Visiting the CITC Office

MF and BF came by the CITC office to say hi.

Graduation Day

MF graduated from Loyola College in Baltimore, MD. He graduated in four years with a BS in Finance. We spent the weekend with him in Baltimore for the Baccalaureate Mass at the Reitz Arena on Friday the 16th and Commencement Ceremony at the 1st Mariner Arena on May 17th. Lesley Stahl from 60 Minutes was the guest speaker.

Spring Break

It is spring break back in the US for many colleges. Both EF and MF are on vacation from university. AF will get a break later in the month (march 31 to April 11).

While MF had an exciting winter break visiting South America, EF is visiting the Middle East for school for Spring Break. EF will be gone for 16 days and actually miss a little school. I know she felt a little stress with mid-terms before the break and will likely feel some when she comes back.

She is leaving JFK on a red-eye, February 29th and flying a little over 11 hours to Amman, Jordan.

• She will have dinner after arriving around 5pm on March 1st and get some rest.
• On the 2nd she leaves for a full day of sight-seeing: Amman’s Citadel and Amphitheater, Madaba, Mt Nebo, and finally proceed to Petra.
• On March 3rd she will spend the whole day at Petra.
• On March 4th, they will go to the Dead Sea to swim and then back to Amman.
• On the 5th she has a little free time in the morning before traveling by air to Cairo, Egypt.
• On the 6th she will see Cairo sights (not sure what).
• On the 7th she is off to see the pyramids and Giza then off to Aswan by sleeper train.
• On the 8th visit in the morning the High Dam, Unfinished Obelisk, and Philae temple. In the afternoon sailing by Felouca to the Botanical Garden.
• On the 9th a drive to Luxor with on the way visits of Kom Ombo and Edfou.
• On the 10th morning visits of Kings and Queens valleys, Nobles tombs, Hatshepsut temple, and Memnon colossi. In the afternoon a visit to Karnak and Luxor temple. In the evening a sleeper train to Cairo.
• On the 11th some more Cairo sightseeing before checking into hotel for Model UN competition.
• The Model UN competition is from the 12-15th.
• Finally, after a long trip and lots of traveling, she is flying back to the US from Amman on the 16th to finish the school semester.

Lots of Air Miles

MF left for a school program to Chile and Argentina on January 2nd. He sent an email to say Chile is beautiful and a hot 90 degrees. He will fly back to the US just before school starts.

AF flew to Scotland on Saturday the 5th. She will be getting ready for final exams. For her semester in break she will be coming to China.

TF flew back to Beijing to begin work on Monday. There is a lot to do just prior to the Chinese New Year so time will fly quickly. BF will be joining TF in Beijing after seeing EF and AF off to school. The 3 of us are trying to visit Harbin Ice Festival the third week of January and then to Viet Nam for the Chinese New Year the first week of February.

EF is getting ready for a school program during her winter break for a model UN course in Egypt and Jordan late February.

All Good Things Come to an End

It was nice being back in the fresh air and spending time with family together in the US.

BF and TF arrived in the US a little late and then the first and last bags off the belt were ours. We did not get to bed until late Friday night. We said hi to MF and EF and then in the morning we drove to pick up AF at Newark Airport as she was arriving from Scotland. We got there late due to traffic but all worked out. We then drove to NY to see my family for Christmas. We visited with friends and family, played some games, watched some movies, shared some gifts, definitely ate and drank well, and we even saw the priest who married us 26 years ago (he is retiring in January so was a nice surprise to see him at all).

We then returned back to our home in PA. It was good to have the whole family together plus our house guest family. As usual something at the house needed fixing (par for the course). We had a relaxing time and got some supplies for back to school and for China.

Home for the Holidays

BF and I are back home in the US to spend time with our kids. They are all back from university and it is so nice to be with everyone again. Absence really makes the heart grow fonder. We wish everyone a happy and safe holiday.

US Trip in November

BF went to the US to be with MF for his knee surgery. He is getting to be very experienced with joint surgeries (just had shoulder surgery last Christmas). He is going to a Baltimore doctor and hospital as opposed to Philadelphia this year (proximity to school). Surgery during the Christmas break was out this year as he needs to attend class in South America to satisfy his graduation requirements during the Winter break. His on November 8th went well according to his surgeon. Now he needs to undergo physical therapy.

I love the "yes" handwriting on the left knee and the "no" handwriting on the right knee. Better safe than sorry.
While in the US, BF had an opportunity to spend time with EF and celebrate her 20th birthday. Happy birthday E. (although, I know you do not read this blog)! ! !

Busy Times

Unfortunately our friends from PA had to delay their visit to Beijing until next month for sad reasons. The good news is that we will have some good friends to celebrate Thanksgiving with in Xi'an on weekend of the 24th.

This week we were visited by the CEO of the Chase Retail Bank and the CEO of the JPMorgan TSS business. JPM's celebration for obtaining a local Chinese Banking license is scheduled for Thursday night at the Red Gate Gallery of the Dongbianmen Watchtower.

Next week my Delaware Manager is coming with his wife. BF's best friend will begin her visit towards the end of next week. Then my NYC manager will visit us the end of October for a couple of days.

BF is going back to the US on Nov. 1 to be with MF who is getting a knee operation to repair his ACL. She will return with our friends from the US on the 14th. That ought to keep things lively around here for a couple of months.

The Knee Follow-Up

So MF had an MRI recently performed and as expected it is a torn ACL. No more soccer for MF, sad. He and BF have been working with the doctors to arrange therapy first to improve range of motion then he has surgery likely early November. BF will travel home to be with him through the surgery. Hopefully he will be partly recovered for his trip to S. America in January.

The Phone

I received a call on my work blackberry the other day. It makes me nervous when I get a call on that phone because it is designated as the emergency number if family needs to contact us. The call came at work so at least it was not in the middle of the night for us. It was our son MF calling to say that he injured himself in soccer try-outs for the Loyola Club team. He was on crutches with a swollen knee. The trainer was there when it happened. He wanted MF to put the knee to be iced and come back the next day to see how it was progressing. The trainer had MF go see a doctor because he thought it was more serious than a sprain. He went to the doctor and he said he thought the ACL was torn and needs to get an MRI. MF is waiting to hear from the insurance company to get the MRI scheduled.
I guess it would not have been much different had we been in the States with an "away" college student. The only difference is the phone that the call would come in on.

Happy 4th of July and 400 Days to Go

It is Independence Day in the US and just another normal day in China. SL brought in an American-made US flag. We just had to hang it and take a picture.

We did have a nice hamburger at Friday's during their "I Love NY promotion". Not quite a picnic on the 4th of July, but a good substitute.

We also stopped at DQ for a Blizzard (wanted to expose our Chinese co-workers to some more American "culture"). We talked about all the different kinds of candies and cookies you could get mixed into the ice cream. Good idea but JLo went with the Green Tea flavor (mixed in "green" powder).

It has also been 50 days since I reported on "the Countdown". The Beijing Olympic countdown clock is now at 400 days. Another counter we are keeping from the local paper is the number of week (57 more weeks). So what has happened over the last 50 days?.................... There are so many things:

• We enjoyed the graduation of our last child, albeit in China (fabulous ceremony including fireworks...can you imagine that in China).


• Both of our current college students were able to visit us in Beijing. We really enjoyed sharing our temporary home with them.


• We visited Tibet which was a once in a life experience that we will never forget in our lifetime.


• BF, AF and MF were able to go back to the US to enjoy a wedding for BF's niece in Milwaukee.


• AF went on a great school trip to Guilin, PRC (BF and I hope to visit sometime while in China.


• We have become empty-nesters (this is a big change and is especially hard being in a foreign country, sorry BF).


• From a work perspective, there have been many changes to the organization back in the US.

"Empty-Nesters"

Today BF and I officially became empty-nesters. AF and EF left Beijing today to go back to the US. They are getting ready for their Outdoor Leadership month-long adventure in the Pacific NW. It was a very sad day.

Travel, Travel, Busy, Busy

MF and BF left for the US this week to be with EF. They are all traveling to a family wedding in Milwaukee. AF is traveling on a senior school trip to Guilin and Yangshuo on Sunday for a few days. The only traveling I will be doing is by bike or taxi. BF and EF are coming to Beijing on Memorial Day. I'm looking forward to seeing EF for a couple of weeks.

AF's high school activities are quickly coming to an end. She has the senior prom tonight. She is meeting a friend out in Shunyi to get dressed and coming back into the city for the prom at the China World Hotel. Hopefully she takes some nice pictures since I won't see her dressed up. After her school trip she has graduation rehearsals, pictures, and the graduation ceremony coming up. Should be a nice busy time for her.

Sampling of MF Visit

Brother and sister at the apartment building

The Forbidden City

Mom and son at Forbidden City

Porcelain Gallery

Suiting up for the future.

The Bell and Drum Towers.

The Great Wall - Mutianyu

Alma Mater

Loyola in Beijing.

Special Visitor with 450 Days in the Countdown

Our son arrived in Beijing on May 15th, which happens to coincide with 450 days on the official countdown clock. He is visiting us for the week before he heads home with BF for a family wedding in Milwaukee. He then begins a summer job with Chase which he is very excited about.

Education Update

AF has decided that she is going to be a Scots(wo)man and live in Fife for the next four years studying English.

EF is waiting to hear from schools she recently visited and then needs to decide whether a transfer is best for her.

MF has already begun the registration process for his senior year at Loyola. An audit of his graduation requirements shows he needs to do a Loyola sponsored internship at a company for 100 unpaid hours or an international experience. Which do you think he picked? He is going to spend his winter break (2 weeks) in warm sunny Chile and Argentina.

In a call the other day he mentioned he had such a great news day. He ended up with what he calls the best dorm on campus at Loyola for his senior year. In addition, he was offered a summer internship at CCS in Wilmington as a Fraud Analyst. Good things come in three just like bad things, right? Not sure if the third good thing ever happened.........

US Road Trip

BF and AF left me in Beijing to fend for myself. They are on a spring break college road trip. The entire family (with exception of me) is driving through Maine, RI, NY and OH to look at potential new schools for EF. Perhaps this will help AF to make a decision on her college.

It sounds like they are having an adventure with lots of cold, snowy NE weather. The car did not like starting in -26 wind chill. They are taking turns driving and catching up on some sleep when they can.

Family Life so far....

Well so far this has been far from a normal family life for AF and me. We are so much looking forward to BF coming out here with us. She is an important ingredient that we are missing. But she is very busy back in the US finishing up business like: getting EF off to her freshman year in college and then getting MF ready for his Junior year in college, selling a car, getting LP and her family situated in our US house for the next two years (thank God for LP).

AF goes to school at 7:00 on a bus with only 3 other kids on it. She made the varsity volleyball team of 12 players. But that means she comes home around 7pm at least 3 nights a week. We think, her first game is Friday after school (not sure if it is a home game or not). The team will be traveling to Shanghai and will participate in a tournament in Manila. Then she is holed up in her room doing homeework, college application and her Ewood.

I go to work at 8:00 but it is a skeleton crew at work in our island within JPM offices. I usually get a coffee in the apartment building deli but it more like espresso. They have a free paper called the China Daily (highly censored). I usually ride with RW to work in a taxi or a van, if it is available.

We are not eating real good dinners but we are getting by (rigatonni, mac/cheese, sandwiches from deli, fishsticks, no dinner, whatever).

We have bought a few DVDs at 15 RMB ($1.88) but have not had real opportunity to watch. I think the TV blew up again so need to talk to facilities.

The house cleaning service is great. They are making beds, providing new towels, washing dishes, the floors, the bathrooms, etc. It is amazing how dirty wood floors get with just 2 people.

We have been working out in the health facility which is really nice. Not lots of people using the gym but I think there are a lot of people on vacations that have yet to come back (I hope because it is pretty quiet around here). There is a resident BBQ this Saturday so maybe we will meet some more people. I even used the sauna, steam room, hot tub and pool for the first time. It is nice.....

Well time to go to bed, maybe I will watch a little US Tivo via slingbox on the laptop. I'm keeping up with my shows like Deadwood, Entourage, Weed, Lucky Louie, Rescue Me, etc.