Zunyi? I thought you said Chongqing.

Well, it's definitely becoming an interesting week... and I only got here yesterday.

I was originally under the impression that I was going to Chongqing, a city near Sichuan Province in southern China. I thought that because Dary told me that's where we were going. Even when we were at the train station and he handed me my ticket, he said "we're going to Chongqing" I looked at the ticket; it said "To Zunyi." I thought, that's odd, and said that I thought we were going to Chongqing. We are, first to my hometown! And... that's odd, I thought Chongqing was your hometown.

Turns out he grew up here, then his parents moved to Chongqing... I think he just tells people his hometown is Chongqing... It probably sounds better. It is a bigger more developed city than this one. There's not much here.

So... instead of a 16 to 20 hour very fast train to Chongqing, we rode the "fast train" (the train that stops at all stations) to a place a few hours from Chongqing, Zunyi. It was a 38 hour train ride. Not the longest I have been on, to Lhasa was 48 hours, but I had a bed then. This trip was all on hard seats, a lot of people. We left on Thursday night at 10:16 exactly and arrived in Zunyi 12:15 pm on Saturday. Our cluster of seats didn't clear up until about 3 am on Saturday, so from that point on we got to lie down. Which was really nice. I got some restful sleep.

And now we're here in Zunyi. Not much to see. I got to see the site of the Zunyi Conference; where the Communist party met after Mao's long march concluded and they discussed battle plans for attacking the Nationalists in neighboring Chongqing.

We'll see if I can get to Chongqing or some place interesting. I think Dary just wants to be here for the girlfriend... understandable; except their fighting is pretty bad. There was just a pretty bad one... We'll see how the rest of this week goes... It's all kind of exciting!

Trying to be a Shoupiaoyuan: Day 2

Well, I started again this morning. I was trying to figure out where I should start, and decided to head back to Dongzhimen area and figuring it out from there. I got on a bus to go to the subway to ride up there and asked the ticket seller where I could go to apply.

This then turned into a discussion between a couple people on the bus; the ticket seller, driver, and several people who were saying where they thought. I was told to go to Sancun'r again, and that made me feel pretty confident that it was the right place to go to. So I got off the bus at the next stop, went to the opposite side of the street and took the 110 4 stops to Happy Third Town (Xingfu San Cun). A little ways from the bus stop was an office, I was walking behind two Chinese guys and they asked someone the question I was going to ask; where do we apply?

So I knew I was going to the right place and I followed them in to the office. They asked the woman behind the desk if this is where you applied, she asked "driver or ticket seller?" They both said ticket seller and the women behind the desk looked at me like "What are you doing here?" I said, "Ticket seller." She then asked, do you have a Beijing hukou. Nope. Well, then there's no way.

That seemed like it and she tried to kick me out, but I kept asking and pressing about it, whether I can do it anyway despite this small fact. She kept saying that without the hukou I could never do this job, despite all the reasons and my real strong interest. While we were talking about these things she was helping the people that kept coming in. In the fifteen minutes we were speaking, there must have been like 20 people that came in to apply. Apparently people apply and then a few are selected to start school. When I realized this really wasn't going to cut it, I knew I had to get bumped up to a higher level, so I changed my tack.

I started talking about working as an intern, someone just learning the trade of the ticket seller. I said, can't you ask a manager about this and see if they might want someone like me? So I took out a business card and wrote "wants to be an intern" on it then handed it to her. She went back into the office and I thought I'd wait for her to see if there was any prospect. Maybe five minutes later, she came back and was like, come with me. She took me back into the office and upstairs where I went in and started talking to a guy about being an intern.

He was basically one hundred percent against it. A little bit of interest, but he had the same excuses I had heard yesterday. You know, it's not just like you can come in here and tomorrow start working on a bus. I told him I understand that I would have to go to classes to learn the how to be a "bus service person." And I said that's all part of understanding the culture and becoming more familiar with the language, and it's what I want. Then he said, "well, the school probably requires a Beijing hukou, as well." He was not going to crack and actually ended the conversation twice before I finally left. Probably not good on my part, but I definitely did not want to give up without a fight. I ended by saying, "You have my contact info, so if the opportunity does arise, I'll still be interested."

Feeling kind of bummed, I went down and thanked the woman who I had been talking to. She said, "It didn't work, why are you thanking me?" Well, thanks for asking and letting me trouble you like this.

And I left their office thinking... now I can either get a fake Beijing hukou or try to apply for a real one... but you can only apply at this one place, so if it was fake, the women would know that I had some how gotten one and wouldn't let it pass. 

And as I was walking down the steps and out the gate my phone started ringing. Didn't know the number and answered. "This is Mr Wang, from yesterday at the line 1 office..." And he brought up the possibility of an internship with them, it could only be on the line 1 bus (which is a pretty cool one, cuts the city right in half and drives in front of Mao's picture on Tiananmen). It could only be on a week by week basis, "are you interested?" YES! "Of course you are!" he said. "Well, I still have to talk about it with the other managers, but I'll call you about it."

And while nothing is set, or guaranteed, it seems like I'm getting closer to my goal. If I don't hear from him before tomorrow afternoon I'll give him a call and see what the status is. I can only hope for the best. At least seeds are planted now, both at the main office and at the line 1, those are the two places I left cards. It just leaves me feeling very hopeful. It's funny how much I really want to be on the bus selling tickets, I mean, riding the bus is fun, but working the bus would be so interesting.

Trying to be a Shoupiaoyuan: Day 1

I woke up this morning with the intention of getting a job as a Shoupiaoyuan or a ticket seller on a bus. Since my first time in Beijing I have been extremely interested in the bus system here in Beijing. It seems an incredibly complicated mess, but after you start using it it becomes more and more familiar and easy to use. I want to become a ticket seller because of their culture, and the bus culture here in Beijing. I know in an earlier post I wrote about the bus culture, and it never ceases to interest me. Every time I ride the bus I get a little more curious and interested in it all.

So I left this morning off in search of my dream job (for the time being at least). I headed first to the headquarters or dispatch. Rode the 1 line straight west to the terminus and found the headquarters. The guard wouldn't let me in. He said that this isn't the place where you apply to become a ticket seller, go over there to the station for line 1 (there are offices at the terminal stations) and they could help me get in. I went over to the entrance to the station and the guard and a volunteer stopped me to ask me what I was doing. I said I was going to apply for a job as a ticket seller. 

Guard: "Are you a Beijing citizen?" 

Me: "I'm from out of town." 

Volunteer: "From Xinjiang?" (a province in Western China)

Me: "More or less."

The guard seemed interested and decided to take me over to the office. We went into one room and the guard said that I wanted to apply for a job. We were directed upstairs to the offices of the head of the line. There was a meeting going on, but one guy came out and we went and sat down. While another was taking pictures of me, I explained to the man named Wang my interests in becoming a ticket seller.  

Par for my expectations he thought of several things that contradicted the fact that five people told me I could apply for a job here. He said, we don't take applications here. I said where do I go to apply, a lot of people told me I can just go to the end station and apply. Then he said you need a Beijing hukou (citizenship). I hinted that it probably wouldn't matter and I could just do it on a day to day basis. He said that that's not how it worked here, you have to study to do this. I said, I know there's a three month internship period. He then said there's a school they have to go to too (I had never heard of that, there's probably a class or two, but no school). I said, I would go to the class if it meant I could be a ticket seller, then asked where the school was located. He said, it's far away--in the suburbs. I pressed on trying to figure out where it was. He left for a bit then came back and said they're "not hiring right now anyway." I said that's Ok and pressed on about the school. He gave me the service hotline to call for information. I thanked him for that and as we were wrapping up, he asked for my phone number so if anything were to come up he could get in touch with me; I had gotten out a business card when he left the room for a second and when he said that I said, here take this and if there is an opportunity please let me know. Thanked him again and apologized about keeping him from his meeting.

Tried the hotline, no answer. After lunch I headed on to a new bus line to try again. I chose 801 and headed to their terminal station. When I got there I went into the station asking for the head of the line. They said he wasn't in, but asked what business I had. I said I wanted to become a ticket seller. Unfortunately here I was basically laughed out of the station. They basically asked each other if I was able to. I said it probably won't be a problem, I'm just from out of town. "Out of town? You're a foreigner!" I really want to be a ticket seller, I argued. They said to call the hotline and ask where I can go. They don't hire people here anyway, but wanted to see me succeed.

So I left their station and tried the hotline again, got through but couldn't hear well outside, so didn't get the new number to call about becoming a ticket seller. When I got back home, after riding the bus back, I called again and got through. The woman gave me a new number to try, I dialed it and got through to the headquarters/dispatch.

Me: "I'm interested in becoming a ticket seller, where do I go to apply?"

Woman: skeptically "Do you have a Beijing hukou?"

Me: "Yes." blatant lie.

Woman: "Well... if you do have one... bring your high school diploma, personal identity card, along with the hukou and a photo and go to Dongzhimen -(and then I didn't understand the next part)."

Me: "Dongzhimen where?"

Woman: "Dongzhimenwai -- - - - -." (Again I didn't understand.)

Me: "Ok thank you!" (She was starting to see through the gig when I didn't know what place she was speaking of...)

So I headed out to Dongzhimen. Got stuck in traffic on the way to the subway, finally made it to a place that looked profitable. Just outside of Dongzhimen Subway station was a very large bus station with countless lines inside; I proceeded to ask around. All the guards said there was no office here. I said, but all terminal stations have a head person. "No offices here." So I started asking ticket sellers there where I could go to apply. Got a couple various responses. I found one man who said go into the center, there are offices there and you can apply. So I worked my way in along the way he had pointed. Next to one stop was a guard, instead of asking if there was an office, I told him I was heading to the offices in the center to apply. He said, "to apply? offices?" I want to be a ticket seller and I was told there's a place to apply here. "I'm really not sure, I'm new here." He looked like he was 16. I said, head over to that office there and tell them an out-of-towner is looking for a job as a ticket seller, don't say I am a foreigner, just tell them I want to discuss applying. He caved after a little bit more explanation and then went to ask. He came back and told me the head of the station had gone home already. It was after 6, so it was expected. I said I'd come back the next day.

On leaving I asked another group of ticket sellers about where I can go to apply to be a ticket seller. Again, the normal, "Can foreigners become a ticket seller?" I said my usual, "It shouldn't be a problem, I'm just from out of town." One of them directed me to ride 823 to Sancun'r to apply. 

So day one complete, no real prospects, but I think there's still hope. Most people seemed to be interested by the idea. I think if I keep trying around eventually I'll find the way in. It seems that everyone is really worried about letting a foreigner sell tickets on a bus. And letting a non Beijing resident sell tickets on a bus. I'll have to keep trying, I really do want to be able to do it. If nothing else, it'd be good publicity for them. Though public transportation doesn't get advertised, it'd be interesting to get on a bus with a foreigner selling tickets and calling out the stations. I haven't lost hope yet, it's only day one.

 

Great Wall

I have been to the Great Wall a number of times. I went this past weekend with Diachemix, my dad's business which was in town last week. It was a chilly day, and I really didn't wear the right clothes, as it had just started being cold, and you never can tell how warm or cold it's going to be, especially while climbing up and down the steep steps of the Great Wall.

Well, we drove out to the Badaling section, which I had never been to, and as we were getting closer we were watching the temperature drop, 13 degrees Celsius in the city down to 4 degrees celsius at the wall. And when we pulled into the parking lot it started snowing. 

It was the first time I had been to the Great Wall in the snow, and truthfully it was a really neat experience. I think it made me appreciate it more. Though the views of the wall snaking through the hill side weren't really visible, the parts we could see were impressive. And with the view dusted with some snow flakes, and the air filled with large flakes, it really was added to.

I'd like to go in the winter when the hills are all covered with snow and there are probably less people.

It was unbelievable that on a cold dreary day, though it was a Saturday, that there could still be so many people. The person who took us there, named Wang was saying to me in Chinese how he was blown away by the number of people there when it was so cold. "Imagine it on a summer day," he said. I reminded him that this is only one of how many sites for the wall around Beijing, and all have 50+ RMB tickets. While seven bucks doesn't sound like a lot, I think it would add up over a year. 

The falling snow also made me think about something I think about every time I see the wall, just the fact that it was constructed with all manpower on steep terrain and probably not just in good weather. Pretty mind boggling.

Why yes, I am an international athlete.

Got back from Shenzhen and 4 days of the China Cup. It was a pretty great time. Apparently it's currently the largest regatta in Asia. That's what they said, I don't know if I believe that though.

There were thirty boats in our class, and two other classes with about five boats. Our class of boats was all one design Beneteau First 40.7s. They are about forty feet long and three sailed. (Check out the website here)

We had eight people on board sailing for the Beijing Sailing Center team. Alfie - our skipper from Scotland; Anuj - doing pit, American; Stephen - Spinnaker, Welsh; Martin - didn't really doing much, from Germany; Rick - was on the bow, British; his girlfriend Qian Qian was rail meat; myself on the main sail. It was a real fun group of people. Rick owns the BSC and Alfie is the chief instructor there. Anuj and Stephen work in Beijing and learned to sail this summer at the BSC. Martin works for the German embassy, and I'm still confused how he ended up on the boat. Overall a fun couple of days.

Sadly my flight to HK never got booked while I was in the US and therefore I missed the passage race from Hong Kong to the mainland of China where the inshore racing was located. So when I got to the Yacht Club in Shenzhen the next day, they had a temporary customs and border control station set up. It was really something. So the first thing was free cold beer, then you proceeded to passport control, then to customs. I was pretty jealous.

We didn't win, but we did all right, considering we had a couple people that really had not sailed before. Placing 19th of 30 is decent, considering there were a large number of semi- professional teams involved and most teams had been sailing together training for months, and our whole crew was together for the first time on the first day of sailing in Shenzhen.

Overall, a real fun experience and it makes me an international athlete... sort of.

Price of development

I am convinced Shanxi is one of the dirtiest places on earth.

The province is one of the fastest and richest in north-central China. It is rich in coal and is therefore getting rich from coal power plants. They dot the landscape and keep a dusty cloud hanging over the region.

When you blow your nose it comes out speckled with black dirt. After washing your face and hands the water in the sink is tinted gray and black with the dirt. 

Taiyuan, the capital, is very industrial and a heavy smog sits over the city like an extremely overcast day. The cars are coated and the air is heavy with the dust from the coal. It's a harsh environment for six days of travel. It's amazing that people live full time there. My lungs hurt last night after getting back, but it was nice to breathe the fresh air in a cool rainy night in Beijing.

This is the price of a developing economy. It's not until you can afford to care about the environment that you care about the environment, so why should they worry about it? That was the biggest complaint of Shanxi people, "the air is so bad here." I said that's just the developing economy, when the region is developed the air will get cleaner. It's amazing that they are burning so much coal. I've heard this region used to be worse. Ten years ago it apparently was worse, with totally black mucus. What a great way to explain it, but I feel it's a way to paint the picture.

"Don't say thank you again."

Last week Monday I boarded a bus to head off to Datong in Shanxi province for a little travel during China's Golden Week holiday, a seven day break in which nearly anyone who isn't in the service industry in China has a vacation. Misjudging the time, I delayed buying train tickets... then found they were all sold out. I decided to change my trip destination to Shanxi, from the original location of Suzhou in the south. Suzhou would have been a 17+ hour bus ride as all the plane tickets were also sold out. It's basically like labor day and thanksgiving rolled into one, with five times the population.

So, at about 12:45 I showed up at the bus station and bought a ticket on the 1:40 to Datong, a 4 or 5 hour bus ride. Not too bad. As we got near Datong, I started talking to the woman next to me. She was going home for the break with a family that had basically adopted her and whom she currently lives with in Tianjin. We chatted about the natural 'where you're from' small talk, but also about what to eat and do in Datong. She was surprised I was traveling by myself. Most Chinese are. "Where's your partner?" "It's just me." She told the father of the family and he immediately invited me to eat dinner with them. 

"No, no," I said. "I'm just going to get some noodles and then probably fall asleep."

"Nonsense, we'll eat spicy fish! Can you eat spicy things?"

"Oh sure, I love spicy things, but really I was just going to get some noodles on my own, isn't that what you're supposed to eat here?"

He went back and sat down. And I turned to the woman next to me, their adopted daughter/family friend, saying that I couldn't accept, it's just troubling them when I could really just go find a place to eat on my own. Then the father stood up again, "We have reservations, so you are coming." I again turned to the woman next to me and she made this "you have to accept now" sort of comment. So that was it. And off we went to a room on the third floor of a restaurant that had every food imaginable.

We each drank a small bottle of fenjiu (Shanxi's Special alcohol) and ate some specialty foods of Shanxi. Their lamb is very good as it's close to Inner Mongolia. We had some Cold noodles as well as another version of Shanxi noodles. The whole time we were drinking and talking and talking with his wife, daughter, and their family friend, he kept saying how he was going to take me around Datong. I basically had to fight that off, saying how I can take the bus to the Hanging Temple and the caves. Ok, but I'm going to help you find a place to stay after dinner and then tomorrow after you're back we can meet up again. I said, you really don't have to help, I can go find a place. After dinner we went to a hotel his business uses where he has a discount. Unfortunately they were full. We went across the street to another hotel; 60 RMB ($9) I said, this place is perfect. He said, absolutely not, it's not clean enough. We went down the street and found a place that was 200 RMB (28 USD) a night. I pulled my money out and he fought me off. Now you might ask why I couldn't force him out of the way and pay my own way. Well, it's tough when this Chinese man is 5 inches taller than me and about 50 pounds heavier. He's a big guy... and he paid for two nights in the hotel.

And so it continued. The next day after visiting the Hanging Temple, I came back and called Liu Ge or big brother Liu, as I had come to call him after being told not to call him Uncle. We met up and waited for a friend, a man high up in Datong's local government, and Liu's family to come by. We went to a new restaurant, again more alcohol was poured and chopsticks were lifted. With several toasts I said some 'thank yous' for treating me so well and welcoming me and feeding me so well here in Datong. Liu Ge told me not to say thank you one more time. I said, it's just a cultural custom, I'm just used to saying it. But that was the last time I said it. It really is a weird thing, but the thank you is so different here in China.

Again after telling him he didn't have to drive me anywhere, I could find the caves and temples myself he said that's fine, let me at least take you to a noodle place tomorrow for breakfast. I agreed, on the condition that it was just for noodles, I would go around by myself. The next morning was a rough start after a lot of Shanxi liquor with Liu and friends... I told him I wasn't going to eat anything this morning and was going to sleep a little bit more. He said, fine and to call later. 

He had convinced me to stay another night and take a bus Thursday morning to Wutai Mountain. After a day of temple hopping came a third dinner with Liu, his family, and we were joined by his sister's family. We had Hunan food, delicious and spicy and, of course, washed down with more Shanxi liquor. The next morning, it was agreed that when I woke up I should give him a call and he would drive me to the bus station... he wouldn't take no for an answer. 

He took me back to the hotel, this time I had already prepared the 200 RMB in my pocket and was telling him there was no need to get out of the car, no need to come inside with me. But he was already getting out of the car and coming in with me. At the front desk I was quicker and had already given my money to the receptionist, but Liu reached across the desk, grabbed the money from her hand and shoved it at me, giving her his 200 RMB in stead. I didn't take the money and he put it in my sweatshirt pocket instead. I insisted on giving it to him... but to no avail. I was going to utter a thank you when I changed and said, "you really have been too nice to me here." He said not to be so kind and not to say thank you.

I woke up the next morning to head to the bus station, we got there at about 8.15 only to find that the two buses for the morning had both left at 7.30... the next one wasn't until 4 pm. He said, well, looks like we're going to the Wooden Pagoda! So I bought a ticket on the bus with Liu's money. He wouldn't let me pay my own, I insisted on giving the money back, telling him I brought my own money too. He refused to take it back even when I put it in his jacket pocket. 

I told him that he didn't have to take me anywhere, I could find things to do in Datong for the day. But he stated the wooden pagoda was too far without your own car, so it'd be perfect if he would drive. So he called his sister who had taken his daughter to the park and then called his wife. We picked them both up and headed to breakfast. It was a Shanxi specialty breakfast dish, well two, each had lamb guts: stomach, intestines, congealed blood served two ways one in a soup and one over noodles. It actually was pretty good. Just a surprising breakfast food...

From breakfast we started on our way to the wooden pagoda. His daughter fell asleep. We talked about a variety of things. His wife told me that they had never ridden the bus before, but with train tickets all sold out and them not having a car in Tianjin this month because of the Olympics (restrictions on car usage in and around Beijing) all meant they were left with no choice but to take a bus from Beijing to Datong. "So it's really karma that we met!" she said. I agreed.

We got back to Datong after a morning at the pagoda, and ate "Tofu Brain." A hot pot of soft tofu served with pork ribs. Delicious. And this lunchtime feast was, of course, washed down with a final bottle of Shanxi Liquor each. 

He invited my friends and family to Datong, if I let him know when I was coming, he would come back from Tianjin and take me and other people around. He gave me four bottles of Shanxi liquor to take home to the US. And then asked me to look around for a needle used in surgeries... His business makes products used in surgeries, and Liu wanted me to get a hold of this one kind of needle. He sent me off with a brochure and a picture of the needle he meant... and with that I was left with a friend in both Datong and Tianjin, as he spends most of his time in Tianjin, a port city within easy reach of Beijing. "Give me a call when you come to Tianjin, we'll eat seafood!"

While I didn't say thank you again, I found I could tell him and his wife that these few days in Datong have been great, I've been able to understand Datong and Shanxi's specialty foods and the city's welcoming culture. I've eaten until I was full and drank very well. While it wasn't "thank you" it was still a thank you.

When in Rome...

The day before yesterday I finally bought a bike. I had been putting it off... I am not sure exactly why... but I walked up the street a little bit and bargained for a bike. It was a cheap bike and after biking a little ways it broke. One of the pedals broke off. I found a place that fixes bikes, and had both pedals replaced.

Then yesterday I biked forty five minutes up to where Helen is studying at Beijing Normal University. It was a great ride. The easiest thing was there was only one turn. I biked past the man made lakes Beihai and Qianhai, biked along the back of the Forbidden City and biked down this one road I have always really liked.

It's great living near the center of the city. When I was a student at Beida, it would have been a really long ride to bike down to the Forbidden City. Here I can bike 15 minutes and ride past the picture of Chairman Mao hanging on Tiananmen.

I love biking in Beijing, because it really is a biking city. Though now, most people have electric bikes that are like a cross between a motorcycle and bike. I prefer the original though. It's a great way to exercise, get around quickly, and protect a form of Beijing culture. 

I have read some articles saying how Beijing is losing it's massive bicycle population; they are being replaced by cars. With the roads so clogged with traffic, I can't help but realize how nice it is to bike. And with Beijing being an incredibly flat city, it's really not a painful commute. So I can't help but do as the locals do--or at least as most people did five or ten years ago and use a bike as my primary form of transportation.

The day's done stampede

Yesterday, Grace and Paul (my friends, a very nice couple who have opened their house to me here in Beijing, while I try to find a way to settle down) took me and Fei Fei (a girl from Xinjiang, China) out to dinner. We had some dumplings at a restaurant and then some shaved ice at another restaurant inside this one large shopping center near the apartment.

At about 10, the ice place was going to close so they had the bill paid while we were still eating. When the music stopped, we decided it must be time to go. The server said she would take us out. I thought this was a little bizarre, I mean, sometimes when you eat at someone's house they will walk you out, but not at a restaurant. We had to go down to the first floor and then, instead of using the main entrance, we had to use the staff entrance as the mall had already closed.

When we got to the main floor there was literally a flood--a stampede--of chinese women all aged between 20 and 35 years old. I kept thinking, "Wow! A lot of people wait until the last minute before finishing their shopping!"

When we got to the staff entrance one whole wall was filled with time clocks, used to punch-in and out of work--that's when I realized that all these women stampeding out of the building were store workers who had just got off work. Now they were wearing their normal clothes and racing out. It was just quite a sight and situation to be in. A first for me to have closed a shopping center. I think it's the only time in China when I have felt like I was walking slowly, so many people stepped on my heels as they tried to get to the door.

back to square one

Well, I was supposed to be at work now. But yesterday, on my first day, I was fired.

Ok, not fired... but there's no way for the company to get me a work permit. Apparently it's really hard for someone under 25 and with my skill set (nonexistent) to apply for a work permit. As they already have a lot of foreigners working there, it would be really hard to get another. So the back room administration gave me the axe. I even offered myself as an intern, doing the same amount of work, but less pay and under a student visa... the guy trying to hire me liked that, but the administration said no way--it requires a letter from my university or college saying this internship will be for credit.

So, that put an end to it. My boss (ex-boss, rather) was pretty disappointed. He had no idea.

I'm not sure whether this means that I won't be able to work at all, or that just this company refuses to try and get me through the system. I am going to look for volunteer opportunities around Beijing and possibly some classes, and just basically keep my eyes and ears open for possible interesting things to do like that, or for whatever they might be.

I see it as a positive, it would have been nice to be set and on my way--but maybe going back to square one is a good thing.