I am not really one to care much about politics, nor am I one that normally cares about Democrats...but I'll let this video talk for me instead.
 

Here is a video I made myself, gives a rough introduction to the world that I live in...enjoy!
 

Video proof of my coach's description between the steeplechase barrier and a hurdle, 'When you hit a hurdle, you break it; when you hit a barrier, it breaks you.'
 

So I am kind of on a sports and news kick lately...so today is sports news.
http://scores.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=270822201
Rangers 30-Orioles 3.  When ever your score can be divided evenly by ten you didn't to so hot, I think that's a rule in most sports and if it's not, it should be.  Also reminds me of a little league game I got to stand out in left field for when I was 12.  Think it was 2-27 in the second inning when the umps finally called the game cause we reached our two hour time limit.  You'll be happy to know in the inning I only had one error, but the sun was in my eyes and I didn't really believe they would ever hit the ball out to me.  And it's better then the game I got benched in cause I was dancing and swatting mosquitoes in right field...somewhere in here is probably a good reason I didn't go pro, other then the fact my nickname was 'shot-put Paul'

Something to look forward to in the next 20+ weeks
 

Pencil stuck up the nose for 55 years?  Tragic story or Simpson's rip off?  You decide.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22199607-23109,00.html
I think this should be a sign that the Simpson's are a bad influence on old people.  If people, 55 years ago, are going to see an episode of the Simpson's and stick a crayon or pencil up their nose we may want to think about some sort of censorship on that kind of shenanigans.  I propose that all episodes that would be seen by someone 55 years ago from now should be edited for appropriate content.  We must protect our old peoples impressionable minds. 

Here is a video my girlfriend and her sister made, nothing better then funny girls in skirts!
 

So I realized today that I may have been a little harsh with Hong Kong yesterday and so today I wanted to tell you two things that I really like about Hong Kong.

1. Traffic: the cars stop at lights, people walk on the sidewalk instead of the middle of the road, people wait on the sidewalk when before crossing the road and people wait for the cross walk signal before crossing the road.  If in 20 years Beijing's traffic is as nice as Hong Kong's is right now I'll be suprized.

2. Hello!: The thing that I hate the most about China is the construction workers and other men yelling hello! at me.  Every time I hear it I cringe and have to fight back this urge to violently injure someone.  The whole week here in Hong Kong, not one person yelled at me, not even people selling things on the street.

So, I'm in Hong Kong to get my visa switched over and I must say that it's not fun being in a big city all by yourself.  I am bored and broke (though I did buy a new computer and a HK$450 steak which was well worth it).  So I thought to share some of my observations with you about Hong Kong.

1. Hong Kong people are even more confused about how to walk in crowds then those in the mainland.  They drive on the left side of the road but have yet to adapt this to their walking patters, not only this they have yet to develop this as a universal system to escalator/ stairs/ and subway entrances.  An example, to get to the Subway you first go down a set of stairs (where there are arrows on the left indicating that is the side of the stairs you should descend), then you enter the subway station (entrance station on the right while people are exiting to your left (causing you to cross the rivers of people in order to get to the gate)) Then you have to take an escalator down to the platform, which is again on the left forcing you to again cross the river of people heading for the exit gate.  I think it should be a universal law, the side of the road you drive on should be accepted as the side of a walkway/staircase/escalator ect. that you walk on, but that's just me.

2. Hong Kong men are just as gentlemanly as those in the mainland.  Two examples, every time I've eaten at the mall (which is a lot cause I don't know how to order Cantonese food) there will be couples eating together at other tables.  I would say as many of half of these couples the guy is sitting there playing his Nintendo DS or PSP while the girl sits there staring off into space or meekly eating the food still remaining on the table.  There are the occasional good guys who are teaching their girlfriends how to play their games but they are a vast minority.  Second example, I am waiting at the Chinese consulate and a chair opens up (these are rare and so i am not rushing to get to it but being the closes I decide to stroll on over.  Right as I am turning to sit down this old man shoves me aside and takes the seat.  Now I forgive his rudeness and would have offered the seat to him had I seen him standing near but then his wife follows over to the seat and I thought I'd see a glimpse of a gentlemen.  Surely this old man would give his wife the seat?  Well, instead he fidgets in the chair for a while and pulls out the newspaper he sat on, unfolds it, and gives her a section so that she can sit on the floor next to him without getting her pants dirty.  Classic Chinese gentleman.

Just a little video that was brought to my attention relating to China, enjoy:
 

Just in case you have not read about the work I am doing, it can all be summed up on our website, www.cheeseinchina.com

So I once ran 18 miles a day, I thought that was kind of cool.  Today I found out that three men just ran across the Sahara in 111 days, for the slow with math the site says they ran around 44-50 miles a day.  I couldn't imagine it.  Obviously neither could they, wondering the whole way why they were doing what they were doing.  The biggest thing to me (not to sound cocky) is the heat, I don't think I could run 4 miles right now with how fat and out of shape I am but I would like to believe that I could get to the level of running the distance, but those of you who know me well can atest to the fact that I sweat profucely, I mean buckets full.  I don't do heat well.  Now if it was a run accross the Siberia (and I had many, many years to train) I might think it a thing I might find interesting.  Heat, bad.  Cold, well not that bad.  Check out the national geographic link at http://www.nationalgeographic.com/runningthesahara/

So I just noticed in the news that america was hit with another cripling snow and I ask, where's the moisture here?  Where's the cold here?  If you've been following the weather reports for Taiyuan with a religious ferver then you would have noticed that its rarely below freezing and there's not much chance of snow.  We are about the latatude of Colorado and so the lack of cold is kind of confusing to me but I guess I will go with it, it is nice to run at 5 pm in shorts, though the Chinese yell stuff at me (which I'm always a fan of [note sarcasm]) But just to clarify, if you are one of the officials who control weather, this is not a complaint, it is just an observation...I don't really want cold (though if snow is included I might be swayed)

Lately I have been finding it really difficult to do anything.  Really difficult.  Like right now, I should be packing for my trip tonight to Taiyuan or studying for class in an hour, or even working of the Christmas presents that I'll be taking home, but instead I am typing about how I don't want to do anything.  I'd rather watch peoples videos on Myspace or watch the weather change on my live space.  These are all counter productive to what I need to do.  I have a job interview tomorrow in Taiyuan and so I could be packing for the trip, I should be studying what it takes to make cheese so I don't look like a complete retard, but notice I am still typing...I'm comming back to America in 8 days and so am kind of shutting down.  I'm really excited about Christmas with my family and so am kind of on autopilot, not a good think for a job interview, and a really difficult way to learn a foreign language.  So I ask you, my faithful viewers, am I unable to be really productive because my mind keeps drifting to my trip home?  Do I need a break from Chinese and work and so my mind is shutting down?  or Is this just the lazyness that I've had to fight my whole life?  While you debate the answer, I'm going to take a nap.

So I was on the Denver Broncos website today, as I am most mornings, and noticed that Champ Bailey is being made into a fathead.  I didn't know what a fathead was as many of you may not and so I had to do some looking up.  A fathead is a life size replica of a player that adhears to a wall so you can have Champ stairing at you while your on your computer or watching the game and since the adhesive they use is save on walls you can take it off and move Champ to verious places.  This seems cool if thats really what your into but then I looked at the price, $99.  $99! you have got to be kidding me.  I think being poor has really opened my eyes to true wastes of money.  I did some quick math, based off the cost of my lunch today (Chaobing with a coke, $0.75) I could eat lunch for about 4 and a half months.  Thats over a third of the year just so someone could have a fake Champ Bailey on their wall. So if you read this and are contemplating buying a Champ Bailey Fathead, don't let me talk you out of it.  But then remember you could always find a picture of him online and print it off and stick it to your wall with some of that blue tacky stuff and send the $99 to me :-)  Clearly Americans have to much money anyway.

I just want to anounce to the world that I finally finished lord of the rings.  Only 4 tries and three years later then I intended, but I finished it.  Its a good book, don't get me wrong, but dang is it thick.  I don't see how people could read through it in a week as I have seen and heard them do (John Eklund).  Though I must say I didn't get the normal feeling I get when finishing a book.  I normally feel, after reading a good book, that I have now lost a part of my life because I was so engrossed in the fanticy of the book that my real life seams less interesting and I want to get back into that world.  I didn't feel that way after lord of the rings, maybe cause i was strugling so much just to get through the book or maybe because Tolken tied it up so well in the end.  who knows, all i know is that it may be a few years before I try to tackle that book again.

I've done all I can for Youdi, the contacts from my school were unable to find anyone who could release him, JHF's PSB contact was also unable to release him.  Both gave the excuse that because Youdi excieds the size limits for Tianjin I cannot raise him.  I then found a company in Beijing who ships animals from China to other countries, figuring that if the Police new I was not going to keep him in Tianjin that they would release him to the company but again they refused.  He tried to appeal to them on a professional level (the dog was going to America and not going to violate Tianjin law) and on a personal level (um...I have this friend named Washington, hint, hint).  This was my last chance, it seams short of finding and breaking into the dog pound I will be unable to get Youdi back.  Thank you all for your calls and emails during this time, you all have been a great strength to me.  Keep Youdi in you thoughts.