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| I write this blog from my dad's wireless lap top computer in Hong Kong. It's awesome being here especially after the great summer I had. It all started on June 30th, 2007 when I was informed that I was being docked $200 bonus because I missed 1 class to take my son to the hospital for a simple procedure when he was 10 days old. I was so frustrated by everything. It was hard to deal with the fact that a lot of my coworkers miss office hours for personal reasons and I was getting my pay docked because I decided to be honest. Little did I know that the next day I would receive the $200. It was a good lesson in patience. From there I went to my wife's hometown to get here visa to go to China. It was a little rocky at first because somehow my birth certificate was lost and we needed it to go to Hong Kong. To make a long story short, I ordered my birth certificate on a Monday night in a small town in China and on Wednesday I was printing it from a small internet bar in the middle of nowhere. Amazing story! We went to get her visa to go to Hong Kong just in the nick of time. Now, the time in between when I got the birth certificate was quite stressful, but like all my stories in China they turn out to be good. From there it was back to Shanghai for the first Summer camp of the year in Shanghai. It was awesome. 20 Americans came for the 9th Sino-US summer camp in Shanghai, China. It's actually in a small town called Nan Xiang in the Jia Ding District. I won't go into any of the details, but it was a good camp that was very successful. At the end all the Chinese and American Students were crying like they always do. It certainly is a sight to behold. I went to Beijing with the team from America. There, we had a great time debriefing and touring the sights. We even found 2 great American places to eat. Grandma's Kitchen and Steak and Eggs. Both of them are in the Chau Yang District near the Silk Market. After Beijing I went to Shanghai to rest for a few days and then it was on to Kun Ming and the stone forest for the 2nd Summer Camp. This camp was just as ood or even better than the one in Shanghai. There are a lot of different ways to compare the camps, but I'll have to do it some other time when I have time. The best part of the camp was the trip to the stone forest and the torch festival (see pics below). I'll post a video later. Well, after Kun Ming it was on to Hong Kong where an unexpected incident happened. There were 15 of us travelling together. Our plane was delayed and we had to go from the Shenzhen airport to the Hong Kong border. We found a company around 9:30pm that was able to use 3 vans to take us to the border. We all split the teams up into groups of 5 and made our way to the border. From there we had to go to walk about 10 minutes with all of our luggage to the border. When we arrived at the border everyone went to grab a departure card to fill it out. That's when the youngest member of our group (15 yrs. old.) informed us that he lost his wallet. He ran back to the place where the van had dropped us off and searched the area. I ran after him to tell him that we didn't have time to worry about a wallet. I said we needed to get across the border. It was then that he informed me that his wallet had his passport in it. This is where it all got interesting. I ran back with him to the border and then the search began. I called the police and they were no help. I looked at the receipt from the company and that was no use. I tried to get the company number and that was no use. Finally, I said that the best thing to do was for the group to go across the border to Hong Kong and for him and I to go back to the airport to where the company was. By this time it was already 11pm and that particular border closed at 12am. Well, my dad stayed at the border waiting with the boy's sister. The rest of the group went across the border. We sprinted to find a cab and then got into the cab. He made it to the airport at record speed. When we got there the company was closed. I befriended a few security guards and they helped me to make a few phone calls. All we could do is hope that he dropped his wallet in the van and that the driver would find it. We waited for 30 minutes when I saw this driver running in from outside. In his hand was the boy's wallet. True story. We took a taxi to the 24 hour border. We arrived at the place the other team was staying at 2:30am. I thought I was going to receive a hero's welcome from everyone. It was simply amazing that we were able to find his passport. Instead, everyone was asleep. I said goodbye to the boy and saw him again at 5am in the morning when I helped take the team to the Hong Kong airport. Well, now I'm in Hong Kong and I'm just chillin'. It's time for me to go to bed now. My wife and son are already sleeping. I'll write some more blogs later. Take care. | | |
| You know if you were to look at the world in a realistic way you would find that everything and I mean almost everything is not as it is perceived. I’m going to take one example and one example will be enough for you to ponder. It has to do with Politics. Oh yeah. I love politics and I love to debate it. Now, I’m not going to sit here and say what I believe or articulate my arguments.
I’m just going to say one simple thing. It’s the perception that my side would like to force everyone to adhere to morality. It’s the perception that my side wants to ram religion down the throats of everyone. It’s the perception that my side is always the one that’s pushing the envelope. However, it’s completely 180 degrees different.
The people with no tolerance are on the other side. They can’t tolerate it when people disagree with them. When people have different opinions they go ballistic. I’ve been in so many discussions with my coworkers and debating a simple issue they blow up, get angry and then proceed to call me names. They are bitter, angry, negative and full of hatred. At the end of discussions they say I’m misinformed. Privately, they say that I don’t know what I’m talking about. When I’m not there they call me names behind my back to other friends and coworkers and say that I’m the one that’s an idiot. They don’t have the guts to tell me to my face.
Recently something happened that our school that finally everyone agreed was wrong. Both sides of the political sphere thought that an incident that happened at our school between two students was handled wrongly. One of my coworkers, whom I respect even though I sometimes disagree with, wrote the following:
“One would think that an institution which boasts of its sterling reputation would have learned, over so many years, the simple difference between simple right and simple wrong.”
The key words here are “the simple difference between simple right and simple wrong”. It’s so ironic because people like my coworker here have tried to push the envelope so much that we don’t see black and white. According to the other side seeing black and white is bad. We need moral relativism. There is no difference between right and wrong so why when something like this happens are you surprised when it does?
It’s these people on the opposite side where I stand that have routinely fought for people who have been wrong. It’s the people that are trying to stand up for good that are impugned, hated, called names and demeaned by people who claim to be so tolerant. So it’s very ironic when something happens at this school that I love and one of the people on the other side is suddenly irate at something he has tried to implement in society his whole life: tolerance and moral relativism .
Well, he certainly through his ideology out the window on that one. I might disagree with this guy, but I’m glad he’s there. I respect his opinion and totally agree with him on the situation that occurred at my school. However, he has made fun of me, called me names and has been extremely intolerant on my beliefs. But that’s life. People will still think that my side is intolerant, that my side can’t stand immorality. They will think that my side is the one that calls names. However, it’s totally the other way around. I love a good political debate. There’s not one coworker that I cannot talk to. I am friendly, positive, encouraging and have no qualms with any of my coworkers. I guess that’s how I keep my sanity.
The other side, however, has to convince themselves that I’m an idiot. They have to call me names to make lower so they can prop their ideologies up. I love it. And I don’t mind being called names, impugned or called an idiot. I’m secure in my belief and don’t need to try to shut up or tear down the other side for my beliefs and ideology to be right. Oh yeah.
So whether or not you agree or disagree with me please never try to tear down another side or impugn them just because you aren’t secure in your belief. Hate never led a movement that changed the world. Be strong in your belief, smile and be positive. Things in this world aren’t perfect, but it’s worth standing up for your beliefs. Don’t hate! Articulate your beliefs!!!
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| Ok, so my favorite sport used to be basketball. At least that’s what I started playing when I was in the 1st grade. I always loved watching the NBA and my favorite team was the Denver Nuggets. They had Fat Lever, Michael Adams and Alex English. (Names nobody probably knows). Well, they were a decent team. They always made the playoffs but they could never beat Utah, Dallas or San Antonio. Of course, they couldn’t beat the Lakers either. I still liked them because they had heart. Also, their players were role models.
Fast forward to today. The Nugget’s stars are Marcus Camby, Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony. Now, they probably have more tattoos than 100 thugs combined. All of them are thugs and Anthony has ties to gangs. Iverson is a pure rebel and probably has ties to gangs too. It used to be that all the Nugget players were upstanding citizens who you would want your son or daughter to look up to. My dad always talked to me about them and we even went to some games together. I even watched “Amazing Grace” starring Alex English.
Back then they weren’t the best team in the West but they did seem to make the playoffs and then go out in the first or second round. Fast forward to today. They still aren’t a good team and they go out in the first round of the playoffs every year. Last year a guy from the Bronco’s died when he was at Kenyon Martin’s birthday party. It was a drive by shooting. Just recently J.R. Smith got in a car accident and his friend died. Of course, alcohol was involved. Also, another member of their team was arrested.
I used to love the NBA and I cheered so hard for the Nuggets. Now, the NBA has been taking over by gangs and thugs rule the court. Does anyone even care about the NBA finals anymore? Well, I still watch it and I gotta admit I bought the NBA package to listen to, but my original passion for the game is now gone. It will never be the same.
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| You can change the world!!!
Oh yes, it’s the old cliché. You’ve probably heard this phrase and just kept doing what you have always done. Why should anyone listen to little old you? You’re just a normal person in this world. Well, like I said before normal in this world is called “Negative”. Everyone is negative and upset at everything around them. Of course, when it comes to a personal responsibility people nowadays never take it.
Every morning when you wake up you should start out for being thankful. If you are reading this blog then you are already more fortunate than 90% of the world. I found a simple solution to changing those around you. Just follow these steps and you will find success.
#1 Wake up being thankful for what you have.
#2 Learn to be content with everything you have
#3 Don’t envy what others have or complain about what you don’t have.
#4 Encourage at least 3 people a day
# 5 Be positive and try to find the good in each situation that you are in
#6 Take responsibility for your actions.
#7 Don’t blameshift.
#8 Smile!
#9 Keep your head up.
#10 Surround yourself with a circle of friends.
#11 Don’t ever isolate yourself
#12 Try to think of others before yourself
#13 Do a good deed for someone other than yourself
#14 Stop complaining!
#15 Just do it! Impossible is nothing.
Made by Jonathan Mellen
All rights reserved!!!
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I remember my very first year in China. I moved to Beijing. I had all types of plans for living in China. It was going to be awesome. I thought I had a great job and there were great people around me. However, that year a lot of things happened that I didn’t really expect. I was actually blamed for things I didn’t do and I got in trouble for lies that other people told. Now, for the sake of all you reading I will not go into details. The point is there were many things that happened that I was able to grow from.
In Beijing things happened on a personal level. There were actually real people involved. Of course, if you talk to everyone they have their own view of what happened. The thing to learn from all of this is that don’t let bitterness towards any of your friends or coworkers or bosses well up inside you. You will become a person of hate. Sometimes a lot of things happen to you but you have to know that most people are not out to be evil. Most people are just wanting to protect themselves and everyone has their shortcomings.
When you put all this together and use common sense, then it’s easy to know that people are just people. What good does it do to hate fallible people who want nothing more than to protect themselves? With that said there are people in this world who are out to do evil. However, most likely a person you used to be friends with is not a person who is “pure evil”.
Now you can take this on a personal level and run with it. Everyone has that someone you just dislike. There’s that one person at your office or in your circle of friends or at social events that you wish weren’t there. Well, it’s a personality class. You don’t get along because you have different personalities, have different beliefs and well you can fill in the blank _____________________. It is not because one of you are “pure evil”.
Well, this is of course “hate” on a personal level. All of us seriously dislike some people, but maybe nobody “hates” someone. I think it was Aristotle who said that the Macrocosm is made up of the Microcosm or something like that. That means individuals made up of society. With my own eyes and ears I’ve heard pure hatred toward people who really shouldn’t be hated. For some reason they are. I’ll give you a few examples.
There’s an old proverb. “Hate what is evil. Cling to what is good.” Well, what is evil? Evil seeks to kill, steal, and destroy people’s lives for no reason other than the fact that they are “pure evil”. Well, holding a certain political belief does not make you “evil”. That is unless you are barbaric and have nothing but evil intent on all the people you know or may not know.
The first example I’ll give you is Jerry Fallwell. Now, I just lost some of you here. You’re like “Who the jelly is Jerry Fallwell?” Well, he was the leader of the so called “moral majority” in America and came to prominence for standing up for his beliefs and getting involved in politics. My friends, you would not believe how many people hate this guy. For what? Well, let’s see…he wanted to make America better. He wanted to implement his personal beliefs that he felt strongly about. That doesn’t make him evil. Now I won’t go into this because I don’t want people to start leaving hateful comments. Why hate this guy just because he stood up for his moral beliefs? Was he trying to “steal, kill and destroy?” The answer is No!
The other guy that people hate in America is George W. Bush. A lot of it is just blind hate. People actually believe the tripe that the media spews out and for some reason half the country in America hates George W. Bush. Now has the Bush administration made mistakes? Why yes…and so has every other administration. Do they have the right to be criticized? Yes…but so do all the other administrations as well. But hate????
Ok, I’ll give all of you guys the benefit of the doubt. He became president and didn’t win the popular vote. He started a war that is unpopular now. And I do stress the “Now” because 80% of the people agreed we should have gone into Iraq when we did. Now, everyone is jumping ship. He implemented his beliefs. Well, that’s his crime. Now a lot of you will say that he lied too, but if he lied then so did all the senators who voted for the war too and had the same intelligence as Bush.
My point is that tons of people hate George W. Bush. And for what? Well, I know why people hate him, but I won’t tell you directly. I don’t want to stir the pot that much. Haha…Well, I think that you should save your hate for evil things. How about hating people who are killing us? If you are going to hate the war in Iraq then why not hate the terrorists who started it? Why not hate the people who hijacked the Islamic religion and have turned it into Islamo-Fascism. These are the people that are killing our people. They are destroying our way of life. They are trying to steal our freedom.
Sadaam Hussein gassed his own people. He brutally tortured all kinds of people. The terrorists behead people that reject their god. The terrorists force women to have sex with them and then when they give birth they immediately begin to indoctrinate the children into hating the West.When is the last time the war in Iraq was blamed on these horrible, evil people? When’s the last time you heard any kind of media outlet focusing on the horrible things that these terrorists do? These guys’ hijacked planes and killed thousands of innocent people?
Who do we hate? Well, I guess some of you hate a guy who has a different ideology than you. Personally, I’m disturbed that a lot of people I know blame evil on America. They blame it on George W. Bush. They blame it on this conservative and that conservative. They blame everything on people who are not evil. They hate these people and they give the terrorists and everyone that’s trying to steal, kill and destroy a free pass.
What? Say that again? America is evil???? No my friends! Guys who behead anyone who doesn’t see eye to eye with them are evil. Guys who can take down 2 of the world’s tallest buildings and have no regard for human life are evil. People who have been attacking America since the late 80’s are trying to kill the West’s way of life. They hate every aspect of our freedom.
So before you start complaining about a guy who is just trying to preserve our way of life, how about stopping and thinking of where the real evil in our world is. It’s not a guy with a different ideology who may believe different things than you. It’s a people who are trying to destroy our culture.
“Hate what is evil. Cling to what is good.”
Joke -
Evil: “Knock Knock”
Someone: “Who’s There?”
Evil: “It’s pure evil”
Someone “Oh, evil, what have I done. I’m so sorry. Please forgive me. No, it’s my fault. I was the won who instigated your evil. I was walking in your territory. It’s me. I’m sorry. I’m the bad guy. Please, can we talk? Let me send my diplomats over and we can discuss what’s wrong. Oh please don’t be angry. I know our people sometimes walk around. We’ve been trying our best not to offend you.
Evil: “I want all of you dead and I don’t care about any of your ideologies”
Someone: We admit oh evil one, it’s our fault. It’s us. We are to blame. We suck! Please look at us. We are honest when bashing ourselves. Please Please Pretty Please. Don’t hurt us. We don’t even agree with that guy. Just ignore him.
Evil “We don’t care about any of you and we sure don’t care about any of your ideologies. Now prepare to die.
Someone “I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that (wink wink). I’m sure we can work a deal out with you.
Evil “We want you dead”
Someone “What was that, do we agree on something? Well, we’ll keep trying”.
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