Eric's space

So, I am moving to Hong Kong.  Shortly after Christmas, making this my last six months in the United States.

With luck, and decent planning, A TESL/TEFL certificate will needed to be acquired, along with an international driving liscence.  I do not drive in the US, and really have no plans to drive in Hong Kong, with their world class public transportation system.  However, it costs over 500 US dollars to get a liscence there, and I at least want the option open of being able to drive, should the need for it arise.  Aside from that, I have to save up for a ticket, (about 1500 dollars), as well, as save enough to survive in the mean time.  Likewise, I need to find, apply for, and acquire a job, which will allow me to stay.  If not, there are certainly other ways.  Currently, I already have a bank account with the Bank of China, so, my banking in the mean time will be done through that, rather than a local bank, once the card arrives from SumSum.

SumSum, and I have been making plans for her to come to the US, to Michigan and New York, in September, for about a week.  We will stay in Michigan, then fly over to New York, to visit Niagra Falls, and she will fly out of there home, and I will fly back.  This, I am quite excited about, and cannot wait honestly!. 

You know, we took the test of time, we waited, patiently, we spent so much time apart, and we still remained loyal and loving to eachother.  I am very VERY pleased to say that our once cloudy, obscure future, is finally starting to clear up.  There is light at the end of this relationship tunnel, and I am happy that things are finally starting to work out. 

Eric.  Teaching.  Who would have thought?  Though it is not the plan in life, I had originally intended, it is something that I can easily see myself doing.  I always used to invision my life as someone who leads, though teaching is a very similar thing, and something I should have no problem in.  And though English teachers there generally do not shake sticks out of a can with the students names written on them, to select student for answering, I think I will do so, at least once, just to say I have!

This is all quite exciting, and something I think about a lot.  I chose to wait to announce this to the world until at least there was a clear, and precise plan in motion, one that is feasable, and within grasp.  This is my new challenge:  To move to Hong Kong, and turn a Long Distance Relationship into a normal, close one.

Godspeed

THURSDAY NIGHT:  I didn't sleep out, but rather at two co-workers apartment, who rent.  One is Ms. Dappne's daughter, Sidney, and the other is her best friend, whose name, I dont know how to spell right now....  So that was cool.  I enjoyed my nice hot shower, and watched Flavor of Love until about 3 in the morning.  Old habits die hard apparently.  So, thank them for pulling that off and helping me out, it was greatly appreciated!!!

FRIDAY:  Tired like crazy, but I went to work,  Friday night, I got to sleep out again.  Twice on Friday, I was stopped by security guards, just 'curious' as to why I was out.  It is all good though, Honestly, I am getting a bit used to this lifestyle.  I am not, however, getting used to mosquitoes.  Friday night, I was recruited into work, as they were short handed.  They were shorthanded that day too, so I dont know what the deal is with that.  I worked until two am, which leads me right into Saturday.

SATURDAY:  Saturday, I was supposed to be to work at 11, and made it to work at 11.  I was tired, very tired, infact I missed my girlfriends call.  Sorry about that SumSum, but I tried.  Nothing eventful happened at work, or on the campsite.  I have noticed I am growing more and more used to all of this.  I hated it at first, but now, it really is not that bad.  You need to adjust to it though, its not all easy, or fun, but there is a certain respect to be said about things you work for.  In this case, there is a lot to be said.

SUNDAY:  I was tired, thus skipped the church offer, given to me on Tuesday.  Thought it was an interesting church, It is not the type of place I am really used to, or that particular style of worship.  I have to admit though, since being here, there has been an overwhelming 'enlightening' experience, where I tend to understand things a bit more fully.  Perhaps its the less distraction of television, or internet.  Perhaps its the fact I have plenty of time to think and analize things.  Whatever the purpose, I have come to realize I am ment to be here, though unsure fully why yet.  And although, I do not believe Jesus was the Son of God, I do believe that God, himself exists...  Some things are just too hard to explain any other way.

MONDAY:  This seems like a sobering day so far, I am a bit tired, but happy to be awake.  I need to go to work in 10 minutes, so that kind of sucks, because I know I will do the exact same thing as I always do.  I hope something changes.  I feel good though...  really good.  Then again, maybe not too good, a bird built a nest in a pair of shorts I had hanging up overnight !

Life on the Rock.  Sounds like a creative church name to me, but no, that is a rather accurate description of my life.  I Live on a rock, a real one in the forest.  Fortunately for me, the rains have stopped, and the sun warmed up the state, so I will sleep out on the rock tonight, rather than at the Post Office.  The Post Office is so horribly uncomfortable anyway with tile floors.  The rock, at least, I do not get woken up and can sleep a full night, which I fully intend to do tonight.

Today was Payday, and was ID day.  I got my paycheck, but failed to get my ID, I dont have proof of residency, so I cannot cash my paycheck as I do not have an ID.  What a wasted piece of paper.  I was a bit disappointed about that today, but I'll manage.  I have managed so far, and things have been going decently.  It was a wasted two dollars of bus passes to not get an ID, but I will manage that too, I will not spend my donated ten dollars, but only use it for the ID when I get it.

I like life on the rock, as cold as it may be at nights.  Its like camping but worse.  I see the sunrise each morning, get to see deer and racoons wabble on by, and a lot of birds flying and cherping overhead.  It really isn't so bad there at all.  When its dry.  I have built up little trails around my area, made a rough fence to keep out deer (and dry my clothes when I wash them with the Campus hose, and really make it work.  Difficult, yes.  But it gives me a lot of time to reflect on things, and think about just about everything.  So, dispite my situation, things are looking up.  I stay positive, and that helps, a lot.

In a strange way, some things have worked out well, I am in school now, about to take a test (again), and getting that done. I did very good on my evaluation test.  My job is very VERY helpful to me, and it is greatly appreciated.  I have a sort of debit card thing registered, and my manager agreed to let me use her address for varification for the ID.  It was her idea to offer this help, and it is greatly appreciated, and will come back to her.  Thanks.

So, this is my update for today about my Urban Camping.

I am trying to convince SumSum to use Sumenoch as her username for everything.  Anyone reading this should encourage her too...  it is such a cool name.

TUESDAY

Well, today is a new day, cold as hell outside, but the sun shines today in a cloudless sky, so I am sure it will warm right up...  quickly.  Shame I have to work through it all though.  Work is going okay, we have a bunch of big-wigs up there now, as they want to convert it to a 'regional training store'.  So all the managers there are being assessed and evaluated, retested, and signed off.  I mostly work drive and clean what I can.

Was at the Post Office last night, so my neck hurts...  A shame but its warm.  Courtney asked how come I don't move to Arizona, where there are many jobs and surely would be an easier life.  And though I would love to take that offer up, I am not prepared, at all, for another move, not at this time anyway.  North Carolina is good, jobs are plentiful, and school is good too...  Once general education is done with, I can move on up.  Today, after work, I come back here to take the writing portion of my test...  Honestly not looking forward to it too much, but I am looking forward to it being completed.... satisfactory. 

SUNDAY

I can clearly see this is a highly religious place, people give me literature and cards about God, the church, Jesus, salvation, sin, etc. all the time.  Its kind of crazy.  Last Thursday, one lady gave me a church card, and asked if I wanted to go to church, so I said sure (why not?).  So, sunday she picked me up and took me to her church, Bethel World Outreach Church.  The entire congregation, which was based in a storefront, was from either africa or the Caribbean, which was interesting, but kind of cool.  Naturally it was loud and a lot of songs, but the message was good.  It definately was not your typical Lutheran Church, which I had grown up in and fallen away from.  None the less, it was interesting and a bit fun.  Church can be tolorable if you do something besides just sit there and recite idoly verses, prayers and songs in a monotone voice.

The message of the day, or rather what I got out of it, was about crabs.  When you go to cook crabs, you throw a few in the pot.  And all the crabs are in there, and usually one tries to fight its way out, and climb over and escape, only to be hooked by the claws of another crab and pulled back into the pot.  The message was that we should be like that crab.  We are constantly surrounded by other crabs with no will to improve or be better, but, we know we must move up and climb out of our situations, so we should be like that crab, and try to climb out, which is not an easy task.  And when we move up, and get out of our bad, negative situations, we should also watch out for those other crabs at the bottom of the pot, who will try and pull you back down and keep you down.  I thought it was an interesting message.

MONDAY

Monday was a mess.  It rained all my weekend (which I had off work Saturday and Sunday during the day), so  I was disappointed that I could not do what I wanted to do for a change.  Plus, I had to sleep at the Post Office all night for the last few days, as it is ungodly cold and storming.  The post office is not built for people sleeping in it, and thus horribly uncomfortable.  The Rock is much better.  Then, I went to work, which was equally as bad.  Not because it was busy or anything, but rather because all the managers were in a bad mood on account of the big wigs being there...  you could smell the negativity in the air, and it is contagious.  So, getting off of work, I did find some relief here at the CATO Campus.  But most importantly, SumSum called from a pre-determined payphone location, and we talked for a good hour and a half, and that calmed me down quite a bit. 

Sometimes her voice helps, just her voice, to hear and listen to.  Things are not at all easy, or really fun, but I try to stay positive, and when I cannot be positive, it is great to know I have a girl who can cheer me up, even under such extreme situations.  So, I am quite thankful and happy for that fact.

TUESDAY

I realized today, I forgot to bring my battery charger for my camera and the cord thing to hook it up to the computer.  Damn, or I would have posted some pictures here of me as of late, and my lovely camp ground.  On warm, dry nights I sleep outside, in the woods. 

Here in North Carolina, apparently, they have massive bolders and rocks just lying about,  one of which is long, relatively flat, and is where I sleep.  Likewise, the little rock-henge formation around my area, is in a 'C' shape, so I can build a fire, and stay relatively warm at night, as the heat radiates off the rocks.  I build a wooden log fence around the entire area, as it is 'mine'.  For now at least.  It keeps out the deer, which used to have a habit of running through my area in the wee hours of the morning.  On a positive note, dispite cold nights, I see the sunrise each and every morning now, which is really comforting, and you can feel its heat everyday as it warms everything up, even in the first hour after sunrise...  Its usually at that time, when I sigh, and tell myself that 'everthing will be alright'  And it is.