Moving out was hard. I'm just typing this to document it for myself. It was weird to see my house empty. I was very good though and didn't get emotional about it. The only time I teared up was when we were on the way to drop the dogs off. That was hard. I miss them.
We started packing up weeks ago and getting random things to the storage unit. Then last week we started packing for real. Books and book shelves were the first to go. Then the rest of our back bedroom went. Then it got harder. Kitchen, bathroom, laundry room, TV room, living room. We had to do something with all of our food - so we sold/gave it all away. It was a completely different thing from moving houses. Moving your life into storage was hard.
The move started to hit us and feel real when we dropped our bins off for shipping. Wow. We had dinner with friends on 4 different nights. That was good.
We finished up at 11:30 p.m. Saturday night and went to my in-laws. We slept there - sort of. We didn't sleep much. We got up at 6:00 to go the airport. We are now in Atlanta and I am enjoying the sunshine - a little too much. I forgot to put sunscreen on and now I have some pretty good lines on my upper arms and neckline.
Awesome. Next time - Atlanta Day 1.
4.11.2011
4.07.2011
Frustrations with Insentive people
I can't say I've always been a supporter of PETA. I support the proper spaying and nuetering of animals and taking care of your pets, but PETA has gone one too far this time.
To: Ingrid Newkirk
Subject: Insensitivity
I will do my best to sound articulate rather than like an outraged person who can't collect their thoughts.
You think that living with the status of infertile is a choice? It's not. I appreciate your desire for ethical treatment of animals. I have two dogs, one rescued, both fixed. It's good thing. But pairing this up with "fixed" people is very rude.
I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and as such I believe in and have a desire for a family. Being a mother is what my body was created to do and is my mission for this life. The human experience involves parenting and knowing that love and selflessness that comes from raising children. By the shear coincidence of genetics, I landed the wonderful lot of being infertile as a result of auto-immune diseases.
Why would you "joke" and take lightly the loss of a dream and a life pursuit that is held sacred and cherished by so many? The choice to not have children is personal, not societal. I can respect your opinions but I ask that you respect the situation of the millions of people who live with the pain of infertility everyday.
Sincerely,
Ashley Allen
Infertility patient for 8 years.
I just wanted them to know that their treatment regarding Infertility Awareness was about as twisted as it comes.
This is the response I received from them:
Dear Ms. Allen,
Thank you for contacting PETA about your objections to our contest offering a free vasectomy. We are sorry that you are offended and are taking this as a personal attack. We did not intend it to be. Our goal was to bring about discussion of animal overpopulation, the need to spay and neuter dogs and cats, and the impact of human overpopulation on the environment.
A lot of men have entered the contest, and there is great interest in it, which focuses attention on the tragic suffering and death of homeless dogs and cats. Furthermore, the cost of a vasectomy is not cheap, and not everyone wants to reproduce. Having one’s own child may be a compelling urge for some, but nobody should condemn those who choose to avoid causing pregnancy or any organization that provides them with a means to do so. Many who choose to have a vasectomy consider it a moral conundrum for some of us to be spending thousands of dollars trying to reproduce ourselves when there are homeless children, including some with disabilities, who want for homes, and when the environment is being ravaged as human population increases. Since most of the e-mails we are receiving from people who’ve read about our contest on infertility blogs are quite uncivil, perhaps some soul searching needs to be done on the part of those who would rather throw stones than engage in discourse.
PETA works very hard to prevent the births of puppies and kittens who will end up abandoned in animal shelters or struggling to survive on the streets. Breeding, both purposeful and accidental, is responsible for the euthanasia of millions of these loving companions each year. Sterilization is both the easiest and the most effective means available of ensuring animals’ happiness and safety. Male animals who have been neutered are far less likely to roam far from home or fight. Neutering greatly diminishes and possibly eliminates reproductive urges (which are not the same in dogs as they are in humans). In addition, these animals will never get testicular cancer and run less risk of contracting prostate disease. Female animals who have been spayed avoid the trauma of giving birth and will no longer go into heat.
Consider the fate of the millions of unwanted animals whose parents were never spayed and neutered. Born into a hostile world, they are caged among strangers at animal shelters or, worse, abandoned on the sides of roads. They are run over by cars and attacked by other animals. They are infected with painful, contagious, and deadly diseases. Those unlucky enough to run into cruel humans are often drowned, beaten with baseball bats, suffocated in plastic bags, stabbed, shot, starved, set on fire, used as bait, and tortured in countless other ways. And the saddest tragedy of all is that before they meet some gruesome death, they reproduce, and the cycle of animal suffering continues.
A national organization, SPAY/USA, helps guardians of animal companions who need assistance with the cost of spaying and neutering. You can contact SPAY/USA at the following website and toll-free number.
They still didn't get it. They still think it was all about them. I was just trying to point that this is not the week to be "joking" about the infertility of humans. Insensitive idiots.
Back to packing. this moving stuff is hard.
4.01.2011
Our Trip to China last week...Part 3
Our fourth day, Thursday morning, we flew down to Hong Kong. We were flying home the next day out of Hong Kong so it was nice to have some time to see Hong Kong a little.
This was the view flying in over Hong Kong. Great, huh?
While in Hong Kong we saw Hong Kong park, Hong Kong Peak - where we rode the tram up, Mong kok - the women's market, and dinner at amazing an Australian steak house in the newest building in Hong Kong, 'The One.'
Here are a couple from Hong Kong Park
You could walk in under the fountain from the side.
Then we rode the tram up to the top of Hong Kong Peak. It was a pretty steep ride. I took a video of our ride down. (That'll be another post.)
Here are some pictures of the ride up and the view from the top. It's very expensive to live up there.
This was taken part way up the tram ride.
This is us near the top.
This was taken at Mong kok when Daniel was there in January. We'll post more pictures of this phenomena after our next trip there.
It was an amazing 4 days full of so much information and kind of a sensory overload. I'm so excited to move to China.
This was the view flying in over Hong Kong. Great, huh?
While in Hong Kong we saw Hong Kong park, Hong Kong Peak - where we rode the tram up, Mong kok - the women's market, and dinner at amazing an Australian steak house in the newest building in Hong Kong, 'The One.'
Here are a couple from Hong Kong Park
Here are some pictures of the ride up and the view from the top. It's very expensive to live up there.
This was the view from our dinner at Wooloomooloo steak house on the 21st floor of the "The One" building in Hong Kong.
3.31.2011
Our Trip to China last week...Part 2
On day three we had our medical exams. It wasn't too bad. But at one point I was expecting to feel some sort of electrical shock. Not kidding.
WARNING. This is about my medical exam and reveals things. If you get squimish skip down to the next bolded heading.
We showed up at the medical office early and went in to wait for the staff to begin work at 8:00. You can get in, but no one will help you until 8 am. We had to give them 3 copies of a visa photo and fill out a form. After paying the fee we got a list of about 15 things all in Chinese. Fortunately we had Daniel assistant from the company with us and she is native Chinese. She was such a help. We went up the stairs to the second level and into the first station. We had blood drawn and she gave me a q-tip to hold where she had poked me and said "2 minutes!" I thought it was done bleeding and that it had been 2 minutes. So I took the q-tip off and checked, no bleeding and threw it away. When I looked back at my arm again, it was bleeding, like dripping. So she thrust 3 more q-tips at me and snapped "2 minutes!" Awesome. Then it was time for the urine sample. Pee into a cup and then put it into a tube. Not easy. nuff-said.
The next station was the eye check. Daniel was tested with and without his glasses. Then I was tested. They didn't even clean the metal eye cover. Awesome. I love germs.
The third station was blood pressure and weight. Easy enough.
Then we had the ECG. My favorite. so I got in and the woman says a bunch of stuff to Selena (Daniel's assistant. Her Chinese name is Xia Jing) and she says roll up your pant leg and push your sock down. Then hop up on the table and pull your shirt up. So I did. Then she said higher. That's right folks, shirt in armpits. Exposed. Then she puts metal pinchers on my ankle, my wrists and suction cups along my chest. I was pretty sure something was going to go wrong. After a minute she says, "you're done." So I put myself back together. That was it. I told my mom and she said that is 30 year old technology. Awesome.
Then the ultrasound. They do an ultrasound of your ribcage and stomach. I'm not sure what they were checking for.
Then the x-ray. Bra off again. Shirt on. You have to stand on a small platform and hold a protective shield over your bum. At least I did. Daniel didn't. While holding this to your hips you have to press your shoulders into the wall and then the platform moves. Try keeping your balance with your toes and shoulders against the wall. Then we were done.
That was it. It was kinda weird. The whole thing only took 45 minutes. Then we were done. Then we went KFC to wait for our driver and we ate congee with pork strips and preserved egg. It was okay. The egg looked gross though - kinda brown. They have the yummiest sweet bread sticks there in the morning. It's kind of like a Chinese churro.
Then off to the factory.
Daniel works for Lifetime Products. You all know who that is, even if you don't think so. They make most of the basketball standards on the market and the plastic tables and chairs at Costco and Sams. They have a factory in China where they make a few things for the U.S. and the things that are sent to Europe and Australia. The company is upgrading to a new ERP (it's okay, I don't quite understand it all either ;)) and that is what Daniel will be doing there for the next 18 months. I went with him on our third day (Wednesday) to get a tour and meet the people he will be working with. I just loved his assistant Selena. She is really amazing. Her English is fantastic. She will be able to help Daniel so much. She's one of the best they have there. I also met with the President of the China division.
I got a tour of the factory and all of their parts. It was pretty awesome. The people were looking at me funny. Probably because I was the fat American in the golf cart getting a tour and taking pictures. Not sure what they thought. Here are few pictures of the factory.
This is a woman had cutting the extra plastic off a blow-molded table top. In China it's done by hand. In Clearfield it's done by machine.
This is welding of a frame.
This is a warehouse full of the plastic and what looks like olympus water is actually color pellets for the plastic.
This is Daniel's office and the foyer of the main office area. In China it's very important to give a good impression as quickly as possible when someone is visiting you.
It is very peaceful.
That evening we walked to some of the parks and then went to a Cuban restaurant for dinner at the request of a member of our travel group.
Next post: Our day in Hong Kong.
WARNING. This is about my medical exam and reveals things. If you get squimish skip down to the next bolded heading.
We showed up at the medical office early and went in to wait for the staff to begin work at 8:00. You can get in, but no one will help you until 8 am. We had to give them 3 copies of a visa photo and fill out a form. After paying the fee we got a list of about 15 things all in Chinese. Fortunately we had Daniel assistant from the company with us and she is native Chinese. She was such a help. We went up the stairs to the second level and into the first station. We had blood drawn and she gave me a q-tip to hold where she had poked me and said "2 minutes!" I thought it was done bleeding and that it had been 2 minutes. So I took the q-tip off and checked, no bleeding and threw it away. When I looked back at my arm again, it was bleeding, like dripping. So she thrust 3 more q-tips at me and snapped "2 minutes!" Awesome. Then it was time for the urine sample. Pee into a cup and then put it into a tube. Not easy. nuff-said.
The next station was the eye check. Daniel was tested with and without his glasses. Then I was tested. They didn't even clean the metal eye cover. Awesome. I love germs.
The third station was blood pressure and weight. Easy enough.
Then we had the ECG. My favorite. so I got in and the woman says a bunch of stuff to Selena (Daniel's assistant. Her Chinese name is Xia Jing) and she says roll up your pant leg and push your sock down. Then hop up on the table and pull your shirt up. So I did. Then she said higher. That's right folks, shirt in armpits. Exposed. Then she puts metal pinchers on my ankle, my wrists and suction cups along my chest. I was pretty sure something was going to go wrong. After a minute she says, "you're done." So I put myself back together. That was it. I told my mom and she said that is 30 year old technology. Awesome.
Then the ultrasound. They do an ultrasound of your ribcage and stomach. I'm not sure what they were checking for.
Then the x-ray. Bra off again. Shirt on. You have to stand on a small platform and hold a protective shield over your bum. At least I did. Daniel didn't. While holding this to your hips you have to press your shoulders into the wall and then the platform moves. Try keeping your balance with your toes and shoulders against the wall. Then we were done.
That was it. It was kinda weird. The whole thing only took 45 minutes. Then we were done. Then we went KFC to wait for our driver and we ate congee with pork strips and preserved egg. It was okay. The egg looked gross though - kinda brown. They have the yummiest sweet bread sticks there in the morning. It's kind of like a Chinese churro.
Then off to the factory.
Daniel works for Lifetime Products. You all know who that is, even if you don't think so. They make most of the basketball standards on the market and the plastic tables and chairs at Costco and Sams. They have a factory in China where they make a few things for the U.S. and the things that are sent to Europe and Australia. The company is upgrading to a new ERP (it's okay, I don't quite understand it all either ;)) and that is what Daniel will be doing there for the next 18 months. I went with him on our third day (Wednesday) to get a tour and meet the people he will be working with. I just loved his assistant Selena. She is really amazing. Her English is fantastic. She will be able to help Daniel so much. She's one of the best they have there. I also met with the President of the China division.
I got a tour of the factory and all of their parts. It was pretty awesome. The people were looking at me funny. Probably because I was the fat American in the golf cart getting a tour and taking pictures. Not sure what they thought. Here are few pictures of the factory.
This is a woman had cutting the extra plastic off a blow-molded table top. In China it's done by hand. In Clearfield it's done by machine.
That evening we walked to some of the parks and then went to a Cuban restaurant for dinner at the request of a member of our travel group.
Next post: Our day in Hong Kong.
3.30.2011
Our Trip to China last week...Part 1
We had the opportunity to go and see where it is we will be living, the neighborhood, the office space, etc. We also had to get a medical exam as the last piece of our Visa Z process. That was interesting.
Travel Day - SLC to San Francisco (2 hrs) then San Francisco to Hong Kong (14.5 hrs.) then a 2 hr delay in our flight from Hong Kong to Xiamen (1 hr.) We got to the hotel at 12:30 am after traveling for 31 hrs. Long day. This is the 747 double decker we flew on. I've never been on one before. It's only nice if you are the one upstairs. It was a pretty good flight.
It's a beautiful campus.
Right next to the Campus is a famous Buddhist Temple on the island of Xiamen. We were able to see the temple and walk the mountain behind it. There are boulders up the side of the mountain and in the boulders have been carved steps to climb the mountain. There are a few temples up the mountain. We only hiked up to the second one. Sometime Daniel and I will hike all the way up and down the backside where there is a botanical garden.
This is one of the entry gates to the Temple grounds.
Inside the courtyard there are two towers with holes at seven levels. You throw coins into the holes and the higher the hole you can get a coin into the more luck you will have. I got a coin in first try in the 4th one up. Sweet. Luck in China!
This is the main temple from behind and up the hill a bit.
These are some of the steps up the mountain.
These are some the steps behind the second temple up.
This is another of the temples in the area.
Xiamen is so beautiful. I am so excited to live there. We walked the water front and through some of the parks. I will have opportunities to take some beautiful pictures while we are living there.
Tomorrow I will post about our third day -the factory and Pearl Island and our day in Hong Kong.
Travel Day - SLC to San Francisco (2 hrs) then San Francisco to Hong Kong (14.5 hrs.) then a 2 hr delay in our flight from Hong Kong to Xiamen (1 hr.) We got to the hotel at 12:30 am after traveling for 31 hrs. Long day. This is the 747 double decker we flew on. I've never been on one before. It's only nice if you are the one upstairs. It was a pretty good flight.
This was my only problem. I have a condition where my blood has a tendency to clot. So I wear compression socks to force circulation and an aspirin for blood thinner. Here are my feet after 16 hours in the compression socks.
Two of those lines are from the shoes I walked in for a while. We were really tired when we finally got to Xiamen. We slept really well.
Our first day there I was able to tour Xiamen with the wife of another Lifetime employee who lived there for 10 years. We went to the markets and saw the apartment. It's a really nice apartment and a really nice area. I only took a few pictures that day. Mostly playing with my camera. It was good day.
On our second day there I toured Xiamen again. We went to the campus of Xiamen University, where I will be attending the Chinese class that I enrolled in. Here are a couple of pictures of the campus. I am still figuring out my camera and it was an overcast day, thus the blue hue to it all.
Right next to the Campus is a famous Buddhist Temple on the island of Xiamen. We were able to see the temple and walk the mountain behind it. There are boulders up the side of the mountain and in the boulders have been carved steps to climb the mountain. There are a few temples up the mountain. We only hiked up to the second one. Sometime Daniel and I will hike all the way up and down the backside where there is a botanical garden.
This is one of the entry gates to the Temple grounds.
Xiamen is so beautiful. I am so excited to live there. We walked the water front and through some of the parks. I will have opportunities to take some beautiful pictures while we are living there.
Tomorrow I will post about our third day -the factory and Pearl Island and our day in Hong Kong.
3.18.2011
One Last thing...
We got authorization to have our tickets purchased for our moving trip. By the end of Monday business day we will have our tickets to move to China on April 12. 24 days from this date of post. I'm excited. I feel I can take a deep breath now and move forward with a plan of action for packing up.
For those of you who want to follow our adventures, I will be posting here on this blog throughout our journey. To keep up with us it's easiest to follow or to add my blog to your RSS Google Reader. I would love to hear from everyone while we are gone. I will most definitely be following so many of you and keeping up with your lives. May the next 18 months be good for all of us!
For those of you who want to follow our adventures, I will be posting here on this blog throughout our journey. To keep up with us it's easiest to follow or to add my blog to your RSS Google Reader. I would love to hear from everyone while we are gone. I will most definitely be following so many of you and keeping up with your lives. May the next 18 months be good for all of us!
3.13.2011
My trip to Virginia
I had the opportunity to go to Virginia once more before we move to China and I'm so glad I did. I had a wonderful time with my grandma and my cousins. Here are few pictures from the trip.
Monticello is a regular must. This time we got a special opportunity though.
They are now offering special tours of the upstairs, second and third floors. We got to see a few bedrooms on the second floor and the Dome room on the third floor.
This is the window at the top. It is 54" in diameter. One solid piece of spun glass. It is not original, but it is a reproduction made by the same glass blowers who did the original and done in the same way. This is now protected by plexi-glass so it won't break with the hail.
This is historic downtown Staunton (pronounced stanton) in Virginia. It's a pre-civil war era town.
In Staunton there is a glass blowing factory. We had the opportunity to watch the glass specialist blow a bud vase. It was awesome. I got a few pieces of glass, but I can't post those yet. It's a secret. ;)
It was a good time and I got to chat with my grandma quite a bit.
Yay for Virginia.
So soon to China. We leave this Saturday the 19th for our preview trip. I will most definitely post about that. Also - I got that camera I wanted yesterday!! We sold my car and with some of the money we bought the Nikon D5000 and a laptop for me while we are in China. Getting so excited and yet so nervous! It's going to be so fun and such a wonderful experience.
Monticello is a regular must. This time we got a special opportunity though.
They are now offering special tours of the upstairs, second and third floors. We got to see a few bedrooms on the second floor and the Dome room on the third floor.
This is the window at the top. It is 54" in diameter. One solid piece of spun glass. It is not original, but it is a reproduction made by the same glass blowers who did the original and done in the same way. This is now protected by plexi-glass so it won't break with the hail.
This is historic downtown Staunton (pronounced stanton) in Virginia. It's a pre-civil war era town.
In Staunton there is a glass blowing factory. We had the opportunity to watch the glass specialist blow a bud vase. It was awesome. I got a few pieces of glass, but I can't post those yet. It's a secret. ;)
It was a good time and I got to chat with my grandma quite a bit.Yay for Virginia.
So soon to China. We leave this Saturday the 19th for our preview trip. I will most definitely post about that. Also - I got that camera I wanted yesterday!! We sold my car and with some of the money we bought the Nikon D5000 and a laptop for me while we are in China. Getting so excited and yet so nervous! It's going to be so fun and such a wonderful experience.
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