Rainy Day Parade. The LONG HU GARDEN BASHU SCHOOL parade practice must go on...

It's April 10 in China, April 9 in USA.  Thursday now.  We live in a high rise apartment in the City of ChongQing, China, like most everybody else we know here.  High rise apartments is the only way you fit dozens of millions of people in a relative small urban area.  Density is high. We live right next door to an elementary school.  The LONG HU GARDEN BASHU elementary school. Many of the kids that go to this school also live nearby here, even in this apartment complex where we live, the Long Hu Xi Yuan.

We moved here about a year ago, and things are in flux right now, or so it seems.  Deadlines on visa looming, job opportunities outstanding and hanging out there, no final decisions made yet, and only 10 more days to go and time is UP.  If I weren't a praying man, I'd be pretty stressed by now, and have already purchased airline tickets, and made all of our preparations to leave this place, this country. But somehow, in my faithful mind and heart, I believe that there is an opportunity for us here.  You could call it a hunch, a premonition, or something like that, but I would go further and say that the spirit of revelation is at play in all of our lives if we would but listen to it. What's that scripture? Knock?  Its called inspiration, prayer.

• Matthew 7:7 ¶Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

Those who have grown to trust in that also know that there are no absolutes on timelines or even expectations.  But hindsight is easy once the waiting is past, and it always has turned out that no matter the inspiration I got, the Lord was right and true in what He said, and sometimes I have slightly misunderstood it, but it turned out even more pleasant than expected in the end, because the Lord always wants to BLESS us... not hurt us.

He tells us just enough.  One day at a time.  One step at a time.  That's they way it has always worked in my life anyway. I have found that if I put my trust and faith in the Lord that He has always given us what we NEED and we have never suffered.  Now there may come a day when I actually do suffer, in fact the way the world is shaping up we might all count on that happening as a norm in a future world... depends on whether everybody can get along or not, and also how much mother earth cooperates by not sending tsunamis, earthquakes, lightning, and volcanoes to test and try our patience and love for one another.

On this particular rainy day the Chinese kids at the school were out in full force and colorful uniforms, practicing for an upcoming big event.  This school is in an affluent area, and it shows.  So on this rainy day, we are in our apartment. I'm working on future job prospects, even preparing for interviews. All at the seemingly last moment. Seemingly? Absolutely the last moment!  But there was not much I could do.  It came as a surprise, an unexpected turn of events for me and my family here in China.

The company I work for now has had a significant change in management at the levels that affected me and my job there. Again, its probably all fate and I have nothing to worry about, but needless to say, I did not see it coming, did not expect it... but the company formed a new company internal to the original company, that was going to become the department I was a part of.  Problem is, the man they hired to be the General Manager of it, QUIT.  Yes, he left.

So with all new players and a host of uncertainty about the future of the department and a huge marketing hole, the Vice President of the local company here stepped up to lead it. Problem is, he knows virtually nothing about Transportation Engineering and Planning. He is changing the direction of the focus of the department, turning it into something entirely different from what I was hired to come and help lead.  Now all of that is in the past. I move on to other opportunities.
I must focus on what my talents are.

I have always thought of my skill set being something in addition to merely transportation engineering.

I like the creative side of things too.  Communications comes to mind. Data Mining, marketing, visual communication, all of these, and there are some opportunities over her that complement my skill set.

The school is called LONG HU GARDEN BASHU SCHOOL.