Day One (Which Was Really Kinda 2 Days)

Relax!

After staying up all night, I was really ready to leave when go-time finally came around. I spent the hours between Charlies and departure finishing my packing, taking out the recycling, surfing the internet, putting some things into storage , drinking a macchiato at Starbucks while reading Saturday's RedEye, playing Pacman, playing Tetris, and finally, taking my luggage downstairs. (Why did I stay up all night? Well, my sources told me that not eating and not sleeping help the body more quickly adjust to a new time zone. So I skipped dinner on Friday night and didn't eat until Sunday morning Beijing time.) Vinnie, bless his heart, picked me up at home at 9am, swung by my office where I needed to complete some paperwork, and drove me to the airport. There wasn't a spot of traffic, so I was at the airport a full 2.5 hours ahead of my flight. I'd checked in online, so it was quick and easy to drop off my bag and head through security. No line there, so I was soon at my gate, waiting. Just a small fashion sidenote: I was not fancy arriving at the airport in shorts and a t-shirt, but what were some of these people thinking? I saw a man who was wearing sweatpants, a t-shirt, jogging shoes, and a dressy navy blazer. Another man (estimated age 47) had very blonde highlights in his brown hairpiece/wig. (I used my camera phone to send this to a friend.) And apparently, when flying to China, if the weather forecast is 91 degrees, you should wear zip-off pants on the plane. That way they can quickly become shorts when you arrive!
 

Twelve hours is a long time for a 6' tall person (me) to spend in an Economy class seat on a Boeing 747. Fortunately, I was so sleep deprived that I waited for takeoff, and as soon as the first drink service came down the aisle, I got a glass of orange juice to wash down my Ambien and I was out. To my dismay, I woke up 4 hours later and couldn't fall back asleep. The Ambien was supposed to last longer! I decided that since it would now be 6am in Beijing, I should stay up. The 6'4 man next to me clearly was not meant to fly Economy, and when he wasn't standing up at the back of the plane, his limbs were expanding beyond his space into mine. I started to read (Vanity Fair and Augusten Burroughs' "A Wolf at the Table") and spent the next 5 hours fighting the urge to push my neighbor out of my space. I was also obligated to throw the occasional dirty look behind me at the mother of the 2-yr-old who kicked the back of my seat constantly until she fell asleep (the child, not the mother.) The remaining hours of my flight were a mixture of Tetris, dozing off to my iPod, and La Misma Luna, a film about a young Mexican boy who travels to LA to find his mother. I'd actually hoped to see it one day, so I'm glad that was the film they chose. 

The Beijing Airport

At the Beijing airport, after passing through the new terminal which is gigantic, tres moderne, and pretty darn cool, I breezed through baggage claim and Customs, and had to figure out how to get to my apartment. I got some cash at an ATM, but unfortunately, I hadn't researched the conversion rate. Fearing I wouldn't have enough money for a cab, I checked with the bus ticket office, and found that Bus 2 would drop me at Beijing Railway Station, which was only a couple blocks from my building. So for 16 Yuan (about $2.30) I took a bus, walked the remaining 2 blocks, and checked into my apartment. It's a fairly new building, furnished nicely and modernly, with hardwood floors. We have an in-unit washer/dryer, broadband internet, and a beautiful gym that I can join for 900/month ($129.) We have 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, and I'll be sharing the apartment with Adam L, who also will be working in the ticketing department.

As I finished up my unpacking, Peter stopped by my door. Peter is the friend who gave me the job in Torino for the Winter Olympics and recommended me for this job. After we caught up for a while, I joined the gym, and we went for a long swim in the beautiful pool. When the pool was too chilly, we hopped in the whirlpool. The gym here, Club Oasis, is perhaps the nicest gym I've ever visited (see pool pic below.) After our swim, I walked over to the mall underneath the Hyatt Beijing and bought a tuna sandwich for RMB 32 ($4.60,) which was not very adventurous, and headed back to the apartment. Adam W. and Adam L. returned from their dinner and I met my co-workers for the first time. We chatted a bit about what tomorrow will bring, and now we're headed off to bed. 

The Pool at the Club Oasis