Life's Impenetrable Chain Mail

Just as I had gotten used to the idea that my days were numbered and accepted the fact that this was the end to my adventures in China I get hit in the face with a tomato that came in the form of an announcement from Claressa. We were going to Beijing on Tuesday. We had been told when we signed up that we were going there but once we arrived in Wuhan learned to our dismay that the trip was no longer on the docket. Now, after months of asking about whether we could make it work and getting negative responses we are told a day prior to embarking. I should be excited but instead I am filled with worries and am in general discombobulated by the idea. For one, I did not manage my finances for such an outing. Two: I am losing some of my precious time with Claire. After events at home flipped upside down I have started to cultivate the relationship I should have been having all along and its filling me with some sorrow that I have to leave. Time was short; now its microscopic. Anyways, I have worked out through my dear friend Brian Busha a hookup in Beijing. It will be great to get to know one of the people that he knew during his stay and provide some insight on how life was for him.

Today, while we were sorting out the madness that was occuring in the office as a result of trying to get three people to Beijing and back in less than 24 hours we were hit with a second tomato. This crowd was getting feisty. Our two economics professors were hanging out and I talked with them a bit as I think they are fantastic. But it slowly became apparent that they weren't there by coincidence and had a defined purpose for being in the same place at the same time. No one informed us, but we were going on a field trip to some technology enterprises that just happened to begin...RIGHT NOW! Oh shit - I'm not dressed for any occasion and haven't showered. In fact, I'm wearing a silly shirt that says "Wuhan Prison" on it with skull and crossbones galore which confused some and inspired fear in many. It was an awkward turn of events but turned out to be pretty sweet. We took the tour of the factories and saw lasers and other machine equipment. It was kind of strange to see workers in such a situation without safety percautions like steel toed shoes, goggles, and hardhats. I shouldn't be surprised; the Chinese seem to have a death wish in most situations, and this was no exception.

In the evening I took Mandy to one of my favorite resteraunts. Normally I am fairly decent at making at least some semblance of conversation with the girl that is always at the desk but tonight I totally struck out. From this I found out she speaks some English and I was astonished because normally when I struggle with Chinese with a native speaker they will pull out English right away to bail my ass out. I am actually really greatful that she normally doesn't because its one of the few things that helps me learn how to construct sentences. Anyways, Mandy and I sat down with our rice dishes and talked for a good while. Good talk too, learned a lot about what our situations were going to be like going home.

Claire surprised me with a visit after dinner. I had texted her earlier to say I was leaving for Beijing the next day. Apparently she took this as meaning I was going home early and she was scared to death by such an abrupt departure. Of course I was able to calm her nerves, at least for the time being, that this was only for a few days. It really struck me though how hard things were going to be in two weeks. I won't be sad that we connected so well, but I will feel the hurt that will set in knowing full well that we may never see each other again.

Just another day riding through life. My right directional light may be blinking right but there is always someone in the passenger seat eager to grab the wheel and steer me left. I guess I just need to face the fact that this rig is on autopilot and even though I'm manning the controls its just a false sense of security and I need to just roll with the punches. Tomorrow I leave for Beijing and there is nothing I can do about it but enjoy the time I have.