James D. McCurdy

It’s been an interesting couple of weeks.  Vicky and I drove to St. Petersburg, FL on Friday the 23rd for St. Anthony’s Triathlon — what would have been my first triathlon of the year.  But I got food poisoning from one of the many things I ate while on said trip.  I started vomiting at 22:00.  Every single time I thought to myself:  ”this will be over by morning; I’ll still be able to race…”  But at 04:00, while heaving the half bottle of Gatorade (you guys should sponsor me) I had managed to down over a nauseous fifteen minute period, it began to dawn on me:  ”I may not be able to race on a completely empty, cramped stomach…”

Nevertheless, Vicky drove me to the race site.  I put on my man face (and tights) and made my way to transition.  I was going to race no matter what.  But within 100 yards of the car, it quickly became apparent that I was through.  As the waves lapped against the beach, and the wind blew salty sea breezes through my hair, I was leaned, and at one point prostrate, beneath a palm tree heaving with all my might.

Fortunately I got my bike out of transition before race start.  Then, while I lay in the back of the car vomiting in plastic grocery sacks, Vicky drove us the nine hours back to Auburn.  Plug for Vicky:  don’t know what I would have done without her on this trip. I was completely incapacitated.

By 16:00 I was dehydrated and unable to keep anything down.  At the suggestion of my medical advisor (Aunt Kay), I went to the ER for an IV (a story by its self).  They had me in a room within an hour, which must be a record.  I got seen prior to about three patients complaining of chest pains, at least two children requiring stitches, and one boy with a fish hook stuck in his foot.

Also bizarre:  Talladega (NASCAR) was blaring from three flat screen TV’s in the waiting rooms.  Everyone was going wild, even the kid with the fish hook in his foot was yelling for “Jr.”

Summed up, that was the worst race day experience I’ve ever had…  Worse than flatting two years in a row at Chattanooga (cursed)…  Worse than being knocked unconscious and scraped up road-racing… and even worse than the Rebel Man Triathlon in Ole Miss, which was bad for many reasons…

On a positive note:  I’m still alive and kickin’… driving up to Knoxville for REV 3 triathlon this weekend.  It’s the first in a series of three (Olympic, Half IM, and Full IM).  I’m registered for the Half and have considered the Full.  Only time will tell.  Training is pretty good — if anything I’m under-trained.  But overall I’m healthy.

Additionally, I finished the Spring semester with two finals today.

Feliz Cinco de Mayo,

Jay

Its been another long week.  Vicky is packing her bags as I type, and we’ll soon be leaving for the airport via the Airport Express bus.  We went out on the town for a few hours last night – Lan Kwai Fong.  My buddies Sam and Kirk joined us.  We saw a couple of cover bands at the Cavern.  Drinks were way too expensive but there were good times had by all.

I’ve received word of Mom and Dad’s safe arrival back home.  I think they were relieved to have “real” food.  The food is pretty good here, but too much rice, not enough fiber, seems to plague even the most savvy Asian travelers.  Don’t get me wrong, the freshness of the produce and the amount of fresh, high-quality protein, like fish and chicken’s feet, really makes for a healthy diet. 

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I’m off work on Sunday mornings.  After six days of waking up before five o’clock, I usually manage to sleep-in until six thirty or seven.  I make pancakes on Sundays.  Mom used to make pancakes every Sunday morning.  She’d make half chocolate chip, half blue berry.  I’m partial to the blue berry.  Well, blue berries are expensive in Hong Kong, and the ones available at the Wellcome Market aren’t real quality.  Instead I’ve started making apple pancakes.  I heat up my skillet, throw a little oil in the pan, then soften a usually half rotten, week old apple.  While my batter is cooking on one side, I toss in a few chunks of apple.  Add a few tablespoons of peanut butter, some of my Grandmother’s strawberry jam, a cup of coffee, and Voila! 

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I went to Dan Ryan’s Chicago Grill last night.  It’s a 35 minute train ride to Kowloon Tong, but there’s a book store near by, so I figured I’d buy some new reading material.  I’ve been reading Charles Esdaile’s Napoleon’s Wars.  I have yet to finish it – not really my cup of tea.  Anyway, while at Dan Ryan’s, I ordered a side-salad and a KilKenny beer.  I was still hungry and ordered a chicken sandwich, and another beer.  I opted for a side of broccoli rather than fries.  As you can see, I not only got fries but cole slaw, a pickle, and a full head of broccoli.  The  menu says “Warning, we serve American sized portions.”  I joked with the waitress saying that Americans would never eat that much broccoli.  She didn’t get it.  I bought two new books, Freakenomics, which I’m about half-way through, and The World Is Flat. 

I rode to one of my favorite places today – Bride’s Pool Reservoir.  It’s in one of the more remote portions of the New Territories.  It’s a five mile long road that’s frequented by fast cars and motor-bikes.  There were a lot of mini-coopers there today, and a few Ferraris.  I managed to avoid injury and accident until the last loop.  On the return, right before the last climb, the cable to my back detailer snapped.  The next eight miles were steep, but I managed to limp back to Sheung Shui on my front sprockets, unscathed.  I’ve got to start taking better care of my equipment.

I want to say that work is frustrating and then list some reasons, but it’s not frustrating.  It’s interesting and peculiar.  Things that, to me, are normal, are often made into a big deal, and things that should be a big deal are often dismissed as normal.  Examples:  The agenda of Friday’s afternoon meeting included instructions for supervisors to tell their staff not to eat the fresh bamboo shoots rising from the previously trimmed bamboo sites around the course, as this will destroy this years “crop.”  I laughed aloud.  I often do when such things are mentioned.  A few weeks ago, in a staff meeting, the biggest complaint wasn’t over work, or poor working conditions.  Rather, it was that the lunch boxes, which are subsidized by the club and cost only HK$10 for about as much as I can eat, had only one divider rather than two; therefore, sour foods were mixing with sweet foods and so on, and so on.

Something that might be a big deal but is dismissed as normal:  There are about 20 or 25 odd gardens around the course.  They’re usually no larger than ten to fifteen square meters, and they’re always out of play.  Well, I say that, but there are some really bad golfers here, so that might not be true. In the gardens are mostly cole-crops like broccoli, bok-choy, and strange cabbages that I’ve never eaten before.  On more than one of my dusk-time runs, I’ve seen course staff watering their gardens.  I suppose me running on the course at night might be a big deal back in the states, but hey, IT’S CHINA!!!    

Chinese New Years is awesome.  A fifth of the world’s population resides in China, and all of them celebrate Lunar New Years in some form or fashion.  It is one of the most celebrated holidays on earth, next to the conventional New Year’s Day, Christmas, Earth Day.  It’s a big deal.

The following are just a few interesting facts about the holiday.  Check out wikipedia for more. 

- Chunyun (Chinese New Years, Lunar New Years) prompts the largest human migration in the world.  This is the time when migrant laborers return home to be with their families.

- The first day of Chunyun is for the welcoming of the deities of the heavens and earth, officially beginning at midnight.  Lighting fires and using knives is considered bad luck on New Year’s Day, so all food to be consumed is cooked the day before.  (Bummer if you’re trying to buy freshly baked bread).

- Red packets are handed out as gifts (called licee in Cantonese and Ya Sui Qian in Mandarin, which literally means, the money used to suppress or put down the evil
spirit).  I suppressed a lot of evil spirits. 

Last night, I watched the fireworks over Hong Kong Harbor from a grand view at Felix’s in the Peninsula Hotel.  Felix’s is one of those trendy bars that plays Asian trance music and charges way too much for weak drinks.  They occasionally throw in some music by Moby just to make me angry.  The view is amazing.  I may have
mentioned this before, but the urinals in the men’s room overlook the vastness of Kowloon Tong from about 30 stories up.  Hey I can see my house from here (while I pee).  Awesomeness.

Happy New Years,

Jay

The fellahs and I went up to China for a little “hot pot” this weekend.  What’s a hot pot?  Take a pot, heat it up, put some water and spices in it, order some meats and veggies, and throw ‘em all together.  That’s a hot pot. 

Ever since I arrived, everyone’s always talking about going to Shenzhen with Derek for a hot pot.  Finally I got to go.  Derek lives across the border in Red  China, or The People’s Republic of China.  It’s big, sprawling, and I’m much happier seeing it through my window from this side of the border.

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The weather this week has been beautiful – mid 50’s in the morning, mid 70’s during the day.  It’s nice to finally be wearing a jacket.  So far not much is new this week.  I went to a friend’s house Saturday night for a BBQ and for an open water swim down at deep water bay on Tuesday.  Tonight I cooked my first batch of chili in China.  It was surprisingly very good.  I served it over crispy noodles, which, by themselves, are very good, but when covered in my chili, they are divine.

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I got called to the main office a few days ago.  The HR folks gave me my work visa which must be stamped upon re-entry to Hong Kong.  So I cleared Friday night’s schedule and made a run for the border.  I was headed for Macau.

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It is somewhat difficult to spend frivolously in Bangkok.  Things are pretty cheap.  I bought a sweet new t-shirt, a few post cards, some Buddha heads, and a sweet lighter that, from the non-lighting end, projects the photo of a nude woman.  Mom, it’s for my smoking memorabilia collection. 

Believe it or not, I spent most of my time doing work.  I met up with some turfgrass professionals and visited several golf courses and a research facility.  I learned a lot and met some fascinating people.

Oh, I ate some delicious Thai food too.

Additionally, I’m glad to have cable so that I can watch intellectually stimulating movies like “Talladega Nights:  Ballad Of Ricky Bobby” while lounging around in my sophisticated new t-shirt.

Yours truly,

Jay

p.s. In case you don’t know how to wear a seat belt, I’ve included a photo from the back seat of today’s taxi ride.  Buckle up for safety!  Click it or ticket!