A few days ago at work, I had to call and ask someone on campus a question.  The conversation started like this.

"Hello, this is Gabrielle from the Employment Office.  How are you today?" I asked.

"I’m drunk."

It was not the answering I was expecting.

The video quality sucks, but my commentary kinda makes up for it.

Several years ago I started collecting Pez.  After I had collected over a one hundred or so, I ran out of space to display them.  That is when I started pinning them to the wall.  Eventually, they covered the perimeter of my room, and not long after that two of my walls were completely dedicated to Pez.  If I hadn’t stopped collecting, every inch of my room would be covered in Pez. I can only imagine what the ants thought when the found my room.  They probably screamed, “Jackpot!”

I don’t know how many I have now, but I am pretty sure it’s something like three or four hundred.  A few of them are worth some money, but the majority of them are worth less than what I paid.  People ask me why I still keep them.  I tell them that one day the world will run out of food, and when it does,  I’ll be able to survive a few days longer than everyone else.  🙂

I was very nice to the army of invading ants.  I didn’t want to kill them, so I got a piece of paper, scooped them all up and took them all outside.  It took about four trips.  As they all scuried away, I told them not to come back.  And so far, they haven’t.  🙂

Invading Ants

[myspace]http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=1286725[/myspace]

During our May Week vacation in Xiamen, China, Phil and I went to the Taiwanese Folk Village. If you missed the original post about it – you can go here . There are several pictures of the place, but much like the video I am about to show you, many of them have that wretched cloud in the center. Somehow moisture got into my camera. I did everything to dry it out, but Xiamen’s humidity won.

We really had no idea what the show was about, but since the admission to see it was included in our ticket price, we decided to watch it even though we probably wouldn’t understand anything they said. Phil told me that we shouldn’t sit on the front row because we’d be easy targets and probably get asked to participate in something. I wanted a good view, so we sat on the front row anyway.

A few minutes into the show, a man came over to Phil and asked him to participate – in Chinese of course. They tried to get me to go too, but I wanted to stay behind so that I could record it. I laughed so hard that I had I tears streaming down my face.

I really have no idea what important story they were acting out , or why they had Phil drink three shots of liquor.  Phil later said that it reminded him of Everclear. I just thought it was funny, and that you might enjoy watching it. You gotta love China. They think of the craziest ways to amuse people. They really do.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTMauhqVaZ0[/youtube]

I wish there were more things to take pictures of at a baseball game. The Braves have tried to make the stadium interactive, but it’s more so for the kids than anything. And don’t you dare say, “That’s what the beer is for, Gabe!” For some reason, my German blood disagrees with it.

The one thing I noticed as we sat in bumper to bumper traffic for what must have been an hour or so after the game, was how run down the area is around the stadium. I was pretty shocked. I can’t count the number of buildings I saw marked by spray paint. Several buildings were boarded up and looked like they hadn’t been occupied in many years. I know Atlanta isn’t the best city in the world, but I guess I just expected it to look more sophisticated than it did. Those few blocks looked down right slummy. This is not to say that the people living in those areas are bad people. I just wish they cared more about the appearance of their neighborhood. I’m sure it’s been like that for many years and that I’ve seen it before, but I only truly noticed it this time around because we were going so slow.

I wonder if other MLB stadiums are in similar areas? If so, I wonder why.

And now for a few pictures.

You wouldn’t know it from this picture, but I was sitting very close to the left field foul poll when I snapped this.

I was very disappointed in the firework show at Turner Field. It may partially be because of my firework experience in China, but I really felt it lacked the “WOW” factor.

As the fireworks were going off, some guy next to me told his buddy that now would be a good time to shoot someone.

I had a friend who once taped a roach to some sort of firework. He wanted to to see if it would survive the blast. I was very surprised to find the roach alive and well after the pretty show.

Looks sorta like the sky is reigning down some serious lighting.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jn0PW4Cz58[/youtube]

And here is a video of the less than spectacular firework display put on at Turner Field in Atlanta, Georgia.

Yesterday, I decided it would be a great idea to donate some blood.  I think it was a commercial that prompted me to do it.  I’ve never given blood before because people can’t find my veins. They are so very small that you can’t see them through my skin.  In the past, when I have had to have blood drawn, they’ve had to stick me multiple times. I’m not afraid of needles or anything, but it hurts! And the bruises I get afterward are horrible.  The bruises I get look like someone beat me.  But despite all that,  I still thought it would be a good idea.

I slightly remembered someone telling me that I couldn’t sell plasma for a while because I had been out of the country, so I decided to check out the information on the Red Cross site.  I thought it might be a year or something, that seemed fair.  Would you believe I have to wait a full 3 years before I can give blood?  It’s because China hasn’t gotten rid of Malaria yet. I totally get it, I do, but three years?

I remember Malaria was one of my top concerns when I went over. Phil and I even considered taking some pills to stay immune, but in the end we decided against it.  When we got there, we asked several people about Malaria, and no one knew what we were talking about.  I thought that was strange.

Well, I guess i have to wait another 2 years before I can give back to the world.  And if I do some more traveling before then(which I probably will), I’ll possibly have to wait even longer to give blood.  It really depends on where I go. Hopefully, my blood doesn’t hold some secret cure or something.  🙂

My trip to Atlanta was a good one. Everything went pretty much as planned.  We had good weather despite the threat of showers pretty much all weekend.  It rained once for about 20 minutes right before we went to Stone Mountain, but then the skies cleared up.  An hour later, you never would have known that it had rained. The temperatures were even reasonable for July.  Well, at least for me.  Sometimes I think 100 degrees is cold.  Yeah, I’m crazy, I know.

The only slight downside of our entire trip was the Econo Lodge we stayed at for two nights.  It wasn’t anything fancy, but I didn’t expect it to be, so I wasn’t disappointed that our room felt like a shoe box and looked 30 years old.  Yeah, I know, I’m livin’ large.  Next time though, Phil and I are going to upgrade our hotel and stay at one that is right by the stadium so we don’t have to deal with the rotten traffic after the game.  I think the extra 50 or so bucks a night that we’ll spend will be worth it.

The best thing all weekend besides watching the Braves beat the Astros was finding thinly sliced lamb at the Super H Mart.  It’s an Asian grocery store that Phil and I go to everytime we go to Atlanta.  We never thought we would ever find lamb like that in America after we left China, so you can imagine our surprise.  I think we may have done a dance of joy.  🙂  It was fairly priced, too – $5.99 a pound.  We were so excited about our find that we bought about 6 meals worth and put it in a cooler to take home with us.

Okay, and now some pictures.

Odd picture, I know, but I really like it.  I think it would look really good in black and white for some reason.

Driving 75 mph made it a bit difficult to snap this picture.  The first one I took was even worse, though.  That one had a big, stupid speed limit sign smack dab in the center of the shot.

There was nothing else to take a picture of at the rest stop, so I figured I would make use of my macro setting.

I think they call this character Homer or something like that.  I’ve never walked on stilts.  I imagine that I would fall flat on my face if I tried.  I mean, I can barely walk down the hall in my bare feet without banging into the wall or door frame.  I’m such a klutz.

Hey, check it out, Bloo is an Atlanta Braves fan! Sweet!

I must say, this is the biggest American flag I have ever seen.  I wonder how many shirts you could make out of it?

I thought this was pretty funny.  The Astros were portrayed as British soldiers.  I guess they were doing this because it was 4th of July.

And here is Chipper Jones defending his country with his bat.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2K5VftaByU[/youtube]

Here we have the Chic-fil-a cow doing the chop.  How cute.

I got my oil changed right before I went to Atlanta. At the time, I had 58, 284 miles. Usually, Wal-Mart will give me a sticker that reminds me to change my oil again in 3 months or 3,000 miles – which ever one comes first. Apparently, Wal-Mart is now using a special formula of oil. According to my newest sticker, I need to change by 09/26/08 or 588,284 – which ever one comes first. I think September will get here before my car surpasses the 500,000 miles mark – but I could be wrong. 🙂

I’m still participating in Postcrossing, just not at the speed I was when I first started. International stamps are expensive, especially when you are sending out 6 or so postcards at a time every week and a half. Well, I’ve been a bit busy(lazy) lately, and so I’ve neglected my duty to scan in my postcards. I finally got around to it after I got back from Atlanta.

So, here we go. First up, Germany.

What a cute little abode.

I think I am going to start a list of places I HAVE to go to before I die, and I am going to use some of the postcards I receive to help me make that list.

Macedonia! I probably never would have received a postcard from there, had Ana not offered to send me one. To thank her, I sent her one. If you want to see my personal card, you’ll have to scroll down a bit, or go to the next page. Ana gets lots and lots of postcards. She goes into a lot more detail on her postcards that I do. It’s pretty neat, you should check it out.

For some reason, I’m always interested in what a person’s handwriting will look like. I guess it’s like trying to figure out what a person will look like if you have never met them.

Wellington looks very similar to Hong Kong. Tall buildings. Bright lights. Mountains in the distance. Water. I really wish New Zealand wasn’t so far away.

I’ve sent/received 3 postcards from New Zealand. One from the top. One from the bottom. And now one from the middle. Heh. Only I would find something like that interesting.

A lot of people argue that there is no point in traveling overseas because there is so much to see in their country of residence. I really should make a point to visit more of my country. I’m always jealous of people that live in Europe. They have some many countries nearby.

The freaky thing about this postcard is that I accidentally stumbled upon her blog before I got her postcard. What are the odds of a postcrosser having a blog, me finding it, and then later receiving a postcard from that user without ever asking that person to send one? Strange, I tell you, strange.

I officially dislike ad cards now.

And this is why.

My very fist postcard from Thailand. I always like it when a new country arrives in my mailbox.

Only 7572 postcards have been sent from Thailand.  I feel lucky.

This is a postcard from Sybil who lives in Turkey.  She keeps sending me the most interesting postcards. This one here depicts “A circumcision ceremony during the time of Sultan Ahmed III.”  They had ceremonies? Very interesting.

I always like getting cards from Sybil because she provides me with lots of reading material.  🙂

My mom told me over the phone that I had received a postcard that had people standing on a roof.  I pictured something a lot more wild in my head, let me tell you, but when I got home and saw it, I was pleasantly surprised to find out why they were standing on the roof. What a very exciting wedding!  That must be one strong roof, though, to hold that many people.

I really think that Sybil may have the gift of gab.  It’s not a bad thing, though.  I learn a lot when people have much to say.

Finally, a little vacation. I haven’t been anywhere really since I got back from China.

As long as the weather gods are nice to us, Phil and I should enjoy a lovely weekend.  First we are going to take in a long over due Atlanta Braves game.  I haven’t been to one since Mother’s Day 2005.  At least, I think that was the last time I was able to go.  Since the game is on July 4th, we will get treated to fireworks after the game.  I know it won’t even hold a flame to the fireworks I saw in Hangzhou, but I’m sure they will be pretty nonetheless.  You can click here if you want to see what I am talking about.  Even that video doesn’t do the display justice.  I wish those buildings hadn’t been in the way, though.

I really hope the Braves can pull off a win for me. They haven’t had the best season so far, so I am not going to hold my breath or anything.  There is still a chance that they could go on an impressive winning streak and take back their division.  That would be nice. Perhaps my presence will spark a season turn around or something.  🙂

On Saturday, we are going to head over to Stone Mountain.  We are going to get the Adventure Pass for $25 bucks.  It will allow us to do just about everything that the park offers. I’ve been to Stone Mountain several times, but the only thing I can remember doing is taking the tram, climbing the mountain, and watching the laser light show. There is a lot more to do now, inculding this thing called Sky Hike.  It looks like a lot of fun.

On Sunday, we are going to China Town.  There are a lot of China shops in Columbia, but not like there is in Atlanta.  We’ll stock up on all the goodies we haven’t had in a long time, and then come back home.  I’m really excited.  This weekend should be fun.

I was looking through some of the videos of my past visits to Turner Field, and I found this one.  90 feet is a lot longer than it looks like on TV.  And yes, I was the only one over 10 participating.  🙂

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdMqkKaLdp8[/youtube]

The other night, as I lay in bed trying to fall asleep, I had an idea pop into my head. Gabe having ideas is usually dangerous, I know, but occasionally, they can lead to interesting things – i.e. China. If it hadn’t been for my rather spontaneous idea to go teach English in China, God only knows what the past year of my life would have been like – probably a lot more boring. Anyway, I digress. The idea was this, “Wouldn’t it be great to take pictures of complete strangers, ask them some interesting questions, and make a blog or book out of it?” I mean, stranger blogs and books have been created and become successful, so why couldn’t my idea potentially work?

Well, I’ve decided to put my idea on paper, or rather the internet, and see if anyone would be interested in participating because without willing participants, my idea won’t work that well. And that is where you, dear reader, come into play. Hopefully, you are still actually reading, and you didn’t stop at “the other night”. If so, let me tell you more about my idea.

First things first, my idea needs a title. After much thought, I’ve decided to call it The Stranger Project . Yeah, I know, not as ground breaking as you had hoped for, but I’m sure names like GoDaddy and Google didn’t sound all that fantastic until half of the world thought they were cool.

And what is its purpose? What will people gain by participating? Well, the project will allow people to read and learn a little something about a complete stranger that they never would have met or learned about otherwise. I know I can’t possibly be the only person who scours blogs to read about the lives of strangers all over the world. People intrigue me. I love learning about traditions, experiences, and how people feel about different things.  That’s mostly the reason why I participate in Postcrossing . There has to be at least a handful of people out there who share my interests. Well, I’m hoping there is at least several handfuls, or this won’t work quite as well as I imagined.

And where is it? How do I take part? I’ve decided for the time being to start the project over on blogspot . If everything goes well, I may move it here or create its own personal domain so that Phil can host it on his box. I’m basically using blogspot as a test. If everything does go well, then I’ll be happy. If things turn south, well, worst things have happened to me.

I’m posting about it here in hopes that some of you will venture on over and participate. I know the chances of that are slim, but I figured I should at least ask. Ask and you shall you receive, right? All of the directions/rules are located over at The Stranger Project , but I’ll give you the low down here.

Where to Submit

If you want to participate after reading everything below, you may send your submission to the following email :astrangerproject at gmail.com.

What is Required

1. A picture of yourself.

2. 5 answered questions from the list provided below.  Please provide the questions that you use in your submission, just in case the answer you provide doesn’t make it clear which question you are answering.

3. Your first name.

4. Your age.

The Rules

The rules are rather simple I think. As of now, I only have six rules. I think most individuals can follow them. I don’t typically like rules, but I figured that this sort of project needed them. Here they are.

1. Pictures cannot have more than one “stranger”. i.e. Don’t include your cat, your best friend, or your best friend’s cat with you. One photo. One person.

Pictures may be a profile or full length shot. The more creative the picture is – the happier I am.

2. Pictures cannot contain an ounce of nudity or anything that I deem to be vulgar or inappropriate. i.e. If you have to stop and think whether or not it’s inappropriate, it probably is, and you shouldn’t submit it.

3. Don’t submit pictures of people you don’t know, your friends or famous people. i.e. If you are the person sending me an email, it should be your face in the picture and no one else’s. If for one moment I think the picture is not legit – it will get deleted.

4. Answers must accompany the picture being sent. i.e. If I get answers, but no picture, your submission will not be considered. The same goes for pictures submitted without answers.

5. Don’t include any personal information like your address or phone number in the answers you provide.

6. Last but not least . . . have fun and tell all your friends!

The Questions

Right now I have a total of 22 questions. Of these 22, only 5 need to be answered with your submission . You’ll notice that number 22 is an open question. You may use that one as many times as you like, but just remember rule #2 above. In time, I may add some more questions. If want me to add some questions that you though of, just let me know.

1 . Where were you born and raised?

2 . What is something memorable about your childhood?

3 . What are your life goals?

4 . What are your spiritual beliefs?

5 . What is your occupation and what do you like/dislike about it?

6 . Who do you love and who are they to you?

7 . What are you good at?

8 . What is something you can’t do well?

9 . What is your passion in life?

10 . You know you have to work to live, so if you could pick your work, what would you do?

11 . What is something you want to accomplish before you die?

12 . Has there ever been a book that you’ve read that has changed your life? What was its title and how did it change your life?

13 . Has there ever been a movie that you’ve seen that has changed your life? What was its title and how did it change your life?

14 . Have you ever fought for something you’ve believed in? What did you fight for and what was the outcome?

15 . If you could meet anyone living or dead, who would it be and why?

16 . What is your favorite color and why?

17 . Has anyone ever changed your life? Who were they and what did they do?

18 . Who is your favorite teacher and why?

19 . What is the best vacation you’ve been on and why?

20 . If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?

21 . What do you despise?

22. Don’t see a question you like? That’s okay, create your own. Just remember Rule #2 when you do so.

And well, that’s it. If you choose to participate, thanks. If not, I understand.  Remember, this project is still in its infancy.  I’ve got to work out all the kinks and make it look really nice.