So my sister only just pointed out to me that the guestbook was not working. Seeing as the last entry was in May, this means that there are potentially millions of people who went to sleep disappointed at night because they were not able to sign the guestbook. This is now a very cordial invitation (yeah, command) to sign the guestbook immediately. Heidi is always complaining that no one signs it.

This update is being written from a very familiar sofa at 130 MacKay street where Heidi, Jake and I have been spending the last week. The clock just struck midnight, Christmas Eve, but we have yet to hear reindeer on the roof. Instead, the room is filled with the lively and very wonderful sounds of family and home.

The last week has been filled with … sitting. According to Heidi, this is all that ever happens when I’m back home in Stellarton. Is that true? Of course not. I go to the “New” mall, Andre’s Pizza and we were down in Bridgewater yesterday. All very wonderful things in a wonderful place with the salty smell of home in the air. Did we ever need it! Smile all.

Heidi and I are the happy and thankful parents of a beautiful little baby!

It used to be that when I heard of a little baby being born, I would very much be excited to ask what the gender, name, and weight of the little one was because I love little babies. I would always follow this up with a question on how the Mom was doing because that was the “proper” question to be asked. Of course, the answer to the latter was always that she was doing “fine”, as was the little child.

Saturday changed all that. I have been in many difficult and challenging situations over the course of the past 28 years. For those who know me well, they would tell you that the more challenging the situation, the more I thrived. If that happened to be diving to the maximum recreational depths, snowboarding down the hardest cliffs and mountains, climbing up the most challenging rock faces, whatever. Given all these times, there is no question in my mind that the most difficult time in my life was on Saturday … and I wasn’t even the one delivering the baby.

There is no question that beautiful little babies are wonderful, precious and the gifts of God from the hand of a loving Creator. I do not want to take away from that. His purposes are loving and eternal and He “lends” us these ones to bring up for Him – as Hannah did Samual. I’ve thought about that over and over in the past nine months. But it is also true that there are millions of untold stories of difficulty and courage that lie behind those same little babies – including you. There were times in that room on Saturday with Heidi that I was praying more hard than I think I’ve ever prayed for my wonderful and special wife, Heidi. I know that I will never forget the miracle and answer to prayer as long as I live. Heidi. I’m not going to give you the story (as it is not mine to tell), but those of you who have had children or gone through the birth of a little child, whether it took 3 hours, 12 hours or more than 24 hours will know a little bit of what I mean.

It was a perfect and wonderful little baby boy. Jake Bertram. He weighs in at 8 lb even and was about 22″ long. He had a little bit of stress during delivery, but is doing very well. I’m going to put some pictures up (although I don’t have a lot yet), and you can decide who he looks like.

And yes, Heidi and Jake are not just doing “fine”, but are doing well. The Lord has truly given us cause to smile.

I really did mean to send an update while I was in Japan. However, I guess I never did get around to writing this up and now I’m back in Boston. Better late than never.

If you have the opportunity to visit either China or Japan, I would definitely put my recommendation on the former. While Tokyo was interesting and fun (I don’t think I’ve ever eaten so much raw fish in my life), it didn’t have the same cultural feeling as Shanghai, China. There were two chief differences in my mind: the first was the sound and the second was the architecture.

Japan was just so quiet compared to China. Every time you went out in China, you took your life in your hands and the noise level was incredible. Horns, horns and more horns. There was no such thing as lanes and turns, it was a fight with noise and size to make it anywhere. The first thing that hit me about Japan was that there were no car horns at all. (They also drive on the left, as in England and Australia.) It just seemed that the traffic flow was so quiet. It carried over into conversation as well. People spoke in low, muted tones and were very withdrawn and hushed.

The seond chief difference was the architecture. China had huge towering new architecture everywhere you looked of all shapes and sizes . To contrast this, Japan seemed to have been built in the 1960’s with little new development since then. It was just another Western style city with square block buildings. Outside of the Emporer’s palace and park, the city reminded me of any other in North America. Perhaps it was just the zip and zest that seemed to be missing.

There were many other differences as well. English seems to be spoken much better in China than in Japan where I needed an interpreter for several of my meetings. The food also seems to be more singular around sushi, tempura and raw fish (all very good). There were many more McDonald’s and Starbucks in Tokyo, but that could simply be because of the capitalist government. Another very fascinating aspect of Japanese culture was that no one shakes hands. Everyone bows to each other several times. From a sanitary perspective, I would say that this is generally a good thing.

Anyway, back to work today and catching up on a million things from last week. I forgot to take my camera with me, but I will certainly be uploading some pictures tonight or tomorrow. Smile all.

New York city, where I have worked on almost a weekly basis over the last year, can be called nothing but small. After staying in a hotel like the one in Shanghai, surrounded on all sides by 50 story buildings as far as the eye could see, there is nothing to be said except that New York is small by comparison. I’ve also come to the conclusion that service is a lost commodity in North America. In business settings, we give such lip service to service being the driving force behind Western “success”, but I have to say that both service and growth pale in comparison to what I observed in Shanghai.

Why is this? If nothing else, it raises some interesting questions about western culture. On both the way over here and several times in Shanghai, I’ve had very interesting discussions with people regarding the recent elections and the morality (if I may call it that) of America. It raises some interesting thought lines. I believe that to a large degree, we have purposely discarded the Christian foundation on which both Canada and the United States were founded. We are on the path to becoming more and more like the European union, which purposely excluded all reference to God or Christianity in its constitution only a few weeks ago. The loss of this foundation, leads to a secularism exclusive of any Christian principles. It means that people do not want to see a Christian in the Whitehouse, nor do they want morals guiding the country. Individuals fight for their rights. They do not wish to be submissive to anyone, and certainly not one who is openly a God-fearing man.

What a contrast here in China! We tend to think of Tiananman Square only 15 short years ago, and maybe it isn’t all that far back. While here, we spent considerable time with our very genial and friendly hosts. They were more than a little hospitable with their description of local customs, sights and culture. However, when a single question about politics came up, they immediately averted their eyes and said quietly that they could not talk about that. There was no question in their mind that they were to be submissive to the government and not question its ultimate authority. But is this worse than our “progressive” society? We assume that certain “rights” belong to us and we can question any and all authority. It means that small things like service simply disappear. Why should we be subservient to someone else? It is little wonder to me that the mountain will be cast into the sea?

I had a very interesting discussion with two colleagues today about how the Lord must look down from heaven and be so grieved with how much we have “progressed”. We fight against terrorism around the world, while we fight for the “right” to kill 4000 unborn children each day in America. While our conversation was more on the lines of churches and division, the differences in culture just seemed to be accentuated in my mind. Service in business and family seem more of a reality in Chinese culture than in America.

Anyway, I know that to lapse into political commentary is not a profitable exercise. The Bible shows that things will only get worse. It just seemed striking to me that a communist culture could teach us so much.

To catch up a little on last night, I went to a restaurant which is considered to be “the” restaurant in Shanghai. It’s called the M on the Bund and was written up in the New York Times just a few weeks ago. I was disappointed in that the food was Western in taste, but the rhubarb crumble was more than worth coming back for. Actually … forget the food. The view from the restaurant was as spectacular as anything I have ever seen within a city. The restaurant was directly on the Bund with a rooftop patio that looked directly across at the Pearl Tower and the Jinmai building. It was SPECTACULAR. There was no other words to describe it.

One of the more interesting things of note were the hundreds to thousands of barges, freightors, and local Chinese boats that somehow managed to keep from ramming each other as a traffic jam of water traffic flowed both ways through the canal. They ranged from being lit up like a Christmas tree, to no lights at all. It was truly a mix of old and new.

Speaking with locals, they said that Shanghai was changing so rapidly that it seemed completely different from month to month. They showed me a building which was designated as the highest building in the city only 16 years ago. By comparison to the hundreds (and I don’t use that word lightly) of buildings / skyscrapers that I could see all over the place, it was tiny. The growth is exponential. In fact, it has been so explosive, that the Chinese government is restricting incoming investment dollars to slow the economy. While it may profit some, I read in the newspaper that the average salary of a Shanghainese person was $USD 2500. The funny thing is that the pace of life seemed slower and general happiness higher than America. All very interesting to observe. Smile!

So I’ve spent the day wondering about Shanghai, and I have some tips for you…

On what to visit

There is absolutely no question on this. I spent most of the day visiting many of the major attractions including the People’s Park, Jinmao Tower, the Huaihai shopping district, Taiking Plaza, MaoMing road, Jing’an Temple, Nanjing Road and a million other places. If you only have one day to do the city, head for the Old City. I only spent about 2 hours wandering through the Old City streets, but you could easily spend a week. It is absolutely everything and more that you would expect of “old” China. A cacophany of sounds, smells and visuals assail you from start to finish. Looking up, every square foot of view is blocked with clothesline criss-crossing the street as high as the buildings. Below, you can buy everything, and I mean everything, from the small shops. If you could imagine every food from fish to dog to pigeon to vegetables and fruit, you would pretty much have it. Buying from meat shops that hang the meat like these places was a little more than I could handle, but I did find some absolutely incredible little booths with pancake-like breads. One place to go? Old City. Don’t miss it.

On how to get there

You’re going to be walking a lot, so you better be prepared with the right shoes. Oh wait, walking … You’re going to need some tips about the rules of walking here. If you’re standing at an intersection about to cross and you hear a whistle, throw yourself backwards, you’re about to be run over by about 100 bicycles, mopeds and scooters. That whistle would be the traffic assistant. They let you know when you should stop by whistling. They let you know you should go by whistling. In fact, it might be better to ignore the whistle. If you’re standing at a crosswalk and the light shows “Stop”, you better obey, you’re about to be run over by about 100 bicycles, mopeds and scooters. If you’re standing at the crosswalk and the light shows “Walk”, throw yourself backward, you’re about to be run over by about 100 bicycles, mopeds and scooters. If you’re walking down the sidewalk, and you hear the sound of a motor, throw yourself against a tree, you’re about to be run over by about 100 bicycles, mopeds and scooters. I’m pretty sure the safest method of getting from point A to point B is to take a helicopter.

On prices to pay

When you get up in the morning, you could be like me and walk into the bank, put your ATM card into the machine, and have absolutely no idea how many dollars (Juan) you should be taking out. Instead, you cancel your transaction, walk next door, look at a small piece of jewelry, estimate what it’s worth, and head back to the bank knowing that you need X amount of dollars. Or, alternatively, you could do what I didn’t do, and check ahead of time and know the appropriate amount to withdraw. Having this in mind, don’t do an equal comparison of prices from US to Chinese dollars when you’re shopping. They might tell you that the orange is worth 15 Juan, but the person after you is only going to pay one. Everything is negotiable.

On languages to speak

Actually, english will be suffient. In fact, every individual on the road knows perfect english and is most eager to try it out on you. “Clothing, Watches, DVDs? Clothes, Watches, DVDs? Very good.” Everyone knows it. You should have no problems here. And you know what? You can get Omegas and Rolex watches for less than $5. The prices are truly incredible.

On understanding what people do

I’m pretty sure that every man over the age of 65 is sitting in the park playing cards or some board game. I wanted to get pictures of them, but I feel kind of weird taking pictures of people in their “everyday” life, so I didn’t take many at all. All mothers, grandmothers and children under five can be found in the Old City markets. If you close your eyes and listen carefully, you might even be able to hear them bickering and haggling over prices. (That’s just for the deaf people, I don’t think the rest of us should have any problems.) From here, job descriptions split. There are the tens of thousands of “traffic assistants” (which assist the traffic in helping run over pedestrians) and city jobs of everything from mopping sidewalks to scrubbing light poles. (I’m not kidding, I saw both today.) How many men does it take to plant a single bush? Well, it took the 12 men I saw today at least 20 minutes to get the job done. One man to direct 10 other men how to smoke, and one man to actually plant the bush. There is no question that this is a communist country. But then the road splits because there is a high-powered section of town that seems to be business and banking. It’s still not Boston. The pace of life seems to be slower.

On foods to eat

Go with the locals. The food will come and come and come. Dishes and dishes of “things” that you have no idea what it is. And it’s like a tap, except you can’t turn it off. Hairy crab soup. Hot & sour soup. Squid. Hairy crab. Fried eel. Non-fried eel. Shrimp. Prawns. Abalones. Mandarin fish. Fish that you have no idea what it is. More fish. Beef. Wrapped beef things. Tofu. Bean curd strips. Beans. Cucumbers. Mushrooms. Local spinich-type stuff. Ummm … and those are just the things I could tell what they were. That was just supper tonight. You just need to be in for the adventure. And drink lots of tea. They say that helps. I’m not sure about that, but the way they pour it is really cool. They hold the pot about two feed back from the cup and with a long, thin spout it shoots straight forward about 24 inches and lands in the cup without spilling a drop.

On what I plan to do now

Go to bed! Smile.

Nee how! So I figure that I have stayed in a LOT of hotels over the last 5 years. You can pretty much figure that I’ve stayed in one of the nicer hotels in every American city as well as some very expensive places in Great Britain, Germany, France and Brazil. If you asked me yesterday, what was the nicest hotel that I’ve stayed in, it would definitely have been one that I’ve been to in downtown San Francisco. That’s all changed. Count that out. There is no way that I’ve ever stayed in a hotel as nice as this Marriott in downtown Shanghai (which I’m writing from at the moment). To adequately describe the service, the view and the room would pretty much be impossible, but I can try. When I first pulled up to the hotel in the private car they had waiting for me at the airport (with my co-worker), there were two people there on the curb to meet us. One of the girls immediately came up to me with a “Mr Allan, please?” From there, the personalized service did not stop with no less than two people attending to me the whole way until I was in my room with my luggage (no going to the front desk – that was all pre-arranged or something – will I have to pay?) and had a full meal and dessert sitting beside me. I have never experienced service like this. One disconcerting thing is when you have these people coming right into your hotel room with you, wanting to know if there is anything they can get me. It wasn’t in a bad way, just unnerving from a personal space perspective to have this attendant there.

Seeing as my room is on the 51st floor, there can hardly be, but an incredible view so I won’t get into that. I’ll just take some pictures and put them on the site when I get back.

Lastly, the room is beyond all other rooms. There is a towel that I used after my shower this morning (we’re +8 in timezone so it’s now Monday morning while it’s Lord’s Day night back home) that barely brushed the ground when I held one end up as high as I could. I’m sure it was 8’x4′ and a bullet could not have penetrated. Then ignore that for a second and move to the shower where there is 6, yes 6, shower heads pouring water on you from above and all around. Consider for a moment that two full walls of the hotel room (corner room) are fully open to see the city, and that includes the bathroom. (Being on such a high floor means that no one can see in.) Move outside the bathroom for a moment to a room full of soft lighting, four real bonzai trees, and piles of fresh fruit and water. Opening the closet, you will find the most luxurious bath robe, slippers, and accessories that I have ever witnessed. I’m sorry! It’s really hard to even hold any others up to this one. And did I mention the view …

So all this after landing in Shanghai last night at 20:30. Even after being up 26 straight hours, I wasn’t that tired and browsed a very “happening” street called MaoMing road. Very upscale, interesting and vibrant. I never really get hit with the jetlag much if I force long days like that, sleep when it’s dark and get up at normal time (08:00 this morning). Well, I’m out to do some exploring today and then some good dining tonight. Does all this sound fun? It is. But I miss Heidi and Newborn 1.0 terribly. Smile all!

Sorry. Were you sick about reading of rain? I think I’ve heard that from two people now. I suppose since I’ve been back from the bike trip now for quite some time, it’s about time to update this site. Obviously, we made it back from the trip without serious difficulties, although there were a few spills here and there. The race for home on Friday was a bit of a stretch with a 14 hour ride from North Carolina – Tennessee – Virginia – West Virginia – Maryland – Pennsylvania – New Jersey – New York – Connecticut – Massachussets and finally New Hampshire. I’m not sure that I’ve taken my bike out since then. (It’s actually getting a bit chilly now.) The cold weather has several impacts: higher gas bills (do I take after my father?), less riding, less diving, and absolutely gorgeous New England landscape. I don’t mind the first two that badly, but the diving is slowly getting more difficult because of less daylight and the water is cooling quickly.

We’ve had company non-stop for the last little bit and it finally caught up with me this week with a fever or 101. it broke pretty quickly though with lots of sleep and I was feeling better by yesterday. Speaking of yesterday, Heidi and I got to go to an all-day labour/delivery class. It was more than a little interesting. Did you know that labour and delivery really doesn’t hurt? It’s like stretching your calf muscle. We learned this and other astonishing facts (ask Heidi) so the trivia was good. (OK. So that last fact seemed a little over the top, but you can ask Heidi that this was how the class started.) Six more weeks. Smile!

Rain! And lots of it. Mats, Reg and I are stuck at the moment in Roanoke, bringing back many memories of the bike trip from last year. This morning, Reg had several problems which led us to spending the night here rather than down in Jefferson and 120 miles further along the parkway as planned. The rain is supposed to continue through the week, so I’m not sure that things will transition to the nice beautiful week we had hoped for, but its still good to do some driving. Unfortunately, Heidi was not able to make the trip this year, but she was down in Woodbridge this weekend with me and is now spending a week of “sister-time” with Jen. You might think things are slowing down (and I’m sure they will), but for now, it’s all systems GO. Speaking of systems going, the little baby in Heidi is rolling and tumbling and twisting and turning more and more every day. It is very awesome. The doctor says it’s going to be big, so hopefully it won’t be coming late. Congratulations to Ted and Julie who are happy new parents this week. Smile!

News? Shmooz? One month after we’ve moved into the new house and I can’t really say that it’s even started. We did manage to paint most of the downstairs three times now (the first color didn’t quite work and then we needed two more for correction), but that is as far as we’ve gotten. The living room set and bedroom set hopefully won’t be too far behind, but neither have we found the right one that jumps out at us. Oh well … give us some time here. On the other hand, we’ve been picking up all kinds of things from ladders, to lawn mowers, to BBQ grills and Home Depot has been a second home for us. Dad and Mom were here this last weekend and we got another baby gift – a baby runner stroller. Our nursery isn’t even near completed, but the closet is slowly accumulating things at a rate equal to Heidi’s stomach. 🙂 I get to feel the baby kicking and rolling and moving and it is completely awesome. However, ask Heidi the same question in the middle of the night and her response is bound to be different.

Germany! Did I mention that I was in Hamburg, Germany last week? It was only for two quick days, but it was more than a little fascinating to wander around and take in the city. Although the city was largely destroyed back in WW2, the architecture has been mostly recreated and gives the old European feeling. If you ever make it over there, the one food you HAVE to eat is their cherry tomatos. They were truly incredible!! Smile all!

I really should upload some pictures, but I’m not at home at the moment and if I don’t update now, I fear it shall be some time before I get around to this. I know it has been a while since there has been an update, but there has been much going on. Heidi and I were up in Toronto one week back relaxing at the cottage and generally enjoying some sunshine before the hectic pace of this weekend. It was wonderful to visit and to see little Jenna Barbara. Have you heard? She’s not really a baby, she’s the perfect never-cry child.

So there is other big news as well. On Friday of last week, Heidi and I moved into the new house that the Lord provided for us. We were very thankful for help from Mom Roach, Andrew, Sam, Nathan and Jen. While I can’t say that I miss our old apartment, it was a little sad seeing it so empty. OK. So that sad feeling only lasted seconds as we were finally able to move into our own home and do jumping jacks and cartwheels in every room. Woo hoo! The neighbors seem exceptionally friendly, and at least four different families have already come by (in two days) to welcome us to the neighborhood and ask if we need everything.

Now come the days of expenses and bills as we start to fill the house with things which we’ve been putting off for two years. Things like the fridge and lawn mowers really need to be towards the top of the list. Pictures to come … Smile!