Starting off with a couple of follow-ups from previous entries. Paul's team bowed out in the Elite Eight round of the debate finals last weekend. He didn't seemed bummed and said he had a good time but didn't get a lot out of him. We did talk about NY pizza and he wondered why they all seem so enamored of it. Super greasy cheese falling off of a limp crust. I'm with ya dude. I heard from another Dad with a kid on the team that they felt strong about their written debate skills but were unprepared for the live debate format of the finals and that they were coached to be more confrontational than the other teams more conciliatory approaches. Overall, an amazing performance from a bunch of Freshmen and the good news is that they are already planning on entering again next year when the topic will be; “Resolved: Mass surveillance is not a justified method of governmental intelligence gathering."
I also followed-up with Paul regarding his break-up with the girlfriend. I had Carolyn ask who initiated the split and he pointed to himself but did not further elaborate. I respect his privacy there and did not pursue that line of questioning. However I did have to tell him the story about meeting the parents at the election program and how I got the stink eye from the parents. He laughed. It is a small student community and there are mutual friendships aplenty. The fellas are not taking sides but apparently, the girls are uniform in icing him out of get togethers currently, so he has been coming home from school a lot earlier. He is learning some hard but valuable lessons.
Regarding the election, found out that I did not win. Mixed feelings on that...have said that the Board's functions don't really fit my personality so am not busted up and work better storming the windmill as a rable rouser, but the competitor in me still hates to lose anything. The three candidates I voted for all lost so that tells me that I was way off base in what I felt was best for the school. Two of the three winners were the two Chinese candidates ,so my anti-Chinese platform obviously didn't play well. I have a bunch of other thoughts on it that would only sound like sour grapes ,so I will simply quote Forrest Gump..."that's all I've got to say about that."
Had a discussion with Betty in the car this morning about sleep and how I must be getting older as I seem to be sleeping less. Have typically woken up a few minutes before the 6am alarm clock, but now am up at least an hour before, and sometimes more. Doesn't matter if I go to bed on time, late or after a long night getting boozed up, it's always 5AM get up time. She said that older people needing less sleep is a myth so came home and WebMD searched and sure enough, that is a fallacy. I have always loved an hour nap and with my current schedule, seem to work one in most days, so that probably has something to do with it. I think I need to get off my ass more and get a workout in everyday instead of the occasional one. I do crave soup all the time though and that is definitely old person stuff. WebMD is silent on that topic.
Heard a great new term the other day to describe whitey in Asia...the White Tuxedo. To define it, will use it in a sentence; I was driving in Shanghai and was pulled over by the police for an infraction. When the policeman came to my window, he saw I was wearing the White Tuxedo and told me to get lost.
Here's a tip when visiting Taipei. You will likely take a taxi as they are everywhere and cheap, and when you do, make sure you have enough small bills/change to pay them close to the fare and always give them whatever extra you pay as a tip. They aren't expecting tips as they are almost never given. The reason that I always tell them to keep the change has to do with their aggressive nose picking. I've alluded to it previously, but nose picking here is widespread...one might call it the national pastime...and the true champion nose pickers are the taxi drivers. Heavily tinted windows are common in all vehicles with the exception of the taxis, so you can catch a glimpse of the drivers really working it and cannot tell you how many times I've seen them using that long pinky nail to dig really deep. I saw this one driver yesterday going at himself with such gusto that his knuckle kept disappearing. You do not want to accept anything he touches, which is why keep the change is an essential term one should learn in mandarin. You won't find this kind of useful advice in any handbook.
Have yammered on too long already so will plan to write up Vietnam next week, but I finally found my trip notebook and realized I missed a couple of Cambodian things. We had guides for our two days of touring. A driver and an English speaking guide. Sounds kind of extravagant but the country is so terribly poor that making $8 a day is a good wage. I think we are a good group to tour with as we are constantly joking and make our guides feel at ease so they can have a good time too. Our two guys were funny this time. They would complain about the VIP's, calling them Very Irritating Persons and how they were both MBA's...Married But Available.
So far, we have spent time in Singapore, Korea, Philippines, Vietnam and Cambodia, and it is striking how different the people are in a general level. The Cambodians seemed to be by far the mellowest/most passive. Perhaps it is due to them being over 96% Buddhist, but I think it is caused by the previous 40 years of being thrown back to the stone age and the fear that it could come back in an instant. The people don't seem angry, nor do they feel particularly happy, they just are. The lack of dynamism that is the fuel in other countries just doesn't exist and cannot equate it with any other place. There are examples of the hell they've been through as you can see disabled and malnourished people everywhere, but the most poignant example I saw was bazooka girl. That is what the guide called her. She is a 25 year old woman whose family were all killed by bazooka fire. She survived the attack but her face was horrifically disfigured. Our guide says she just sits at the entrance of one of the temples eeking out an existence selling whatever she can and accepting the charity of strangers. You root for this country and these people but wonder how many decades it will take to shake their past.
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