A Digital Christmas Letter

You can love them or hate them but at this time of year, you are probably receiving them - "Christmas Letters".  I heard on the radio this week that today, with all of the digital forms of communication and social media, a Christmas card may be the only personal piece of mail most people receive in an entire year (thankfully, that's not the case for us but the quantity is certainly diminished).  And if that's true, then a nice note inside that single piece of mail, from a friend or family member can be pretty special.


Let's talk about that "elephant in the room" - the Christmas letter that makes you fell less-than-good about yourself and your family.  You didn't lose 25 pounds this year (or DID you?), you didn't scale Mount Everest, your family didn't volunteer for two weeks in equatorial Africa working to eradicate yellow fever, your child didn't make it to the top of every achievement list of scholastic, sport, civic involvement, or social improvement - but somebody / somebody's did and you get to read all about it.  Thanks to modern technology (read - cheap color printers), you even get to see the pictures.


My suggestion is that instead of feeling bad or envious; emotions sometimes hidden behind phrases like"who do they think they are, those pompous baboon's rumps", we rejoice with them and hope that all of their achievements and joys are a reality for them.  


Romans 12:15 (Phillips translation) says "Share the happiness of those who are happy, the sorrow of the sad" and since most people's Christmas news letters don't contain the "sad" stuff, let's share the joy. Come to think of it - that was the point of the first Christmas, God sending Jesus - good news that was meant to bring great joy (Luke 2:10).  I know that the Christmas newsletters you receive will not be announcing the arrival of the Messiah (although some will sound like they think they are close) - so just enjoy them.  Isn't it the season "to be jolly"?


So, with that in mind - here is the Rick & Nancy Cramblet Christmas newsletter.  We hope you'll share your "good news" with us as well!

Special Note - If you want a larger, more readable version of the newsletter below, click on it and then drag the larger image to your desktop - that should do the trick...

"Jet Lag Induced" Update

Near "The Bund" in Shanghai

I started this Blog post after just returning from Shanghai and the jet lag had me me up at 4:30 AM (probably should have taken a whole Ambien that night) and I thought that would be a good time to start working on a quick update.  2 weeks has passed since that update was begun and I'm just now completing it - the day before I leave again for China....   Quite a bit has happened since the last time I posted something in March and I won't spend a lot of time with the "mea culpas" about why so much time has passed - that's just the reality of the situation.  On to the update ......

Our Blessed Addition - Norine Elizabeth Lamb

The biggest news is that (our daughter) Bethany gave birth to our first granddaughter - Norine Elizabeth Lamb.  Norine came into this world on April 22nd and was named after her great-great Grandmother (my Dad's mother).  It was kind of a strange experience as "the whole team" was there for the birth - brothers, sister-in-law, mom, mother-in-law, (soon-to-be) cousin, me and (soon-to-be) dad.  If you haven't seen the video that Kevin made (using pictures Tim took and video I contributed) yet on Facebook, you can find it here (the password is "blog").  I was in Brazil on the day Gabe was born and missed out on that experience but it was wonderful to be a part of such an important milestone in the life of our family - something I'll never forget.

Nancy Enjoying The Tucson Sunshine

I'm still doing a project in Asia so I've been back and forth to China and Singapore a few times and spent more than a few weeks in Montreal doing the prep work for the time in front of the "other party".  That being said, we are trying to maximize the time we have to enjoy friends and family - and sometimes it actually works!   Nancy and I took some time on the way back from one of my trips to Asia to meet in Tuscon for the weekend.  I had only been there once before and we had a great time soaking in some sun and watching the desert come to life with the onset of the Arizona Spring.  We stayed in a guest casita in the Starr Valley community and it was a really cool "home base" to explore the surrounding area.  Tuscon would be very appealing in the middle of a Michigan winter; I have placed that thought in my "make a plan" file for now.

Run For Wings 2011 - It Was A "Family Affair"

One thing that was new this year is that Kevin, Ellen and Michael all joined me in the 6th Annual "Run For Wings" 5K here in Muskegon.  This is a money raising effort for the Wings of Mercy group that provides air transportation for people to distant hospitals.  It was great fun but you would think that the "newbies" would have had the decency to let me cross the finish line ahead of them....  On a positive note, I did get to the pancake breakfast that follows the run ahead of them - score!

We also were able to grab a weekend with our friends Jim and Jan who joined us in Montreal - always a fun spot to hang out for a couple of days.  We had some great food (it's Montreal; there's great food everywhere!), had some time to catch up on what has been going on in each other's world and take in some of the sights on a beautiful early summer weekend.  We also got so spend a weekend with our friends Tom and Mary in Cincinnati where they showed us all around their fair city.  We had never done much more than drive through "the Nati" on the way to someplace else so getting a real tour from natives of the city was wonderful.  Our dinner at Montgomery Inn (famous for ribs) was interrupted by the lights going out for about 30 minutes when a nice thunderstorm came through.  We had already placed our orders and we were not going to let a little power outage keep us from some of Cincinnati's most famous food!

Once the cold, damp Michigan Spring gave way to some decent weather, we got to enjoy some fun family events - like cleaning out the pool at Kevin and Ellen's home.  Actually, Nancy has become something of an expert of how to take a pool that had not been closed properly (the home was purchased out of foreclosure) and turn it into something bright and sparkling.  We also had some Memorial Day fun with both sides of the family and it ended with a rousing game of croquet - if there is such a thing.  My Dad put the smackdown on Craig and the rest of the "also rans" proving there's still some competitive spirit in those bones.

We continue on our quest to try and explore some of the more interesting restaurants in West Michigan and having the opportunity to do that with friends makes it even better.  We have friends from church who are also names "Rick and Nancy" (so around church you have to ask, "Which Rick and Nancy?") and we made an evening of eating at "Red's On The River" in Rockford and checking out the town and all of its scenic spots.  We've also tried a few new places via the Groupon craze (thanks Dave and Vonda / Craig and Pam) that we might not have tired otherwise.


You can see some additional pictures by checking out the album link and please keep us connected with what's going on in your world as well!

直到下次 (Until next time)

"Opportunities Multiply As They Are Seized"

Overlooking the Shanghai financial district

I thought I would start this entry about China with a quote from Sun Tzu, the famous Chinese General who wrote "The Art of War" somewhere around 400 BC.  I own 4 different translations of this book and, with the start of my work in China, I'm re-reading them again.  Sun Tzu is well known for writing about the strategic aspects of actual warfare and many have pointed out the virtues of these writing as a means to understand how the Chinese approach business as well.

My first trip to China involved a visit to Shanghai - a city with a population of somewhere between 14 and 23 million people - making it larger than even Mexico City.  For perspective - if it really is 23 million, that would make it slightly less than 3 times larger than New York City... pretty hard to get your head around.  I stayed at a western brand hotel in "The Bund" section of the city and we were able to walk to and from our meetings, to restaurants for meals and for the small amount of sight-seeing that we had time for.  The section of Shanghai we were in was very modern and there were lots of expensive (western) cars on the streets.  It's obvious that China is spending tons on infrastructure and letting the world know that they are able to compete with the rest of the world in terms of up-to-date cities.

One of the many striking features of Shanghai was the traffic.  There are lots of cars and lots and lots of scooters / motorcycles / mopeds and none of them believe that traffic lights are more than a suggestion.  You had better diligently watch everything in every direction at every intersection or you might find yourself involved in an accident.  I guess that if everyone knows that those are the "rules", chances of accidents are lessened but that does make the flow of traffic slower than it would be otherwise.  In the video below - please keep in mind, there are traffic signals at that corner, as well as crosswalk signals for the pedestrians but it's obvious that they are not really considered to be important.

"Would you care for some duck tongues?"

Another striking feature is the food.  I won't belabor this point but food in China is not what a Westerner would call "Chinese food".  There is virtually no resemblance to what you would find in an Asian Buffet and what arrives at your table can be somewhat fantastic - think "here's your bowl of duck tongues Sir".  Our hosts would describe to us what was in each dish (beef, duck, chicken, etc.) but you always wanted to ask the follow on question - "what part of the ______ is it?"  That question is usually better left unasked!

The Shanghai Team

One other feature I'll mention (for this Blog) is trying to work through the 13 hour time difference.  It takes ~17 hours to get to Shanghai (GRR - YYZ - PVG) and you arrive there the day after you left due to the International Dateline.  I was in a complete state of disorientation on the first day after arriving and even though I had successfully drugged myself to sleep about 6 hours on the airplane, you are still messed up as your body tries to do life in its normal manner and you are living a schedule that is completely out of sync.  It can be quite a battle!  And just as you think you have started to win that battle - you return home and start it all over again.  I definitely found it more difficult to adjust to the time difference at home, where things are familiar, that I did in China and Nancy had to suffer with my inability to sleep properly (midnight? - my body thinks it's 1:00 in the afternoon) for more than a week.

All of that said, I leave for Zhuzhou next Sunday and we'll let another adventure unfold itself.  I'm truly trying to see these trips as opportunities to be seized - they are certainly taking me out of my comfort zone!

Any Time Now..... Feel Free To Stop!

This Michigan Winter has been many things but I don't think many would disagree that "long" would be at least one an apt description of it.  I am really tired of Winter and even though we're into the second week of March, it shows very little sign of relenting.

I am so anxious for Winter to end that I am (nearly) willing to believe the report that came back from Punxsutawney Phil (and a majority of his fellow groundhogs) that we would indeed have an early Spring - but we're already fast approaching the 6 weeks since his prognostication and as you can see by the current forecast, Winter isn't really doesn't seem ready to budge yet.

I will count myself fortunate that I didn't find myself stuck in an airport as a result of one of the many Winter storms that came through the Midwest and Northeast.  I just missed one in Texas - the night before I arrived they had snow and ice and there were very few people on the roads that afternoon and evening.  I'm really starting to pay attention to the most direct flight available when I travel for that reason - you can be stuck in Phoenix because your plane didn't make its connection from Connecticut.  Hey, come to think of it, that wouldn't be so bad!

Everyone talks about the weather and lately, it seems like we believe that the "strangeness" we have been dealing with is a sign of the Apocalypse.  I can think of lots of other reasons to lean towards "The End Is Near" thinking but I always remember a picture my Grandfather had of their house in a small town not too far North of here with snow drifted so high, it nearly reached the top of the telephone poles across the road.  I'm pretty sure he wasn't whining about the Apocalypse either - he was out there shoveling as fast as he could so the coal truck could make it up the driveway.

I will be thankful when the the grip of Winter is released and the longer days and the songs of migratory birds indicate it can't be too far away (or there are going to be some mighty unhappy - and cold - birds!) so I'll keep the faith and put on an extra layer of clothes for a couple more weeks.  Come on Punxsutawney Phil, I'm counting on you!

Shorter - But Sweeter

My perfectionist tendencies are really at war with this idea for a new, shorter and more "off-the cuff" Blog.  I like to do something that has, in my mind, more substance and a greater level of content but... that means I have found it very difficult to find the time required to produce said Blog.

Additionally, in the past I have been trying to produce two somewhat separate Blogs, one for the friends we have made while traveling and/or living overseas and one for friends and family here in North America.  All of that is done and over (or done and dusted, if you prefer) and there will be, going forward, just this Blog.

Because I am announcing that I intend to make this Blog one with less content per posting and an overall reduced level of what I would describe as "perfection", I am hopeful that I can make more frequent postings and, in doing so transcend the required brevity (dare I describe it as the banality) of Facebook.

So, just to be clear - do I think this Blog will be full of Hemingway-esque prose?  I do not.  However, it should be more "full bodied" that a Facebook posting and (hopefully) a bit more entertaining.

If you do not want to receive this Blog, please send me an e-mail and say "I don't want to receive this Blog".  I will not be (too) offended and will remove you from the "List".  All social mediums these days require an "Opt Out" methodology and this Blog should be no exception.

I would like to cite as a Muse for this new Blog one Sharolyn Joy Newington, who has produced a very cool Blog about the life she shares with her husband (Josh) and their new adventures as transplants from Brisbane, Australia to Vancouver, British Columbia.  Her Blog is excellent, with thoughtful writing and beautiful pictures and makes me smile and think - I would aspire to that as well.

So, here we go!  I hope this works and that you find it worthy of your time to read and to provide me your feedback.