The Great WallNut

Last Day of the Second Time ‘Round

Jamie — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 04:09:05 +0000

When The Ig and I awoke the morning of what again would be our last day, the sun rose over North Korea,

and I remember being relieved that by the end of the day, we’d be finished with this Shibble-forsaken adventure. I also remember thinking even if someone paid me a million bones, I would never–and I mean never–take on this trek again. Before I go on to finally show you the photos of our last day, I’m just gonna throw a little sum’in’-sum’in’ out there:

Never say never.

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It’s Video Time!

Jamie — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 19:48:01 +0000

Step right up and step inside the ger I stayed in while in Mongolia. Hard to believe it’s been nearly a year since that tiny Mongolian guy tried to bake we foreigners alive in our ger!

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It’s A Small World

Jamie — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 23:15:29 +0000

The day The Ig and I reached Jiayuguan last January after restarting our trek, we checked into the Great Wall hotel, showered up and went downstairs to the hotel restaraunt. It was cold and completely empty, and the hostess led us to a back room, where we were shocked to see two foreign women eating at a table.

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Photo Spam

Jamie — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 20:01:51 +0000

You know those friends and extended family members who you don’t hear from for years, the ones who can’t bother keeping in touch…until they have a friggen baby? Yeah, and then suddenly they show how interested they are in your life by spamming you with photos of their newborn?

Well, after a long absence I’m here today to spam ya’ll with pics of my new little psycho-bundle of joy, Mojo.

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New Video

Jamie — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 18:04:40 +0000

This video was taken a week or so out of Shanhaiguan, our ending point the first time. It’s just a tiny slice of what we saw while walking through villages.

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Avast, Ye Land Lubbers!!

Jamie — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 17:04:10 +0000

Listen up mates! Grab yer arm hooks, yer peg legs, yer eyepatches and piratey chatter! Today is one of my all-time favorite holidays, International Talk Like A Pirate Day!

A year ago today we were nearing “Tiki Torch/Robot with a Toupee” town, and although The Ig only had black shorts to don and I had to make due with a bandana and a chicken stick for a sword,

we were still able to make the most of the holiday. I distinctly remember a van pulling over, the side door sliding open, and me dancing around fiercely wielding my chicken stick and yelling something like, “Avast, ya scurvy bastards! Away wi’chya unless ye be wanting to walk the plank!”

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Blissful Beijing

Jamie — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 16:49:29 +0000

When I first arrived in Beijing and The Ig and I got stuck waiting for over a week on desperately needed visas, I could not wait to leave the city, the most prominent reason being the constant sinus headache from the pollution. The problem is prevalent enough that the city keeps a Blue Sky Day count.

Although the photo below (taken out the window of the Yu Yang hotel) dispays a day far from a Blue Sky Day,

I can tell you that The Ig and I were thrilled to be in the city.

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Say It Aint So!!

Jamie — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 16:54:30 +0000

Asashoryu Akinori, Yokozuna and all-around bad ass of Sumo wrestling,

has returned to Mongolia to be treated for stress and depression after being slapped with a two tournament suspenion.

I have to admit I feel partially responsible; surely my absence as Lead Stalker in the bowels of the Osaka stadium started him down the path of despair.

To make up for my slack then, I’ll be drinking from my Asashoryu coffee mug only from here on out,

and I’m pullin’ out the big guns and calling on the almighty; if anyone can fix this mess, then it’s my man Shibble!

In The Flesh

Jamie — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 16:34:40 +0000

Sometime around the middle of our trip, The Ig and I gained two new loyal and regular commenters, Jeremy and Laura. As clients of The Ig’s mom Jill, they were told about the site, checked it out, and according to Laura, were instantly hooked. Their comments always made us laugh and lifted our spirits–which was a gift we were most appreciative of back then–and so when we finished the trek we sent ‘em a few small gifts, one being a set of chopsticks.

To our delight (and astonishment), they actually wanted to meet us in person, and so when The Ig was home last week, he, Jill and myself met Jeremy and his parents, Laura and Tom. We met at Jer’s favorite restaraunt, and–how fun is this–ate our meals with the chopsticks we sent. I was most impressed by Jeremy’s ninja-like chopstick skills; you’d a thunk he’d been using choppies as long as we had, and it was his first time!

From left; Tom, Laura, The Ig, myself, Jer and Ig’s mom Jill. Any ideer what restaraunt we’re at?

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A Favor

Jamie — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 17:14:34 +0000

The bar I work at, TC’s Speakeasy, has been nominated by channel 4 news as one of the best live music scenes in the Detroit area, and we need everyone we can possibly reach to vote for us. We’re currently in the number three spot, with the number one spot being held by a massive country bar who showcases one house band only, and they play nothing but covers. We’re a small venue that’s lucky enough to pull amazing musicians (even our open mic nights are to die for–huzzah!), but we’re up against some big hitters, so we really need everyone’s help.

Follow this link and click on the “Vote Now” icon.

Scroll down to the “Nightlife” category, and click on “Live Music Venue”.

Scroll down until you find TC’s Speakeasy and hit “Vote”.

Voting ends August 31st, and you can vote once for every email you have, so please use what you’ve got! And an even bigger favor; please pass this on to everyone ya know!

Thanks to everyone in advance!