I have lost some good friends over the last 5 years...but, the news, which has just reached me in China, of Jerry being KIA is hard to take. I worked with Jerry when I was in Iraq and I have to say that Jerry was something special. He was probably one of the funniest guys I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. He was tactically one of the sharpest guys I ever worked with and most importantly he was a great guy. Jerry made me feel welcome in Iraq and made it a point to "take me under his wing". We had some good times driving around in "hard" G-Wagons and we had some funny times when he was helping us get the BW team house established. This is the guy who when I asked him if they had any extra guns...literally brought over a truck full. Jerry was a fantastic guy and I never heard him say one thing bad about anyone else...he always had a smile on his face and if you needed a laugh he was sure to deliver. I was informed (accuracy TBD) that he was killed on Route Irish in a moving ambush. Route Irish has taken many of our friends...and I am sure it will take more. Jerry was a SEAL and I know that his death will hit that community hard. Jerry, his family, and his friends will be in my thoughts and prayers. I/We will miss you Jerry.
I have disabled comments because I do not want anyone using Jerry's death to make any comments about the war in Iraq...Jerry died serving his country and there is no greater honor.
Greetings all from Wuhan, China...it is May 24, 2008 already and that means it is the weekend. One of the unfortunate things about my current project in Wuhan is that due to flight schedules it is next to impossible for me to head home over the weekend...even though Hong Kong is less than a two hour flight away.
So, that means I am hanging out in Wuhan while Randi and Henry are in Hong Kong...kind of sucks. Well, we had a long night last night at the office; I finally made it out of there around 2000 hours and then headed back to the hotel. I got a nice workout in (even though the gym is limited) and then I finished reading "Not A Good Day To Die" by Sean Naylor. This is a magnificent book abut Operation Anaconda. I strongly recommend everyone reading this book and "Lone Survivor" by Marcus Luttrell. These two books will remind you (vividly) that the United States is at war and that the great soldiers of this country are fighting and dying every day to ensure that radical extremism does not gain a foothold. Our soldiers are waging this war in extreme environments against determined fighters and they are conducting this war with honor, integrity, and morals. To say I am proud of our country is an understatement.
So, I stayed up until almost 0300 hours reading and am just waking up...well...actually waking up for the 2nd time today. I am not sure what happened this morning but at 0650 someone decided to set off some fireworks (the ones that sparkle and then explode on the ground) in front of our hotel. Now, I am not talking just a couple of fireworks...I am talking about enough to cover the entire sidewalk for a full block...I am not making this up. This...display...lasted for 5 minutes or so as firework after firework exploded. I swear for a second I thought I was on Takur Ghar.
Plans for today are not too exciting...one of the team members decided she needs to go into the office today...so...instead of heading out with the rest of the team to go site seeing in Wuhan; I am going to head into the office with her. Dad always told me to make sure that you never ask someone to do something you won't do yourself and I figured even though this was her idea...I shouldn't let her go in by herself.
So, I will take the time to study for the CFA exam which is just a few short weeks away. I am hoping that I am not going to be in the office all day. The rest of the team is going to go check out East Lake, which is a famous lake here in Wuhan, and then they are going to go to some museums and check out the Wuhan University. I think that would definitely be interesting...and maybe I will just go and site see myself tomorrow after I get the intel from the rest of the team on where and what to see and of course what to skip. I am here through June 4th...so, I have another weekend next week as well. We will see what I can figure out to do...although I am sure a majority of that time will be spent in the gym and studying for the CFA.
The hotel here has a little gym that has a few dumbbells, unfortunately the heaviest one is 25lbs. Now, at first I was a little disappointed as usually the lightest dumbbell I use is 30lbs when working out...but...I decided to just "rep-out" on everything. So, I have been doing 20 to 30 reps for each set in my workout...which is actually pretty tough. So, for my arm and back workout yesterday I ended up doing 6 exercises with dumbbells and I did 4 sets of 20 to 30 reps for each of those exercises depending upon the exercise. Let me tell you...that was actually a really good workout. My biceps were screaming to me after my 4th set of 30 one arm isolated curls...wow...I am actually a little sore this morning. I also did a lot of creative stuff and kind of used one 25lb dumbbell as a "kettle ball" and did some "dynamic" exercises working my core. So, even though a hotel gym may be limited you can still be creative and get a good workout. Also, the hotel has a pool and I always bring my swim gear so I can swim laps. Unfortunately, when we first arrived the pool was being repaired...but as of last night the pool is back in business...meaning I can get some laps in tonight.
Randi is in Hong Kong and I am sure right about now she is at Berlitz taking a Mandarin lesson without me. I have to say Randi is progressing really well with her Mandarin. I am doing all right...as I get to "practice" a bit on my travels...which is fun. I think she is going to go see the musical "We Will Rock You", which is set to Queen's music, tonight with some friends. I am sure it will be fun and when she goes out with the girls they always have fun.
Tomorrow is scheduled to be a Henry day and she is going to get together with more friends and their dogs and let the four legged friends play and socialize. I have to say Henry has some good "dog" friends here. In fact, our friends Phil and Lauren just got a new dog named Juno and Henry and her get along wonderfully. In fact, they get along so well we started joking that Henry has a girlfriend. Juno was at our house the other day and they played constantly for several hours just "flirting" with each other. Juno is a puppy so she has tons of energy and when Henry would collapse from exhaustion she would come over and nip and lick at Henry's face until he would get back up and go for another round of chase or tug-of-war. It was hilarious watching them play...the simple things in life are always so amusing.
Well, that is all from Wuhan...I think it is time to get up and get the day going. Have a great weekend and remember to be safe, buckle-up, and treat everyone you come across this weekend as you would like to be treated. Oh...and make sure you smile and say "hi" to everyone you come across...you never know it might otherwise brighten someone's dreary day. Here are a few more pictures from Wuhan:
A shot of me on the Yangtze with a few co-workers Jacko (my right) and Sally (my left):
Larry knocking back some boneless chicken feet...yummy:
One place that I never dreamed of visiting when I was younger was Wuhan, China. I never dreamed of visiting Wuhan primarily because I had never heard of it. Well, here I am in Wuhan, China and I have to say so far the experience has been pretty good. I departed Hong Kong on May 18, 2008 and arrived in Wuhan a quick hour and a half later. The flight was nice and it was my first flight on Dragon Air. I have to say I recommend Dragon Air as the airline to fly in China.
Wuhan is a bit different than some of the other cities that I have visited in China. It is considered a tier II city and has a population of roughly 8 million. So, that should put China in perspective for you...a "medium" sized city with 8 million people...a city with 8 million people in the U.S. is huge.
I am scheduled to be here through the 4th of June, so I am definitely going to get some time to see the city. So far I have had some great food. Wuhan is in the Sichuan Province and they like their food spicy. On my first night we had some spicy crawfish (yes, real crawfish), even spicier than ones I have had down in Louisiana. I love spicy food so, I am actually enjoying the food here more than the food in Southern China (Shenzhen, Guangzhou, etc.). It has been a good trip thus far with only a few "interesting" stories. We had a chance to be in the middle of the 3 minutes of silence that China undertook on the 19th of May and during the evening we went down to the Yangtze river where candle balloons were released into the night sky. I have to say that I was extremely impressed with the solidarity and support that everyone was showing for the victims of the earthquake. I hope that if our country suffered such a devastating natural disaster that we would show the same solidarity. I have attached some pictures for your viewing pleasure.
I think this is the equivalent of the little guy in the U.S. "relieving" himself on your choice of car manufacturers:
This is a shot of the actual "three minutes of silence" in China - it was impressive to see a city of 8 million stop. Very impressive solidarity:
This is a shot of the candle light vigil we were part of on the Yangtze River:
Well, it is Sunday the 11th of May in Hong Kong and that means it is Mother's Day. What a great day. I am a huge fan of Mother's Day...you get to celebrate Mom. Randi and I are thousands of miles away from our Moms...but, we will definitely be calling them and wishing them a wonderful Mother's Day. Today is a cloudy wet day in Hong Kong and it looks like it is going to stay that way for the majority of the day. This weekend is another three day weekend in Hong Kong with Buddha's birthday being celebrated on Monday...not sure how old he is. Randi and I don't have any really exciting plans...just hanging out...spending time with the dog and friends. We went and saw Ironman on Friday night and I have to say that it was a great movie. It was incredibly entertaining, the acting was superb, and the movie offered the right mix of action, comedy, and drama. All I have to say is it receives a 9-F score on the Farage Movie Meter. Randi was actually pleasantly surprised as well...I think she thought it was going to be a little cheesy...but, she really enjoyed it. She even recommended it to my mother...so you know she enjoyed it. Randi and I were also pleasantly surprised that the movie was pretty much "foul language free" which was a nice change. We are scheduled to see What Happens in Vegas this evening and will report on that one as well. As of right now...Ironman is the best movie of 2008 in my opinion. Have a great weekend and remember to buckle up and don't drink and drive.
Wow...that is all I can really say about Rev. Jeremiah Wright's performance at the National Press Club event this week. I think this guy has basically gone off of his rocker. I was literally in shock watching the event; Wright made an absolute ass of himself. I have never seen a more arrogant, mean-spirited, twisted, and smug "man of God" in my life. For someone who presents himself as a "preacher" yet goes out and demeans the very nature of the position - Rev. Wright should be ashamed. His church should also be ashamed. I think the thing that capped it off was his comment "he did not put me in chains, he did not put me in slavery, and he didn't make me this color". This comment was in response to a question about his relationship with Louis Farrakhan. If you look at this statement it defies all logic...for someone who is having a multi-million dollar house built for him he has done pretty well for a black slave who is in chains. This is crazy...this man has never been in chains and he was never a slave. He speaks as if he was a slave and that he is angry about being a slave. Get over it. I am never going to apologize to Rev. Wright for slavery for several reasons: A) I was not alive when slavery was practiced in parts of this country; B) my family wasn't even in the United States then - they were making their way from Lebanon, Lithuania, and other countries; and C) most importantly that there is no one alive today who was a slave. Rev. Wright deserves no apology from me or the government of the United States of America. If anything, Rev. Wright owes this country an apology - an apology for saying AIDS and HIV was created by the USA to infect black people - an apology for saying that the USA practices terrorism - and an apology for saying that the U.S. is attacking the "black church". Bottom-line this guy has made a drastic mistake. I feel sorry for Sen. Obama as he hitched his wagon to the wrong horse.
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