weekend update.

it has been a rather crazy week here ... and worldwide.

i'm documenting this so i can look back on this post later in life and remember this.*

so, let's start with the big news and narrow it down.

in worldwide news (12.17): kim j. il of n. korea died apparently of a heart attack after being 'overworked.'*
{http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSWN6Qj98Iw}

in china news (12.16): christian bale was 'roughed up' and chased away after attempting to visit a notoriously well-known spokesman against china's one-child policy.*
{http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/12/16/christian-bale-filmed-being-attacked-by-chinese-guards.html}

and, now, for the updates that actually apply to me ...

in wuhan news (12.18): tennis players - li na (2011 french open champion from wuhan, china), pete sampras (1993-1998 #1 world player from usa), carlos moya (1998 french open champion from spain and 1999 one of people magazine's '50 most beautiful people'), and sabine lisicki (wimbleton competitor from germany) - gathered at a stadium in hanyang, wuhan to hold an exhibition game. brian, dr. luke, jonathan li, julie, and i sat court-side in the second row watching. going to the game was pretty incredible for many reasons:

fave memory #1: the players were warming up; rap music was playing. the song contained plenty of f-bombs, n-words and much more. sampras dropped his racket, pointed both of his fingers to the sky, and gestured as if to say, c'mon, are you serious?! ... since, the crowd, filled with mostly chinese people, didn't understand the music or his gestures, the guffaws of brian, julie, and i were heard by sampras himself and we exchanged head shakes, shoulder shrugs, and sighs of laughter.

fave memory #2: the jumbro-ton. yes, we made it on the big screen. naturally, we started waving and dancing like fools. a few minutes later, we received text messages from colleagues, friends, and students to say that they were also at the game. oh, the humiliation.

fave memory #3: on the drive home, we were listening to the beatles' song, 'why don't we do it in the road?' ... jonathan li was jamming out and singing along when i asked if he knew what it meant. he said, 'i know what it means, but it could apply to anything ... for example, we just got some bbq and beer - where are we going to eat it? why don't we just do it in the road? ... and then, maybe that night we'll want to watch a movie too on a laptop and we can't go home. so, why don't we just do it in the road?' ^^

in wuhan foc news (12.17): we had our big christmas party. financed by churches in america, we were able to provide entertainment, snacks, and the bread of life, the word, with about 150 friends. i sat next to a girl, eva, who had never read from the bible before. i was blessed with the opportunity to share the christmas message and its importance with her. truly unforgettable.

in wuhan foreigners news (12.16): the wuhan bureau of foreign affairs was kind enough to put on a show for all the foreigners living in wuhan. it was a ecclectic display of acrobatics, singing, dancing, opera, piano playing, and more.