last Day befoRE neW years

What do Drew and a used hankerchief have in common????? Nothing that I can think of, but it is Drew's Birthday today!!! So Happy Birthday Drewbie! Everyone sing for him if you see him please! I seem to always be over seas or out of town for his Birthday but I've found ways previously to embarrass him in the lab. Drew's fun to embarrass if you haven't tried. I'll have to see what else I can do to keep that tradition alive!

And congrats to the Emerich's who have a new baby boy Aiden, and congrats to Brandon and Heather who also had their baby. Weird thing is how both babies were born ON CHRISTMAS DAY!! Crazy I tell ya.

And everybody join me please in wishing my Grandmother (Grams) a speedy recovery from a broken clavicle I think. Grams is a regular reader and is stuck in the cold in Nebraska this year after many years of spending the cold months in Arizona. Yes, this is my Grams that was the house mother at the sorority that we LOVED to visit:) I hear she's doing well but is not able to go to Florida as she usually does for New Years:( I'll come see you soon Grams.

Back to work today after the accidental full day away from work yesterday while in Hong Kong. Things are still going amazingly smooth and has given me time to play with some new programs for work. Cool stuff. I'm looking forward to finishing this quarter because I know how well we've done here so it's only good news coming out of IBM China! Hopefully that rubs off on the rest of the business for the quarter.

One thing I've noticed this week is how the folks from the US that are here on long term assignments... when they are talking and explaining themselves to someone that speaks Chinese and a little bit of English, they have an unnatural tendency to begin breaking up the English as someone that isn't as fluent in English would speak to us. For example, explaining instructions to someone becomes "You bring card here, then I show why you bring" instead of "How about you bring the card here so I can show you what we want to use it for". It's hard to explain I guess but none of it is done purposefully. I guess it's hard when you hear such little English and when you do actually hear it, a lot of times it is broken. I do applaud how many of the engineers and professionals with IBM know English. It seems that in order to excel to any higher level in China, you are encouraged to learn English. I wish we in the US had that same mentality of learning foreign languages. I think that's something we in America are extremely ignorant about not placing more emphasis on the positive uses of foreign languages.

I'm in the middle of a great book if anyone wants to read some good theology. The Secret Sayings of Jesus - I took a New Testament class in college which was by far my favorite class in college. We spent some time discussing the 20th century findings of the Dead Sea Scrolls among other discoveries such as The Gospel of Peter, and this Gospel of Thomas. Remember that the 4 Gospels that we're used to (Matthew, Mark, Luke being the Synoptic Gospels and John being the "other" gospel) are only the 4 that made it through the first couple of centuries after Christ died. Most were passed down via spoken word for generations before they were finally written down... plus translated into English. But the Gospel of Thomas has been given a lot of recognition by many sects due to how it correlates with the stories of Matthew and Luke. Hard to explain here. But it's amazing how historians can predict which events the authors of the Gospels were actually present at, and which they heard 2nd hand based on how they are written. Again, I find this stuff fascinating and while I actively read my Bible and use it as the foundation of my faith - I also see the need for individual interpretation due to many factors. I think every person should develop their own personal faith and use parts of the Bible as that foundation for faith. I will be the first to admit there are some passages that I think of daily and use to get me through any situation, but there are others that I don't fully agree with or understand.

BTW - there are no Gideon Bibles in the hotel room here in China. Imagine that.....

For those wondering, Hazel is doing well in Louisiana. She has a lot of family and friends there that she visits every year (she denies having extra boyfriends down there that she's using in place of me... but I'm still suspicious). She comes home next Tuesday as well (via a loooooooooooooong car ride) so we are hoping to see each other that night. I suppose it'd be unfair to make her cook for me. I'll wait till Wednesday to ask for that! haha! We're still together even though I think we've spent more time apart with me here in China than we did together before I left. I know, there are so many of you out there that would pay big $$ to get 2 weeks away from your significant other but that's not my problem:) haha.... Still no word on me going to Japan in January so I'm assuming I'm not going on the tail end of this trip and can at least enjoy a couple of days in Rochester before having to go anywhere else.

Have a great New Years Eve Day folks! I'm working again tomorrow but not sure how long. Also not sure what time we'll be done but we're hoping to get out in time to celebrate the non-Chinese New Year!

ADDENDUM 1: Just got back from the most AMAZING dinner on the ship. On the top floor is a German Restaurant and we met Andy who is the head chef. It helps to skip the little people and go straight for the people in charge! Andy and us talked for a while. He is from Germany and has a heavy German accent. Not only do they brew their own beer, but they make some incredible German food. We started with some Potato soup, then came two plates full of meat. Roast, Brats, ham, with two types of potatoes and some of the best Kraut I've had in a couple of years. Jen, we're doing German some night when i get back so start looking!! Makes me think of Oktoberfest in the Amana Colonies and that first time you go to the Brikhaus and have to be carried out from over eating! yum yum!

Have a great Drew's Bday today!!! He isn't at work today but I'm sure he meant to bring in donuts for everyone. He'll bring them in next week when everyone is back won't you Drew? haha!