http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Hangzhou-Johnny/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Hangzhou Johnny en-us Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:33:31 +0000 Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:33:31 +0000 Hi Friends Google is a funny thing. I googled my name as a bit of an ego surf and this is the only place I seem to come up. So I hope I can keep this site a while longer but I've begun blogging at heyjohnnymac.blogspot.com. That's where my most recent stuff is. You can also find me on facebook.I look forward to hearing from you. http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/New-South-Wales/Sydney/Leichhardt/blog-347362.html Not much to say just some pix of a job we did in December. The original surface was shiny marble tile not good for kids so we changed it and the kids are out there all the time. Enjoy John http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/New-South-Wales/Sydney/blog-247089.html 7 January 2008Dear FriendsWell Happy New Year. And I say that with tongue planted firmly in cheek. The rebel in me scoffs at the phrase yet I still greet people with it this time of year. Really what could be more hackneyed than wishing you a Happy New Year Of all holidays this one seems the most contrived. It doesnrsquot mark anything other than the calendar itself. I imagine those Grego http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/New-South-Wales/Sydney/Leichhardt/blog-233614.html Four weeks into it and being a handyman in Sydney is taking me to amazing places. On week one I was schmoozing with the guns of the Australia Rugby Union. Week two saw me sharing the halls with John Howard who before a stunning election defeat on Nov. 24th was Australiarsquos Prime Minister for the last 11 years. Then in week three I spent time with Juan Mann better known worldwide as the Fr http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/New-South-Wales/Sydney/Coogee/blog-225786.html The United States may be a melting pot but with this new job of mine Irsquove found out that Sydney is an incredibly multicultural city. And it doesnrsquot seem to matter where someone is from respiratory disease is an equal opportunity aggravation. In the last five days Irsquove logged 300 kilometers visited 60 homes and heard a dozen different languages. Changing air filters isnrsquo http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/New-South-Wales/Sydney/Castle-Hill/blog-209676.html OzillationsldquoThings are just different hererdquo Amy said. Itrsquos become our refrain repeated every time we find ourselves in what appears to be a familiar situation that turns out a shade differently than it would in the states. It can be something as simple as mayonnaise. The label might say ldquoKraft Classic Mayonnaiserdquo but the ingredients belie the truth. Itrsquos made http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/New-South-Wales/Sydney/Leichhardt/blog-206809.html Friends As many of you know I am a yoga nut. And this weekend I am in Tucson getting a teaching on the Hatha Yoga Pradipika a 500yearold yoga text the basis of what many of us in the West see when we see yoga. Lama Marut is a great teacher and today he shared with us the recipe for practicing yoga all day every day. Irsquom passing it to you to share with your pals. Donrsquot feel lik http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Arizona/Tucson/blog-151041.html FAIRBANKS I saw my first friend from the top of the airport escalator. Rick was ostensibly waiting for his son to arrive from Anchorage but since I got off the plane first we exchanged a juicy masculine hug. That one simple act brought back a memory of the trip we made Chitina. It was one of those lsquolight on fish but otherwise perfectrsquo trips. Unencumbered by slime I was instead el http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Alaska/Fairbanks/blog-150143.html Some of my yoga friends have been hearing about Tibetan Heart Yoga and having experienced a bit of it at Diamond Mountain recently I decided to come to New York for some teacher training. Besides with no job what better way to use my time Herersquos what Irsquove learned so far but please forgive the unrefined and technical nature of this explanation. This yoga style was created by Geshe http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/New-York/New-York/Manhattan/blog-139758.html For five weeks as I studied Buddhist method and wisdom at Diamond Mountain Irsquod been wondering about the 16rdquo mirror ball hanging from the temple ceiling. On Sunday night my questions were answered with party lights a smoke machine and a DJ. These folks know how to party. Right there under the images of Buddha and other heroes like Je Tsongkapa nearly a hundred people shook bootie as http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Arizona/Tucson/blog-135815.html Hi Friends Itrsquos been two weeks here at Diamond Mountain University and high time I told you whatrsquos going on. In short nothing. Rather emptiness. Thatrsquos the operative word. Everyone around here is working to see it or not see it as the case may be. Therersquos an old debate about whether we can see something that doesnrsquot exist. The idea is that emptiness does exist http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Arizona/Tucson/blog-128090.html After 800 miles on the road I arrived in Bowie pronounced BOOrsquowee to the sight of a man pissing in his front yard. I couldnrsquot help but look twice upon which he waved in a way that suggested I join him. Instead I continued past broken down cars decrepit buildings and closed businesses. Bowie looks a lot like other rural American towns slipping into economic oblivion.Granted that http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Arizona/Tucson/blog-123232.html I just got out of the hot tub. And Irsquom writing from my room where someone painted clouds on the light blue walls the carpet is a southwest geometrical print and outside my window are displayed skulls feathers handpainted signs on slabwood and a prayer flag quoting the BhagavadGita. Therersquos poetry stapled to the walls and tourists have written messages on rocks and glued them to the http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/New-Mexico/blog-123049.html I love a heavy snowfall. Not just because of the beauty of a thick white blanket but because all the normal social rules take a holiday. For once people loosen the buckles of their straitjackets and relate like the loving humans they really are. Despite the dire warnings issued on the TV news the two feet of snow that hit Denver this week built more community than a monthrsquos worth of lsqu http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Colorado/Denver/blog-112921.html Itrsquos been a whirlwind of whacky these days. A lot of it revolves around the teacher training and my new roommate.Irsquove mentioned Liyang before. Shersquos the office assistant to John Bentham the program manager and we sit next to each other when I am in the office. She recently needed a place to live and since I have a second bedroom that seems to get few visitors yes you I offered http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Shanghai/blog-100372.html Welcome back Mom's Romance the serialized story of my mother's life with my dad. We return to our hero as she takes another step on her dangerfilled journey to cue tympany Meet the Parents screams. Enjoy John ItalicsMac has his arm around me. He is proud of me and he knows I am making a wonderful first impression on his parents. He knows they will love me and want me to become part http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Delaware/blog-92026.html Sometimes I have to take a minute and acknowledge that I am in China. And all that means. Good and bad. Here are some short stories to give you an inkling.How it is HelpfulnessIrsquom standing stone silent in the elevator that awkward quiet that two strangers make when stuffed in a small space together for a few long moments. I take a chance. After all shersquos a woman and will know somet http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Shanghai/blog-91603.html Two weeks ago my uncle Fred died. Then my dog Tosha followed. And right after Ray a yoga teacher friend went as well. Therersquos been a whole lot of impermanence going on. Surprisingly it was the loss of my dog that hit me hardest. The news came in an email and lucky for me I was at home so I could let the tears flow in private. It signaled the closing of another chapter of my Alaska life. http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Shanghai/blog-90717.html Now that my body hair is growing back it is high time I told you the story of my close shave. Let me dash off this next entry.There is a certain anxiety one feels when a stranger is taking a straight razor across the back of onersquos knees. But I knew going into this project that I would be walking into uncharted territory. It was a good opportunity to breathe. My first clue should have come w http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Shanghai/blog-88453.html Itrsquos Dog Days in Delaware and I hear itrsquos been hot. All across the East Coast of both continents. Itrsquos been toasty warm here in Shanghai and Irsquoll use this occasion to pass on a few tips I have picked up from observing the locals. When both the heat and humidity reach the 90s much of local life gets lived on the streets. Not that people donrsquot have air conditioning b http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Shanghai/blog-82118.html