Author Archives: Devon

Manila, Philippines – November 17th

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In the middle of November, I had to leave Taiwan for a short period. This is my fault, as I should have had one from the beginning. So, every 90 days, as a US citizen, I am allowed to stay without a visa. Since my 90 days were coming up, I decided to take a quick trip to the Philippines. I have a good friend from Taiwan, 黃婞瑜, who works there and generously allowed me the use of her place. It was really hot, so I didn’t go out and do much. The traffic was also horrible.

On the third day, we went to the old part of Manila. I wanted to see the Museum of Anthropology. We also visited the Planetarium and Ft. Santiago, which is the oldest part of the city. Here on Facebook are some pictures.

My thanks go to my friend, Caroline, who was more gracious and considerate than I deserve. One of my regrets is that I was not there long enough to see more. I really would liked to have seen Corregidor as well as other places in the country. I need to go there for over a week to experience more. 

Visit from Brian

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My friend, Brian Hill, stopped in Taipei and we met up. I haven’t seen him in ten years, since we were both in Beijing. He is originally from Los Angeles and lives there now as well. He has always been a really cool individual. He works for Princess Cruises and came out to their offices in Taiwan to help work on an ad campaign. We walked and talked around the Shida night market (near my university), finally decided on a jiaozi restaurant. The food was great, especially their fried kimchi jiaozi. Very delicious.

  

In addition to my friend stopping in town, I also captured a picture of my local sausage street vendor, although these guys have a little shop. Called 黃家香腸, or Yellow House Sausages, these are extremely tasty. On google reviews, they have a 4.2 rating and are rather popular in the city. Every time I go there, I always have to wait in line. The workers are very friendly and ready for conversation (if the line is not too busy). As a bonus, they are really close to my apartment.

October FSOT

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On October 5, I once again tried the Foreign Service Officer Test, which is the first step in a long process of gaining employment with the US State Department. Although I have friends in government work, I have never placed all my hopes and dreams on passing, since a large number of people are competing for relatively few positions. So, that night I made my way to the Pearson Vue testing site in Taipei, as the only available slot was at 5:00 p.m. I was already extremely tired before the three hour test began, so let me just say that I should have opted for another time even if I missed class.

I thought the test was going well until I hit the situational judgement section. This recently replaced the biographic questionnaire, although both use the metric of gauging similar responses. Last time, I just answered consistently, if not entirely truthfully. This time I was flummoxed. The final essay question is really what threw me for a loop. I looked at the question about a living wage and started writing about guaranteed basic income. About 2 & 1/2 minutes left, I noticed what it was actually asking. I typed faster than I had ever typed in my life. What a disaster, as I thought I was finished.

Well, today I received the results: I passed. I seriously think the grader on that essay was smoking something. Here are the comparisons with my last test in July 2015:

2015:
Biographic Questionnaire: 57.78
English Expression: 59.67
Job Knowledge: 56.43
Multiple Choice Total: 173.88
Essay Score: 8

2017:
Situational Judgement: 46.2
English Expression: 53.21
Job Knowledge: 58.32
Multiple Choice Total: 157.73
Essay Score: 6

So, as you can see, I did poorly in comparison. My job knowledge improved, which saved me. English went down quite a bit, which I typically blame on living abroad. I often joke that my English is going, with nothing unfortunately replacing it. I will be reduced to grunting soon. The situational judgement score tanked, as I thought it would. My essay passed by the skin of my teeth. Altogether, I was just lucky someone was merciful out there.

Next step is the Personal Narrative Questions (PNQs), which I have never passed. I hate this section, as you have to write about yourself. As many friends have told me, do not be afraid to “embellish” a little, or a lot.

Update: Nov. 17: Finished and sent off the PNQs. Thanks to my friend Michael for his help and guidance. I would not have done as well as I did without his critiques.

 

Whitney Shantel Cotton (1991-2017)

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This week a cousin if mine passed away. I was asked to be a pall bearer at her funeral. When it happened, my first thought was what it was going to do to her family. Her young daughter, mother, two uncles, and grandmother (my aunt) were understandably devastated. It was a senseless waste. I wrote a poem about this obligation and my feelings toward it. Here is her obituary, beautiful but unable to fully capture the person she was and is. My mom waited for you in Heaven, love. She waits for me as well.

July Road Trip

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My brother Jason and I were able to go on an epic road trip throughout the eastern part of the United States. We first went to Lookout Mtn., Georgia, looking over the battlefield there. Sadly, it rained and we were not able to see the battlefields for Chattanooga or Chickamauga. We then drove up through the Great Smokey Mountains Park Way and looked at the mountains and the trees. This was more for Jason’s benefit since he is a hiker and I don’t really care for nature. We did go to Cades Cove, though, which was a first for me.

We stopped off in Saltville, Virginia before making out way to the Antietam and Gettysburg battlefields. Jason has always had a deep love of Civil War history, which I also share in. Seeing these sites and talking about the events that took place there were great.

From there, we went up to Palmyra, New York to see some early LDS church history sites. Jason had never been up there, but I went on a trip with my parents to Maine and we stopped there when I was about 14 or so. We went to the Hill Cumorah, where Joseph was led by an angel to find the plates. We visited his home, where some of the translation was done. We were also able to visit the Sacred Grove, which essentially was first step on his path in re-establishing Christ’s church. We also visited the Peter Whitmer Farm, where the church was organized in 1830.

We then moved on to the Saratoga battlefield, just north of Albany. I am a long time student of this period in the US, perhaps even more so than the Civil War. We also went to Valley Forge and Philadelphia. A major goal of my trip was to see the brand new Museum of the American Revolution, in Philly. I have to say that I was disappointed. I expected deeper knowledge than what was provided. I have to give it a C- on effort.

From there, we went to Mt. Vernon, where I almost passed out from the heat, and the battlefield at Yorktown. Unfortunately, it was too hot to do more, so we left and drove home. While most of the trip was awesome, someone needs to cure my brother’s obsession with 80’s rock. Way too much. :-o

Facebook friends can see pictures here.

Xi’an Excursion – June 2017

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I was finally able to get to Xi’an after many, many years of wanting to go. When I first went to China, I met one of my closest friends by coincident. He was working out in front of the foreign languages building at Beijing Normal University and I walked by on one of my extremely unusual late night walks. We discovered our mutual love of history and that is how one of my closes friends was added to a very short list. I promised him that if I ever went to Xi’an, he would accompany me. However, life keeps getting in the way. First, he got married, then divorced. Then he had a wonderful son named Bruce. Now he is finishing writing his dissertation in International Studies. The man is always busy, so I decided to go by myself.

Let me tell you, Xi’an is hot in June. Plenty of people told me this, but there was nothing to do about it. I got to the city and was told my hostel had no rooms. They refunded my money and kinda, sorta helped me find another place. Sorta. The new place was sufficient though. The first full day I went to the Shaanxi provincial museum, considered one of the best in China. It was excellent. There were so many artifacts on display. The great thing about the place was they have a limited number of free tickets and I was able to receive one. The bad thing was all of China was in there with me. There were several times that I was almost crushed to death by groups of tourists. I could have been a new display there. I left there and went to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda.

The next day I got really early to go see the Terracotta Warriors (兵马俑). I met a Chinese-Australian family who were also visiting the site. I was able to play tour guide a little for one of their daughters (don’t think that way – I’m a nerd and was just showing off my love of history). Seeing the soldiers was a highlight of my accumulated adventures. You could see the individualism of the face and heads, as well of some paint residue on them in the museum. That was the only place you could get really close to one.

After the soldiers, I went to his funerary mound and walked all over it. It is a mountain. His tomb has never been opened, but when technology has evolved to be able open the tomb safely (the artifacts are damaged by oxidation), there will be such a find to surpass that of Tutankhamun.

The next day I had a solo trip to another museum in the city, called Banpo.  To me, this was equally interesting. The village that was discovered existed about 2000 or more years before the Qin. The grave goods discovered there are fascinating in a different way. The Terracotta Soldiers and the tomb are about excess –  Imperial, individual, megalomaniacal. The ones at the village museum are personal as well, only the possessions of an every man (or woman)  for everyday use. They were much more real in that way, in that they were used. A silent cry of history rather than a huge shout from a single man, even if he was the most powerful man in the world at that time.

The final day, I rested. Hey, I mentioned it was hot. No…not descriptive enough. Hell is hot. Xi’an in June could give it a run for its money. Here are some pictures.

Apnea II & Glasses

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I finally was able to get my sleep apnea machine. I paid about $1100 for it. That is a bit expensive, but I bought it from the suggested company because I know where they are located if it needs to be fixed for some reason. While there were much cheaper options on Taobao, I didn’t want to buy anything really essential online. I’ve been burned too many times on that site.

Anyway, this machine is magic. I have been using it for about a week a half and have experienced what my brother said, “It is like night & day.” True, so true. Before I was a non-brain eating zombie and now I have rejoined society as a somewhat productive member. I hope to one day not need it, but until then, good buy.

Another health issue popped up recently. I was in class and started squinting. I knew then that I needed glasses. I paid a great deal of money 9 years ago for Lasik and intraocular lens surgery (I have a contact lens implanted in my eye). I knew it wouldn’t last forever, so it’s OK. If it gets worse, I can just get other lens put in my eyes to correct the new issue. For now, I don’t look too bad, right?

Sleep Apnea

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For several years, I have known that I have sleep apnea or at least suspected that I did. My mother had it and my eldest brother has it as well. My brother said that I should get tested and start using a cpap machine when I sleep. He had several times where he fell asleep during work, which is never good for a man that operates heavy machinery. He said that the results are night and day as far as he was concerned.

I was pretty resistant to be honest. For several years, the effect of this problem seemed manageable. The tests seemed too expensive and I did not want to pay for it. Going to a hospital in Beijing is an experience that no one wants to repeat. So many excuses. This past year, however, seemed to just accumulate my problems. I have difficulty studying. Heck, I have difficulty being in class. My teacher probably think I am the most bored student, with all the yawning and dozing I do in class. I have missed so as it is. Really the issue is that I have a weight problem, which I refuse to address and which has only become worse as a side effect of this apnea.

On Monday the 10th, I finally had a sleep test done. The results came back pretty bad. In about 7 & 1/2 hours of sleep, I had a total of 38 minutes of REM sleep. Since then, I have tried repeatedly to get an appointment with the doctor to talk about options from here – whether a cpap, a bi-pap, or some other option. Tomorrow, I finally have the appointment and hopefully I can get the ball rolling. My world needs to change and I need a good night’s sleep. Something I have not had in years.

A Time of Loss

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Yesterday was the 8th anniversary of my mom’s passing. The loss of those below came at me so fast that it was only today I could even write about it.

I found out early in the last month that my good friend, David Beckham, died in Idaho on February 7th. He was in one of the wards in Stockton when I was there as a missionary. He did whatever he could for us, despite the fact that he was on disability from a workplace accident. He drove us around and was the go to guy for anything we needed. After I left my mission, he even defended me from accusations made against me by some in the mission. It may not be common knowledge, but I was sent home a month early because of my temper and losing it with a fellow missionary. Unfortunately, I lost contact with him after this and saw him infrequently post on Facebook. I will definitely miss him. As I posted to his niece, if I ever do get to Heaven, I know this man will be waiting for me.

Another loss is that of Coach Billy Burge to cancer on February 24th. He was a long time teacher in Walker and worked with my mother for what seemed (and probably was) decades. He was my PE coach in junior high and driver’s education instructor in high school. He taught more than half the town of Walker and will be missed by all. Thanks, Coach.

In addition, on March 8th, my dear and only maternal uncle, George Elvin Milton, was felled by a heart attack. He spent two days in the ICU before he was removed from life support on March 10th. I have spent most of the 2 & 1/2 weeks in depression over his passing. He was the patriarch and rock of my extended family. My grandfather died when he was 17 and my mother was 3, and he became in many ways the father figure for her and her sisters. He was a dedicated family historian and helped nurture this passion in myself. The only consolation for me is that he is now having a chance to talk to the many ancestors that we spent many an hour discussing. Sir, I love you and miss you, but I know you are in the arms of your parents and the Lord.

 

 

Poetry

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My brother convinced me to post some of my poetry online. I was really hesitant to do so, mainly because I consider it to be quite personal and I don’t care if anybody but he actually reads it. For a long time, we have emailed our writings back and forth to each other. His is substantially better than mine, with the added ability to go deeper and with more emotion than mine. Anyhow, I posted it and for the most part people were polite. Here is the link.

I write under the name Piger Max. Piger is Latin for “lazy” and Max is short for Maximus, i.e. “the most lazy”. It is not that great, but so what. I write mostly for myself anyway.