleep. That day I cleaned out the car and went and bought donuts for everyone. And cleaned the kitchen. Why can't kitchens stay clean? It's the darndest thing. Maybe it's got something to do with the three guys that live in my house and stay up all night snacking on random things..... Hmm.....

A Year Ago - Tevia Found a Part of Herself...

...which apparently had been missing. And she made me look up "calabash." I can say a year later she has not lost that part of her again. :-)

Finding Part of Myself

Waiting...waiting...

I have never considered myself to be an impatient person. Indeed, I think I am quite patient compared to the average person. But lately I find myself being completely impatient. One reason has been waiting to see my family again. I have never been good at being alone and the past six months have just really pushed my boundaries with this. I am so excited about seeing Tevia tomorrow, but the last three days or so have just been miserable as I just count down the hours. There is little ambition to go out or see the sights. Just working out and watching movies or playing Webboggle (which is now Wordsplay.com and was recently upgraded for an even better Boggle experience).

Then I am anxious to go back to the US. I am not necessarilly so anxious to leave Hong Kong; in fact I am quite sad to leave. But I am ready to move on and the first step is to return to Phoenix. And then I am anxious to start looking for other opportunities. It is time for me to seek out what else might be best for me and my family, but it isn't as easy to do from Hong Kong and so I have to get back to the USA first.

So I have received a lesson in patience that I haven't experienced before. I can imagine that if most people in life are always looking to the future and not focusing on the "now" how horrible life can get. It is so easy to just "float" through the day and block out what is going on around you. Unfortunately I think most people go through life like this. Always looking for that next big moment: be it marriage, a raise, graduation, kids, retirement. But I am trying to focus on the now - which is a lot easier when I am with my family. Once again I see the wisdom of families in God's eyes (not that I have ever doubted it as I write often in this blog). At least for me they bring sanity and remind me of the importance of now. For if there is one thing we DON'T want to see pass quickly (well, at least for me and others I speak to) it is the growing up of our children. It is hard to imagine that 10 years from now Jarek will be at BYU and ready to go on a mission. My kids make me want to focus on now - because they will soon be gone. And though that brings new opportunities and freedom as well as my parents are now enjoying, there will still be a yearning to be close to them.

I have been thinking a lot of what I want to do with my career. One area that I think would be fun is to create a blog. But what sort of blog will attract attention and hasn't already been created? I think the world needs a good family advocacy blog. A blog that points out the benefits of family and helps families see how to improve their families. A blog that is an advocate for changing our world back to being 'family-friendly.' So Jake, if you're up for a side project and some good brain-storming sessions, I think this might be a good side project for your internet safety deal. With the amount of good writers we have in the family and the good ideas some of us have, I think it could be a great opportunity to help improve our world AND have a fun job.

Candle miracle

When we returned from Cleveland, our house was spotless, as I left it. The people who used it for the funeral brunch had done an excellent job in cleaning up. You could hardly tell that anyone had been in the house. There was a nice thank-you note, and a few dishes left that they didn't remember where they went. The garbage was taken out, the chairs were returned to the church.
I have to interrupt here for a moment and tell you what my mother thought about people using our home while we were gone. Being of the older generation, she thought it was very unsafe. She was worried these people would steal things, make messes, break things, and even go through my drawers and find my bills and steal my identification and bank numbers. I told her they were mostly Mormons, but, of course, we all know that doesn't mean they wouldn't steal. I told her it was right after a funeral, and I doubted they were thinking about robbing my bank statements.
Anyways, I tried to convince her it was safe.

Later that evening, no, I think now even the next day, I forget, I was reading my scriptures and I looked up and saw a small glow from one of the candles on the mantel. The green pillar candle I have up there was lit. Now, I have never lit that candle, as it is too close to the wall. It is for decoration. It had never been lit. I waited and asked dad if he lit it, although I knew perfectly well he didn't, as he never lights candles. He didn't. That means that someone at the luncheon did, and that candle was burning for 2 days. Now, I consider this a miracle, that our house was kept safe because the Lord was grateful that we had offered to let a grieving family and ward use our home. Dad said not many houses catch on fire due to candles, but I disagree. We knew someone who's house did. Anyways, I am grateful to the Lord for watching over our home. We won't tell anyone here about it, or ask anyone who lit the candle, so the the RS president doesn't feel guilty. I feel so blessed, so many times.

Children of Men

This week I had the opportunity, thanks to China's wonderful censorship, to watch the movie Children of Men. (I must say that I love the fact that China edits their movies here. I believe in freedom of expression, but it is annoying that we take it to such extremes in the USA that we CAN'T have non-edited films except on TV. Here on HBO, Cinemax, etc. they are edited except they have one "unedited" channel for people over the age of 18. This gives people like me the opportunity to watch movies/shows that otherwise we wouldn't get to see unless it happened to show on regular TV years down the line). The movie is directed by one of my favorite directors: Alfonso Cuaron. He also directed "The Little Princess" and "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban." I loved both of those movies and love his style. The story to the movie focuses on a future where humans are no longer able to have babies. In fact, the movie opens withthe death of the youngest person on earth who is 18 years old. The film therefore studies how life would change if we did not have offspring or the hope of children. The result is that the world has erupted in chaos and many cities and countries are in complete ruins. Only Britain remains as one of the few countries retaining a semblance of order. It then focuses on the hope of one woman found to be pregnant and the impact - and importance - that may play to humanity.

It is not a preachy movie nor is it optimistic. But it certainly makes youthink about situations and how wonderful it is to have children in ourlives. I couldn't help but weep as you see this world devoid of children.I believe that the film, based on a short story, is insightful in the fact that it portrays a ruined world without kids. It reminded me of theProclamation of the Family and how the prophets have talked about the importance of the family. It also reminded me of the scripture in Malachi where he says "And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse." I have always thought that the "smite the earth with a curse" thing was pretty severe. Children do certainly bring hope to us. They make us better men and women. They give us a sense of vitality and faith in a world full of sorrow and despair. I am extremely grateful for the opportunity I have had to raise 3 wonderful children. They have changed - and improved! - my life immensely. I can't imagine a life without them. I will see if I can get the film from clean flicks and maybe we could send it for others to watch.

Flying Week

I know this week will fly by fast for me. I am excited, but at the same time very nervous to go out to HK. It is still hard for me to leave my kids in the care of someone else for a long period of time (and by long period I mean more then 3 hours) Anyhow, I will have to do a lot of grocery shopping and also write lots of lists. It is comforting to know that Risa is over here a lot and is pretty familiar with our routine. I think she may be just as strict as I am, and will keep the kids on their schedule, so that makes me worry a little less.

Volleyball starts this week so that is another reason I know this week will zoom by. The kids aren't sad in the least that I am leaving. Malik especially cannot wait until I leave. Sometimes I wonder if he likes me much. I know he loves me, but sometimes I wonder about the like part. hehe.

I am glad that Bret had a nice lunch with Craig. Regardless if Bret spoke "job opportunities" with him or not, I am sure it was good to have someone to spend a portion of Sunday with and not be so lonely. I often forget what it actually feels like to be lonely. I don't think I have felt that feeling in ages! I am really looking forward to going on the airplane all by myself. It will feel pretty strange though only having to think about myself!

I am looking forward so much to being with Bret by ourselves. I know we got to go to Mexico together in 2006, but that has been almost two years ago. It is too bad that he will have to work, but that will afford me opportunities to roam around by myself and explore places that were hard to get to with kids.

On a side note, the kids and I were watching Ratatouille and it inspired me to bake. I was in the mood for cinnamon rolls so I made some. They turned out pretty good! Well, better go clean up!

Lunch with Uncle Craig - and lonely

Today at church I met up with uncle Craig as he is here in Hong Kong. It was great to see him. He is here this week for meetings and wanted to spend some time together. He had mentioned last week that we could do lunch on Sunday - so I was curious what he meant: whether he thought he would come over to my place or if he was thinking of going out to eat (on Sunday?). Well, we went out to eat. He suggested we go to Jumbo Kingdom, which is the big floating restaurant in Aberdeen. This was cool for me as I hadn't been there and was one of the places I wanted to go. It was great to speak with him and we had a good time eating dim sum and talking about things.

After lunch I came back here to my empty apartment. Sundays are tough. I get bored. I really don't like being alone, and on Sundays my options for being out and about are limited. No working out or hiking, etc. How lonely am I? Well, I end up spending my time watching movies like "She's the Man." Yes - pretty lonely. :-) I can't wait to see Tevia this weekend. I really wish I had a fast forward to get to the end of the week - but having just seen Click this week as well I learned that something like that might not be a good idea. Who knew I could learn so much from movies?

Hot Pots and Hiking in Hong Kong

Thursday night I went out to eat with Calvin Chin from our Singapore office (the one who introduced me to pepper crab and durian) and Winnie Chan (who is the head of finance for Asia). Winnie chose the restaurant and asked if we were okay with spicy food. If you recall, spicy food is not too popular in Hong Kong as it seems most locals don't like it too hot. We both told her we loved hot foods and she took us to a place called the little sheep. It is a famous "hot pot" restaurant with places throughout China. This was my first hot pot experience. When they seat you they cover your jackets (we had our suits and took off our jackets) and bags. I am assuming this is so that food doesn't get on them. Then you select a bunch of food to cook. Winnie chose for us as we can't read Chinese too well. Then they bring a big "pot" that is split into two sections. In one section is a "soup" of boiling water that is spicy. It has chili peppers, garlic, some twigs and other interesting and yummy things. The other side is the "less spicy" side. They delivered our food and we realized that Winnie ordered enough for probably 8 people. We had squid, oysters, pork, beef, shrimp, bean curd balls, mushrooms, greens, and more. It was amazing. Then you grabbed some raw stuff and plopped it in the hot pot until it was done. IT WAS FANTASTIC! I have never seen this in the USA. I'm not sure if they don't have it because of legal implications or what, but it was so fun and was very spicy and one of the best meals I've had here. I ate more than I wanted, but I felt bad that Winnie had ordered so much food. The meal was fun as we talked about how things could have been had I stayed here. They are great people. I will miss them. Our meal lasted nearly 4 hours and it was so fun.

Today I couldn't decide what to do. I had thought about it for a while and had been flipping (a flopper?) on what to do. In the end I decided to go down to Central and eat at a restaurant called Shiffy's Malik Restaurant which is a Halal restaurant that we would see on the way back from church and we always wanted to eat there since it had Malik's name. Then I would do some shopping and probably head over to Kowloon. But as I walked out to the bus it was HOT out. I was in a long sleeved shirt and pants and I knew I would be too hot. So I decided to change my plans and go hiking. I went back and changed; grabbed my backpack and some drinks and headed out for Parkview. I started at the reservoir where we took moms and pops with the boats. There was a 5K path that went behind our apartment in Repulse Bay and I thought it would be fun to see it from the perspective of on the mountain. It was a very simple trail (e.g. no big hills, etc.) and was beautiful. The day was crystal clear and I could see for miles over the ocean which is rare. As I reached the end of the trail there was a path that leads to the main trail called the Wilson Trail which goes across the whole island. This section went down to Stanley and went over two peaks called "the twins." It was beautiful out and I thought it sounded like a good idea so I took the longer trail towards Stanley. It was a tougher trail than I expected. There were like a million stairs up to the top of the first "twin" but I made it. It was a great little workout and gave me a gorgeous view of the south island and Stanley. I took many pics, but I can't get them off of my camera until I get back to PHX.

Tonight I think I'll go eat at Spices and then tomorrow is church and I should get to see uncle Craig. About this time next week Tevia will be here!

Enok's free balloon

This post isn't nearly as entertaining as the saga we are all reading so ardently, but it is a post never the less.

When I was out running errands I happened to stop into a Hallmark to fax some documents (a very expensive place to fax documents I learned) and the lady behind the counter was very enamored with Enok and his insatiable cuteness. She asked if she could give him a balloon and I, of course, said yes. This balloon went with us everywhere today. I tied it to his belt loop since he didn't like it on his wrist. If I just handed it to him, he would let go and then "bye-bye balloon." On the belt loop proved to be just the ticket. He could hold onto it when the fancy struck him, and then he could let it go and it would follow him around like a little puppy making it easy for me to see him no matter where he went.

It will be a sad day when the balloon is no longer floating above his head, but I am sure he will then just drag it around after him until ultimately, it pops!

over the river to grandma's

we leave tomorrow morning early to head to Cleveland. It is supposed to rain the whole way, but at least it is not snow.. we will miss the funeral, so we feel bad, but they are using our home for the private brunch after the funeral and cemetery. we are glad they feel comfortable using it without us being here. we are having dinner at dad's on Friday night, then we will be at my mom's from then on if you need me. she doesn't know that Kathy and Fred our coming in, they told her that Fred would be in Germany. we are having her picked up in a limo. she has never been in one. we are all going to the Pomeroy house, it is supposed to be delicious. we will drive home right after church on Sunday. we may hit snow in the hills of PA., but we hope not. I can't believe my mom made it to 80.

Tour De Phoenix -- Part II

PART II
There is no need for a play by play of the next 8 hours. Paragraphs will suffice in this part of the vacation. We really should ask our phone companies to transcribe the cell phone calls out during the drive as I am sure they would add to the historical accuracy and altogether ridiculous environment I am about to illustrate. For posterity sake, I will continue to speak from a third person point-of-view.

Jacob seems to think we left Provo some time between 5 and 6 with the goal of being replaced as the driver soon after Provo traffic. And, after pulling back into the apartment parking lot one last time we remembered the special cord required to experience the bliss of Tom's musical selection on his new MP3 player. There is a major flaw with the MP3 player not previously understood. Someone has to actually select the songs to listen too. The controversy that arose was impressive and after several arguments and vetoes, it was decided only Tom was allowed to select songs. This was unfamiliar to Jacob who, being used to his own car DVD MP3 filled of only songs he liked, still hung to the now fabled idea that the driver of the car is the musical selection expert.

About 30 seconds after Cari was banned from ever selecting a song again and about 30 seconds before a massive wind gust full of white stuff smashed into the car, a new phase was born. "Fox Three, Fox Three!" were the first words out of Jacob's mouth after the screaming, laughing, and dodging began. Kathy being cautious after her name was mentioned so many times in PART I, had requested a bag in case history was in fact repeatable. Irony, sometimes cruel, sometimes funny, and in this case just plain disgusting, found itself into the bag Kathy was using. It only had one task, but it performed magnificently by becoming a small hole in the bottom of the bag.

This is where the dodging part mentioned earlier began. Kathy, upon finding her circumstances rapidly declining in elegance as somewhat suspicious substance was exciting her bio-hazard containment device, decided it would be prudent to escape further humiliation by attempting to keep the substance airborne by accelerating the said device in a circular pattern. Gravity however prevailed and the substance was unwilling to stay airborne but did discover, that in fact, the laws of physics provided the said substance new vectors and magnitudes of direction. When the worse was over "Fox Three," a Hollywood exclamation when firing a missile, was introduced and used as a warning in future physics experiments in to hope the chapter on collisions would not be discovered. Kathy, Tommy, or Jimmy may want to provide a back seat follow up on the physics described above.

Jacob will not say who, but soon after "Can we go back to Provo?" was asked by one of the 5 crew members. Jacob replied "no," but soon found himself missing his house at Bag-End err Provo.

The next 4 hours were fairly repetitive and only a few new discoveries were made. However one that comes to mind is the sudden change from a two lane highway to a one lane highway every time the wind would peak over 40 miles per hour and Kathy would throw up. While the truckers seemed to be annoyed at this inconvenience, they at some point must have noticed either the large number of families having picnics on the side of the road with strange parking habits, or they also decided the middle of the road provided an excellent view.

This view may need to be examined a little closer. It was very similar to a modern day computer monitor. Depending on the speed of a machine a monitor can have a variety of refresh rates. However, if you use the computer too fast, the rates will drop and anomalies will begin to become discernible. The windshield, or car monitor if you will, was currently displaying an older screen saver from earlier versions of windows called mystify. This simulation gives the effect of flying through space at light relative speeds. There are setting which can increase the number of stars viewable and the speed at which they randomly pass the screen. In our car version, the the number of stars was equivalent to the number of times Jacob has made up a statistic in random conversations, and the velocity being set to ludicrous speed, or about 30 miles per hour. This speed kept the refresh rate up just high enough to hypothesize we were currently on a highway. The term, "White Knuckle driving," was now understood by Jacob.

As I have class in 10 minutes, I guess the Cedar City portion of the trip will be moved into part three of this blog.

Hazel Marie Wall Says Hi!

That is all...

Tour De Phoenix -- Part I

PART I
In the upcoming months and weeks we are sure to see many different versions of the now famous Tour De Phoenix but I need to state for the record that mine will remain the most accurate. If you could play the vacation backwards I am sure it would be sitcom worthy. Yeah we are talking like a 800,000 dollar Ted Danson episode here.

Events leading up to the drive:

October:
Dre Scott(Cari's friend) is getting married!(no date)
Nicole Knutti decides to get married!(no date)


November:
Kathy asks us to host Jimmy for a bit and take him down to PHX.(no date)
Dre establishes a wedding date and we book our flight to DC from PHX.
At this point, Kathy is still driving back with Tommy.(no date)
Kathy informs us she will be flying out to NY with Jimmy from PHX.(no date)
Nicole locks down her wedding date and we are relieved it does not conflict.

December:
Tevia is pushing harder for an arrival date in PHX of which we have no clue.
Kathy and Jimmy buy plane tickets and we know the dates of their planes.
An estimated departure of Wednesday morning is scheduled.

Mid December:
Kathy learns her last final is not until Thursday.
The new time of departure is Thursday afternoon.

Late December:
Kathy discovers she can take her last final early.
The departure time moves to Tuesday night after Tommy's last final.

Sunday before:
Kathy explains she must drop Christmas presents off at her job on Thursday.
Departure delayed until Thursday afternoon.
Tommy decides to spread his finals out since more time is available.

Monday:
Tommy and Jacob only take one final.
Kathy explains we really don;t have to wait all the way to Thursday.
Wednesday night becomes the new goal of departure.

Tuesday:
The weather report predicts a ridiculously bad storm to hit on Wednesday.
Jacob and Tommy each only take a single final as Thursday is the new target.

Wednesday:
Not a cloud in the sky, finals are not done but could have been.
The weather prediction is a horrible night with the passes closed.
Tom and Jacob schedule to take their last final Thursday morning.

Thursday Morning:
Still not a cloud in the sky.
Flurries develop just after finals are completed.
The weather prediction says the worst of the storm hasn't yet hit.
It also claims Friday morning will be the worst.
The decision is to beat the storm or wait until Friday afternoon.
Kathy throws up.
Jacob decides if we wait until Friday the vacation will be too short.
Kathy throws up.
Jacob turns into Grandpa Wall in an effort to get people put the door by 3.
Kathy throws up.
Jacob is apparently not mean enough.
Kathy throws up.
We leave Provo at 5 to 6.
Kathy throws up.
Tevia still doesn't know when we will arrive in PHX.(either do we)
To be continued...

Best of 2007

Here is my annual best of list.

Best songs of 2007:

Stronger - Kanye West:
Yes, he really bugs me, too. But dang he makes me want to dance. Plus he mentions Bapes!
Boys Don't Cry - Fergie:
Her new album was, surprisingly, good! I guess I shouldn't have doubted her so much. This song showed her softer side and almost made her good looking; for an old meth girl. BTW - Tevia HATES her. :-)
Please Don't Stop the Music - Rihanna:
Her new album was the bomb. I like almost every song on it. This song makes me want to dance. And you gotta give her props for using "ma ma say ma ma sa ma ma coosa" in her song. Nobody's done that since the King of Pop.
Piece of Me - Britney:
Hey, her new album was one of her best with several songs that remind us why she got famous in the first place. In this song she strikes back at her critics - right before going mentally insane and going to the hospital and losing her kids.
This is Why I'm Hot - MIMS:
This was Soulja Boy's Crank That part 1. Yes, it will be his only hit - just like Soulja Boy.

Best Film: Pirates - At World's End. Critics and others didn't like it, but I loved it. Chow Yun Fat was great; Keira looked good again (after looking oddly ugly in Dead Man's Chest); and Johnny Depp was able to play the same character without making it feel played out. Runner up: Transformers.

Best Book: Harry Potter 7. JK is a genius and deserves her money. She finished this series without any disappointment. I loved every word of it and she even made me cry for the death of a character I don't even like! Runner up: Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer.

Best New Geek Application: Grand Central
When this came out and I discussed with Tevia she thought I was crazy. When Google bought the company and it got bigger, she listened. When we went to HK and we needed some sort of solution for our phone she bought in and now we love it. I love this app which lets you get a phone line and have it as your primary number and you can route it to your other phone numbers (e.g. home, cell). It tracks voicemail and stores them as well. It can stop spam callers, screen calls, etc. And it is all free.

Sick Festivus 2007

I realize that I never posted about Christmas from MY perspective. So since I am all alone in HK and have all the time in the world, you will see me blogging much more. So here is my take on the Christmas holiday.

Thankfully I was able to land in Phoenix as scheduled (thank you good fortune and Cathay Pacific). I was able to wait around for a few minutes after landing and waited for my parents. Once they arrived and we picked up their luggage (which took nearly an hour) we loaded up in the Airport Shuttle and headed back to HOME. I was excited to be with family. Jake and crew were supposed to head down that night but there was a big storm going on. In the end, and after several phone calls, they stopped and stayed the night in Cedar City due to foul weather. I believe the trek down from BYU could be a blog in itself and though I wasn't in the car which was packed with 5 adults and luggage in a small Accord on icy roads with a girl puking her lungs out. I'd say the Pioneers got nuthin' on the Wall family trek of '07 to Phoenix. They did finally make it the next day. And that is when I relived the film "The Thing." Except in our case "the thing" wasn't an alien but a virus. But he was just as effective at taking out his victims.

With at least one person being sick every day for the next week it was understandable that there wasn't much adventure on this trip. Indeed, there wasn't even much eating. Tevia's fabulous Christmas Dinner was enjoyed by a few but for the most part left in hopes of being eaten later by hungry - er, non-queasy - guests. I'm not sure what Kathy brought down from Provo, but at least we know it wasn't the Avian Flu from here. I find it interesting that I can go 6 months in Hong Kong - the capital of SARS and high pollution - and not get sick once. I return to the promised land for 2 weeks and get the flu???? At least I didn't throw up. I kept my streak going. Sorry Tommy! We all must be broken down from time to time.

It was great to see everyone and enjoy company. We were also lucky enough to meet Jimmy - or I guess Tevia and I were - everyone else had already met him. Jimmy was great to have around. He was a little quiet - but that is understandable. I am quite intimidating. I was happy to get to know him better. Once Santa came people were quite anxious to leave Slave I. In fact some people left on Christmas day! By Friday everyone had bailed except for Tommy. With several people concerned about him driving home alone (yes, the group who suffered through that awful trek decided air travel was much better than an Accord) I decided to take the chance and drive with him up to Provo.

So we headed out on Friday afternoon and decided to drive up through Vegas. The drive went well until we got to Hoover Dam and we were welcomed by a 90 minute backup. According to my google search this is quite common at Hoover Dam since 9/11. But I could not see any reason why. After 90 minutes we made it over the bridge but noone ever stopped any cars or anything like that. Maybe it is just a big rubbernecking thing. Due to the big delay we decided to stop in Vegas for the night. We had Tevia research some cheap places for us and she found Sahara for $50. So Tom and I booked a room in the oldest casino I have ever imagined and set out to see some of Vegas. It was very cold - which limited our curiosity. But we did see the Bellagio and the fountains. We ate some pizza at Ceasar's Palace and were happilly offered our fair share of hookers and Red Bull (yes, the Red Bull girls were quite disappointed that Tom and I did not take their free Red Bull). I realized that Tom really wasn't even old enough to be in the casinos - so the hookers were out of the question.

We headed back to the room which was about what you'd expect for $50. Still recovering from our viral attack we went to sleep to the sounds of rollercoasters and slot machines. We woke up early - especially since we were in Vegas which is on Pacific Time - and headed towards Provo. The ride went great from there. I will always remember our little trip as two of the Wall brothers sang Fergie and Britney songs along I-15. Who knew all of us Wall boys would be suckers for pop princesses? Upon arriving in Provo I demanded he play me in Madden on Jake's monstrosity of a TV. I soundly beat him the first game with my pathetic Rams and then watched him destroy me the next two games. I remembered Tevia's line from her book which said gamers hate 90% of the time they play. Oh how true that was! And I wanted to play again even after each touchdown I would sware how much I hated this game. At night we went to dinner with Jake Webb and Millie (and CJ!) at the Training Table which brought memories of Tevia and I. From the window I could see the place where I first told Tevia I was in love with her.

After dinner I went over to the Webb's place and got to see their chateau. It was fun being with them. We watched some Simpsons and they were also kind enough to let me beat them in Rumikub. While in Utah I realized how pretty snow is and there were times I was almost tempted to want to live there again. J Webb tried to bring me to my senses on the way to the airport. The plane ride back was uneventful and I was able to spend the next few days with Tevia and the boys in a post-flu environment. I loved every minute of the holiday. Can't wait to do it again. :-)

Goodbye 2007

2007 has come and gone. I would have to say it was a good year - though one of much change and stress. Some wonderful things happened in 2007. Jarek took his first step in the gospel and was baptized. It was a wonderful baptism and I am so proud of him. My prayers were answered in my career as I asked for an international opportunity. This provided us the opportunity to spend a good deal of time in Hong Kong. The experience helped our family in many ways and was a great experience. In the Spring of 2007 I returned to one of the areas of most joy in my childhood memory: the desert trip. This time I was able to bring my wife and three children and was thrilled to see my boys climb in the rocks and enjoy the same things I enjoyed as a kid. I even got to sleep in the big, green tent that we slept in when I was young. This trip meant a lot to me as it brought back great memories and at the same time gave my children some of the same memories.

2007 brought sadness with bad news from Tevia's father. This news brought much sorrow on Tevia and will take months to heal. It showed me once again the necessity to focus on the family and the importance of a father's influence. This year had a conference talk that has made me think of things more different than any other talk I can remember. It was the talk by Elder Oaks (who I also got to meet in person in 2007) about good, better, best. I have strived to think of more things in my life and try to determine if they are just good, or can I be doing better.

Through the good and the bad the year passed quickly and my family was blessed as usual. We escaped major sickness, major accident and continued to stay close. I am grateful for my family and look forward to being a better - or the best - father I can be in 2008. And the best husband as well. Once again in 2008 I will be praying for guidance in my career. I am not sure what will happen, but foresee changes ahead. This makes me nervous, but also excited. Who knows where we could end up? Maybe in South America? Europe? Texas? :-)

As 2008 will bring many changes on my family (missions, graduations, babies, weddings?) I look forward to spending as much time as possible with my family - both immediate and extended. Our families are so important and provide us so much support and love. In a society where the culture of community is slowly seeping away (or online) I am glad our family remains close. I love you all. Happy New Year.

For Mom: Malik's Testimony

Book of Mormon

As the church will be studying the B of Mormon this year for Sunday school, and I assume you are all going to be reading it, I thought I might start a blog for any cool inspirations and comments on the Book or Mormon. Is this possible for me to do? I challenge all of you to read it this year, even if you just read it. It is worth reading every single year. as many of you know, I just finished reading it backwards. I read it every year now, backwards every other year. I like it that way, it takes the story line out and makes me concentrate more on what the author is really writing about. This year, instead of just reading it, I plan on studying it more, and making notes as I read.
I know you are all busy, but I hope you all read at least a verse or two a day, hopefully a chapter a day. Good luck!

Happy New Year!

As we start this new year, we already know it will be full of changes and fun. Babies will be born, and I am guessing someone in our family will possible move on, (not one of us, like Milan or mom or uncle Sam). Some of us will change jobs, places of residence, etc. I pray for each of us, that we can make all our decisions carefully and with the guidance of the spirit. Maybe dad should have given out father's blessings. I say we go forth with a great optimism, directing our lives instead of letting life totally direct us. Let's enjoy the good, see each other often, share the pain, and make each other smile. I am so very grateful for all of you. I am still amazed at my life. I wake up in a safe beautiful home in cute warm pink pajamas, having yogurt and fruit and granola for breakfast. I can talk to any of you whenever I want. I have no fear. I have no war here in our land. I can pray whenever I want, buy whatever food looks good at the grocery store, even though I didn't have to plant it or grow it or weed it or even go looking far for it. I have scriptures to read, that I can choose to pick up every single day. I have a plan for my life, and I am living it. I have a temple close by, (well, kind of close). I have so many blessings. I continue to wonder why. It doesn't seem fair to me that some small children may wake up today hungry and in fear. It boggles my mind, and I hope the Lord can explain it to me someday. All of you have great blessings too. I exhort you as your mom to use them this year to bless others. Share the Gospel, read your scriptures, attend the temple, celebrate your freedoms, start your food storage, build your spiritual and financial reservoirs, and be kind to everyone around you. We are going to need each other. It is going to be a great year!