The Wandering Monkey

Our father who art in Heaven
Hallowed be thy name
Thy will be done
Thy kindom come
On Earth as it is in Heaven
Give us this day our daily bread
And forgive our trespasses
As we forgive those who trespass against us
And lead us not into temptation
But deliver us from evil
In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost
Amen

I actually say this now. I try to say it once a day. I find that it means something different to me most every day I say it. The two things I find most important about it are 1) the part about getting our daily bread, and 2) forgiveness.
Every time I go over the part of 'our daily bread', it occurs to me that I have eaten today. It reminds me not to take it for granted. When I get to the part about forgiveness, I find that each day it helps me get over things in my past and also to accept others and their faults. I think it possible that religion is a very good thing for getting to know how to live. I'm not so much a person who takes things literally, but I suppose I have an eye out for it.

I had a good evening out with my cousin. He and I as it turns out have more in common at the moment than I thought. For the last two months (at least), I have been telling everyone I'm going to Shanghai. And for the last perhaps six months, my cousin has been telling everyone he runs into that he is starting a gymnastics gym. Both of us were doing it for the same reasons. One reason is to bolster our own self confidence on the issue; when people raise support or people introduce criticism, hopefully you can take the energy or take the potential problem and do something with it. The second reason I think we both talk about it is because, simply, we need a lot of help to do it. And now that we've been talking about it for so long, telling everyone, if in 6 months it doesn't happen, everyone's going to be like "Yah, OK."

Five months ago I answered an advetisement for a Mandarin tutor. Why was I doing this? At that time, I really didn't know why. But I did know I'm not happy with my current situation, and I have to do something. I don't see any future here and now every moment is getting unpleasant. So you pick a direction, and you just keep talking about it and planning for it and eventually it happens. So I got a tutor. As it happened, she introduced me to some people in Shanghai who are willing to put me up for two or three weeks while I get settled. Isn't that awesome?

Seven years ago I left the Midwest to go to California, and I had no such preparations. On that trip I learned a lot of things about relocating. I had no job, no place to stay, and I didn't know anyone. I had $2000 in my bank account and I just started driving from my home town to California. (I left in February because I wanted the season to move from Winter to Summer in one week.)

I drove to L.A. I hated it. Bomb threat on the very freeway exit I was supposed to take. My cousin Eddie lived there but it wasn't too much fun there. I got tired after a week. So I went to San Diego. There I lived with a surfer for about three months. I worked for Kelly Temporary Services and started working temp jobs within a few days. I made enough money to support my rent and food. I had to make a tight budget. Did you know you can live on $5 for an entire week? Rice and vegetables, baby. Rice and vegetables.

In San Diego, after flying back to my friend Scott's wedding, I found myself out of work and out of cash. I almost went back to Chicago. I called up my friends back there and told them I was returning. Everyone acted all sad and dissapointed, as if I had told them my dog had died. So I decided, I'm not going back. I'm going to Plan B. (So What's Plan B?) I hung of the phone with my friends. I called my Cousin Eddie in Los Angeles. "Can I stay with you for a while? Yeah? Cool."

So I moved to L.A., lived with Cousin Eddie rent-free. For about two and half months. That man is cool, but damn can he talk. Call him up and ask him, he'll tell you. So I moved out and I lived on a wooden boat in San Pedro harbor. I painted and sanded it in exchange for rent. That was about the time I met my first California girlfriend, Jennifer.

Jen, as it would have it, was a fantastically cute girl who came from Chicago. We met on a temp job at Kal Kan (which is the worst-smelling place ever, believe me.) I met her at the copier machine. I remember our first conversation:
me: "Hello" (dorky smile)
Jen: "Oh hi," (looking cute). "I'm just a temp."*
me: "Me, too!"
Jen: "I'm from Chicago."
me: "Me, TOO!"
Jen: "I'm doing this now, but I really want to be a writer."
me: "ME TOO!!!"

*Footnote: Jen told me upon meeting me her first thought was, Oh I am not sleeping with him.

We ended up hanging out together, because you can trust a Midwesterner better than a Angelino. We ended up boyfriend-girlfriend for about two years in L.A. After a time, we broke up. Actually, several times we broke up. I don't know why but I felt it was not the right connection. She moved to San Francisco for a job transfer offer. She may still be there, I don't know.

Anyhow, I've gotten off track. The point of the story was, California was my transition. My old life didn't suit me anymore, and I was prepared to transition out. It worked. I can only imagine the life I would have had if I hadn't ever taken that step. And now, I can only imagine the life I'm about to step into. When I visited, Shanghai felt a little like Chinese Los Angeles. I would say more like L.A. than New York.

But on my impending trip, I know a few people in Shanghai, I have a place to stay, and I have enough funds to keep me going for a long time. Except for the language and culture barrier, I'm more prepared today to go to China than I was to go to California seven years ago.

Well, that's about it for tonight. And... if you read the previous post, here's what it means:
Ni men hao = Hello (to many people)
Wo jiao Jimbo = I am called Jimbo
Wan an= Good Night!