RANDOM STUFF...

As we are out and about at different places and see things that are just random or different or humorous, I usually try and grab a picture to throw up on the blog. Most of the time, it never really happens as I never find the time. However, I was just going through pictures on my phone and figured that I had some time...so I would put a few out there.

After I got back to the States to be with Jessica and the boys before we can back to China, we took a trip from Alabama up to Missouri to visit family. One of our stops was in Rolla where we met up with my mom.

We have a bunch of other pictures with other family too, but this one just happened to be on my phone. We can post some more with other family later.

Speaking of coming back to China, here is what the boys end up looking like at the end of an almost 14 hour flight. Luckily, we all had open seats around us so we were able to spread out.

There is this toy store in one of the entrances to the subway stations here in Shanghai. From all of the stuff that you see in the window, it looks like they have a lot of some pretty neat toys in there. A couple of weeks ago I took a day off and Jessica and I were walking through the station and decided to stop in and look around. Obviously, we wanted to see if there was anything neat for the boys because we want to try and make sure that they are having a fun childhood. Thankfully, we didn't have to look far as we found a toy that guaranteed it right on the box.

Speaking of random things happening. A little over a week ago, we were out running around Shanghai. We were on the Puxi side of the river, so we decided to go to a restaurant that we liked and was on that side of the river. The restaurant happened to be in this large complex where a Ritz Carlton is located here in Shanghai. When we arrived and got out of the taxi, we saw that there were people everywhere...and mostly Chinese. This is not exactly normal for this particular place in the city. Jessica and I knew that the US basketball team was in Shanghai hosting a tournament before going up to Beijing, so we just assumed that this is where they were staying. Sure enough, we turned around and saw some buses that had just pulled up with USA Basketball logo on the side.

Anyway, there were police officers that were surrounding the area going into the hotel, but Jessica and the boys and I just walked up to the area that was right by the door. The guard/police office that saw us believed that we were guests and just let us walk though, We turned around right on the other side of the covered exit and after a couple of minutes I saw Jason Kidd walking out of the entrance to the hotel. We were literally less that 10 feet away from the whole team when they were walking out. Jessica picked Gabe up and took him over to the bus and he managed to get several waves and a few hellos. Stupid me...I was so awe struck by getting to see Coach K that I was standing there holding my phone in my hand and didn't get any pictures. Just to prove that we were there though I went back after we left and grabbed a shot of the buses. Not really all that great a shot, but it was pretty neat none the less. I think that the only reason that we got any response at all from any of the players is that we were the only 'foreigners' that were out there.

Jessica and I had been talking about getting tickets for a couple of weeks before all of this happened, but we just never did because we didn't know what my travel and conference call schedule was going to be. After this happened though, we decided to go ahead and get the tickets. We got tickets for the last game of the tournament which was against Australia. It ended up being a lot of fun. It was hilarious to watch them try and bring some of the things that you see in American sports here to China. They brought this Chinese guy out during a half time to teach everyone how to do the wave. People around us were getting so excited it was comical. On the first time around the stadium, the girl that was sitting next to me (no, not Jessica) missed her seat when she went to sit back down again after the wave passed. She literally fell straight to the floor.

Now, we are trying to see if we can get some tickets to one of the soccer matches that are being held here in Shanghai.

In keeping with the Olympics, most places around China now have all kinds of signs, ads, monuments, etc. related to the Olympics. Last week, as we were driving around Shanghai we saw this bush thing. Gabe told us that it was a guy exercising and someone holding a lollipop. We got a kick out of that.

The next day after we saw this sculptured bush thing, Gabe and I went in for a haircut. Getting a haircut over here is really quite an experience. After you get past the realization that you have no idea whether or not the person that will cut your hair understands what you want they take you off and wash your hair. This isn't just a normal hair wash though. They literally stand there behind you and message your head as they wash it. Then you get taken over to a rinse station where they rinse out the shampoo and then cover your face and the back of your neck with warm towels as they rub the back of your neck. Then, you get taken back to the chair that you get your haircut in where they again massage the top of your head, your shoulders and neck and your arms and hands. After this, they clean out your ears and will then rub your shoulders again until the 'stylist' is free and can give you a haircut. Well, this last time Jessica was over with Gabe helping him get his haircut and poor Maddox was just bouncing back and forth between the two of us. He climbed up in my lap and saw this Chinese girl hitting me on my shoulders and asked what was going on. I explained that I was getting a massage and he wanted to know what that was so I showed him.

Another one of the girls walked by and saw this and picked Maddox up and gave him a massage in the chair right behind mine. He quickly got this glazed over look on his eyes and you could tell that he was quite relaxed. He actually almost fell asleep while this girl was holding him.

So, the last random thing that I have is a picture from lunch last week. I had an iced tea that was brought to my desk and I accidentally spilled some on the floor right next to it. As soon as it happened I got up and walked over to try and find some paper towels. I bumped into one of the janitorial staff and brought her over to show what happened. She ran off and a few seconds later came back with a mop. She mopped out my whole desk area. I got a little concerned though when I looked down and noticed that the tea apparently stained the floor like it was bleach or something. Needless to say...I didn't drink any more of the tea.