Thursday, October 7, 2010

Life Changing Experiences

Cipriani Banquet Hall on Wall Street
View of Central Park from Top of the Rock
The last four weeks has been a number of first experiences for me encompassing everything from bad, good, eye-opening, and humbling experiences.  Beginning with Labor Day weekend, I got to attend a wonderful wedding on at the luxurious Cipriani’s banquet hall on Wall Street.  I also got to see some old friends, hang out with my girlfriend, see a Yankees game at the new stadium and attend the US Open at Flushing Meadows.  It was a fun and great weekend filled with eating at The Oak Room Restaurant at the Plaza Hotel and Peruvian Chinese fusion restaurant in Uptown near Columbia.

Oak Bar from The Oak Room

Russian Tennis Player

Everyone was rooting for the better looking tennis player, but she lost.  So I guess the world is just.

Wedding Hall



Following Labor Day I traveled to my company headquarters for a graduation ceremony from the leadership program.  Right after graduation a group of us went to West Virginia for a thrilling Class V white water experience of the Gauley River.  In September the Army Corp of Engineers let down the Dam and the river overflows taking rafters for a ride of their life.  In my boat in particular we had a great time as we paddled aggressively towards each rapid with thrill and excitement.  I am sure the rapids stroke fear into some of the boaters but we conquered one Class V after another.  On the second to the last Class V rapid called the Lost Paddle; I was unfortunately ejected from the raft after we collided onto a rock head on.  After I was ejected from the raft, my boat ran over on top of me and I was stuck there under the boat for around 12 seconds.  I held my breath as long as I could before I ingested some water.  My fellow rafters including my guide were looking all over for me and they were pretty nervous when they couldn’t find me anywhere.   I finally popped out from under the boat and the guide pulled me back in.  We were told never to panic and always stay calm.  I would say I was calm for most of the time stuck under the water.  Panic was setting in towards the end but I popped up right on time.  The experience was exhilarating and without being there the grand dichotomy of the experience cannot really be conveyed.     

Class V Rapids

I also forgot to mention that on one of the rapids our guide lied to us and said we all had to get out because there was a danger zone coming up.  We all got out of the boat and started walking along this cliff.  At this point the water is extremely calm and no danger zone can be seen.  Eventually the path ends and there is about a 20 to 25 feet drop.  The guide says, ok now you guys all have to jump to get back in the boat.  The guide later one told us that he was worried after he made all of us get out of the boat and didn't tell us the truth.  He was worried that one of us would freak out and not jump.  I am not that great of a fan of heights.  Plus I am not a good swimmer.  Without a life vest on, I don't think I would have ever jumped, but I did jump, kinda hurt when I landed, but I survived another day.

Main Street WVA Town

Next was traveling in Ithaca, NY for a career fair to help recruit students at Cornell University.  It was a great two day experience as I got to meet a lot of students with various backgrounds.  Some of the students definitely had a prodigious amount of experiences and awards.  After a two day stay there I was flying back to my home in Florida.  When I came back to Florida I had to get ready to move my apartment.  After moving all the stuff I could over 3 or 4 days, I was back to traveling for work in Canada.  Here is where everything got really crazy.  I am going to allow you to skip the details and you can jump to the next paragraph.  On Monday I noticed black stool.  Then on Tuesday two more times including dizziness, weakness, fatigue, and blurred vision.  I decided to check in to the hospital to see what’s going on.  Because I was a foreigner, I could not see a doctor until I paid a fee of $575.  Since it was a small town, the hospital had no ATM or credit card machine.  Plus the doctor wasn’t going to be until another hour and a half.  After going to the ATM and getting the maximum amount I have, which was $480, I was able to see the doctor who admitted me and gave me some IV and an antacid drug.  I was doing pretty well for most of the day and the next morning.  They were going to allow me to check out and go back home when another dizziness session hit and I became unresponsive.  The next thing I saw was 7 nurses at my bed including the doctor; he was profusely yelling at someone to “squeeze the bag squeeze the bag”.  I was feeling much better and stable after the fast injection of IV.  They also gave me two bags of blood on my way to a major hospital as they were only a regional hospital with limited expertise.  I arrived at the Regina hospital in stable condition.  They scoped me and didn’t find any bleeding ulcers.  They did see one ulcer, but it was not bleeding.  They did a second scope the next day and still did not find anything. I am now safely back in the states where they will treat me even if I didn't have any cash, which I guess is an improvement at least. 

1 comment:

  1. Brother, crazy four weeks. Hope things settle down for you a bit.

    Maybe you should take a break and come to Changsha for a bit?

    ReplyDelete