8 Things

[I'm totally copying my sister's post she did that was like this]

My name is Jimmy Hales and this is my blog O' fun :)


8 Things I am Passionate About (in no particular order):

• Religious Belief
• I'm a Mormon

This was on the side of the road somewhere in the Australian bush.  I think this is near Wagga Wagga.

• Family
• Friends
• Music
• Expression
• I blog and have a YouTube channel.  Yeah.
• China (The people of)
• I served my LDS mission in Melbourne, Australia.  I was called Mandarin speaking. It was then I fell in love with the Chinese people.

Here I am with some coworkers at my internship here in China.  Everyday Friday we have a theme and take a picture.  This week's theme was Zebra.

• Running

My sister Jolie and me at the starting line of the Salt Lake City Marathon 2013.

• Helping Others

8 Words or Phrases I Say Often:

• "Say three words!"  (said to someone at the most random moment)
• "You have five seconds to answer:  How many trees on on the earth?"
• "I know a funny joke, but you need to start it."  Knock knock.  "Who's there?"  (laughter)
• Good.  Freakin.  Crap.
• After somebody says "Guess what?" I quickly, and honestly, try to guess what they're about to say.
• "Close your eyes!"  (then I'll ask:  What color is the ceiling?  What color are my shoes?  etc.)
• "Who's your least favorite roommate?"  (I ask this for the reaction of course.  I always cut them off before they answer, though some people are much quicker than me.)
• "Would you rather leave a trail of slime wherever you go or always emit a horrible stench?"

8 Most Favorite Songs

• Kelly Clarkson - Cry (link)
• I swear Kelly Clarkson is a closeted lesbian Mormon.  Why?  Her songs are so perfectly interpreted as being from my point of view (though I'm not a lesbian.)  In this song she says, "If anyone asks, I'll tell them we both just moved on...If anyone asks, I'll tell them we just grew apart..."  While it wasn't about any individual people were constantly asking me about, them asking me whether there was a significant other or not really caused this song to speak to me.
• Clay Aiken - Solitaire (link)
• The song that taught me that I love singing.  I heard Clay sing this live and was completely blown away.  If I could have any male singing voice it would be his.  Female voice... Kelly Clarkson.
• Bjork - All Is Full Of Love (link)
• I have a really artistic side to me.  I'll listen to "weird music" or occasionally enjoy a work of art done by Yoko Ono.  I fell in love with Bjork in high school and have been a crazy fan ever since.  I listened to this song in high school during my parents divorce and what not.  It's a very powerful song really speaks to me emotionally.  Best listened to on a big sound system with good bass.
• Mormon Tabernacle Choir - O Magnum
• This song isn't released on any album.  Since my dad is in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, this song ended up on one of his practice CDs that he used as he prepared for tour.  It is simply amazing.
• Kelly Clarkson - Sober (link)
• I'm not sure what it is about this song, but it's a song I never skip when it comes on.  It's calm for most of it then builds up, at the end Kelly shreds the last verse with a powerful belting voice.  It talks about the aftermath of broken relationship (or difficult life event).
• The Beatles - Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds (link)
• This song is perfect.  Whether it's about LSD or not, who cares.  John Lennon's lyrics are perfectly weird, and the synth you hear throughout goes along perfectly with the psychadelic mood the lyric brings.
• Clay Aiken - Lover All Alone (link)
• If I ever had a theme song, this is it.  A hauntingly beautiful song about a lover being alone, wanting to share their love, but not being able to.  Clay wrote this song, and it's clearly about him being gay, despite it being released a few years before he came out.  In fact, back in high school I fell in love with this song.  It tells my story perfectly and I'm mad that I didn't write it.
• Radwimps - 救世主 (link)
• Radwimps is my favorite band.  They're from Japan and are incredibly talented.  I love the singer's voice and how he's never off pitch (I watched them live).  The lyrics to this song are beautiful, though I had to find them in English to know it.  The title of the song means "Messiah", and is a sort of prayer of praise.  It's mostly calm, but has a big finish.

8 Things I want to do before I Die:

• Share a stage with David Archuleta for a number.
• Go to a Kelly Clarkson concert.
• Become a confident music producer.
• Settle down and not be afraid of being lonely.
• Fund my sister Jolie's films.

Here is a film my sister wrote and directed.  It's one of my favs!

• Ride on a Segway Human Transporter
• EVERY time I've had an opportunity to ride on one I found out just after the opportunity is passed.
• In the wild, witness a fierce animal take down, kill, and eat another animal.
• Have a body of a god.

8 Things I Have Learned From my Past:

• As humans, we really don't know a lot.
• I'm way more dramatic late at night, so some conversations need to wait until the morning.
• I have a thing for Asians.
• I'm gay.
• I put on a very convincing front when I'm feeling down.
• I can't gain weight.
• God wants to help me in certain ways, but I need to ask first.
• I don't like ice cream.

8 Things You Didn't Know About Me:

• I cannot, for the life of me, juggle.
• When I was 5 years old, I sat on Santa's lap and asked for an umbrella and a garbage can.
• I've broken my arm, dislocated my shoulder, had stitches on my forehead and chin, and had surgery on my shoulder and both of my knees.



Here I am in the ambulance after dislocating my arm snowboarding.  My good friend Scott, who rushed down the mountain to get help after my fall, later told me that that trip down the mountain was perhaps his most enjoyable lol!  Rather than imagining he was on a James Bond mission, he kinda was.

• I don't put milk in my cereal.
• My major was initially Biology, but is now Computer Science.
• I sleep with a fan because I like the soothing noise it makes.
• I was born in Kansas City, Kansas.
• I wear socks to bed.

8 Places I Would Love to Go or See:

• North Korea
• I don't want to go there now, but I hope to see the day where I will be able to go there safely.
• Japan
• I've always had a thing for Japan. I want to go there so bad!!! 
• Israel
• The holy land.
• North Dakota
• I cannot think of a lamer place to visit, so I want to go there.
• Disneyland Shanghai
• It doesn't exsist yet, but it will in a couple years!
• Russia
• It's a huge mystery to me, so I want to learn about it.
• Africa & South America
•  Then I'll have gone to all continents except for Antarctica
• Salt Flats
• I grew up in Utah, but I've never been to the salt flats.

8 Things I Currently Need or Want:

• Canon 5D Mark III
• Real recording studio
• I need to graduate first.  
• Close friends
• To graduate from BYU
• To make a difference
• Monster Energy (they don't have them here in China.  All they have is non-corbonated Red Bull)
• A beach house
• A guitar or piano
• I'm in China and am so far away from my creative music side that I'm kinda going a little crazy.

8 Things I Hate

• The word "Smelly"
• When people don't look where they're going and walk into me.
• Cockroaches
• Ford Taurus, Dodge Neon, Ford Focus, Buicks

• Barfing
• Dishonesty
• Sore throats
• Scratching felt
• I don't mind scratching chalk boards at all, but the felty material found on the seats in our min van growing up... the thought of scratching them makes me cringe.

8 Of My Most Favorite Movies

• Titanic

• What Lies Beneath

• Three Idiots

• Hot Rod

• Twister

• Paranormal Activity: Tokyo Night

• Cinderella Man

• The Bourne Series

This post took me a long time to complete, so I'm glad it's done. 

My time in China is going by too fast!!!  Ugh!!  When I'm back in the states I'm excited to hit the books one last for a few months and then never again!

Life is great, and I want a massage.

Bad English Signs In China

It's Sunday.  I appreciate Sunday's more now than ever before.  I had a few offers to go out and play, but I said no in order to allow myself some time to upload my latest video, write this blog post, and watch the Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour.

In China, on Sundays I rest from the world.  Back at BYU, on Sundays the world rests with me.

On certain mornings the subways give out free newspapers, therefor everybody reads them.

Audition 3 of 4 for The Voice (China)

Hua Song and Delia, the cute Chinese family I live with.  They are so great, it's ridiculous.  How on earth did I end up in the most ideal of living conditions?

Several aspects of my experience this time in China differ greatly from my last visit to China.  I see children wearing diapers, as where before the kids would just do their thing anywhere, and it was gross.  I will actually see toilet paper in some public restrooms.  The English that I see on signs is actually a lot better this time.  However, I am still able to find some bad English occasionally, so here are a few.

Work is great.  You never know what weird thing you'll end up doing any morning you walk into the office.  

Danica, me, and Sisi riding on Kayaks in China!  This place is called 牛仔俱乐部。

Hahaha!

I love being in China so much.  I feel like I fit right in.  The fast paced lifestyle, the high number of people, the opportunities around every corner, and now an internship that allows me give back.  I need to graduate and get out of that place.  Having said that, I know that I was supposed to be there.  BYU was the only university that would hold my transcript for 2.5 years after high school graduation, so I had no choice, but am truly grateful for the experience I've had there and for the stellar education I have received.  It's almost time to move on though, and I'm getting anxious.

Latest Video

Sick At Home, But I'm In China, So It's OK (^_^)Y

So, I'm home sick from work today.  A few days ago my voice was getting really dry and it hurt to sing, let alone talk.  I figured it was allergies, which didn't make me happy.


The Voice Update:

Well, symptoms worsened gradually, my head began to ache a bit and I began to feel a bit tired.  "It's just allergies" I said, or rather “只是过敏的效果吧。” But alas, today my throat is very swollen and I feel very tired.  Now, I have an audition in two days for The Voice in China.  I'm not too worried.  Not because I think I'll get through, but really because I don't see myself going through even without being sick, so yeah.  Saturday they'll narrowing the top 160 in my province (Jiangsu 江苏 population 78,659,903) to 30 people, then on Sunday they're narrowing it down from 30 people to 5.  After that it's the TV rounds.

I live with a Chinese couple!

Me and the fun couple I live with!  (Me, Hua Song, and Delia)  They have a kitten named Gulu.  I like to blow on its face.

I just moved in last night.  I'm still unpacking and stuff.  I'm waaay excited to get to know these two more over the next few months.  What a golden opportunity!  I'm still getting over it.  A woman at work hooked me up, so I jumped on it.  Previously my commute to work was biking or busing, which wasn't ideal.  But now I take the subway, which is great because I can read on it!  I read 3 Nephi 12 while riding it today.  In China we can't proselyte, so never before has verse 16 meant to much to me.  It reads: "16 Therefore let your light so shine before this people, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven."

This month's Beatles album is "The Beatles (white album)" AND a bonus album, "The Magical Mystery Tour".  I love them both!!!  Listening to them now :)  OK, back to China.

I haven't taken my DSLR out yet; I still have a lot of time.  I'm come here often and people watch.  People approach me and get their picture with me.  Then after I speak Chinese to them we exchange numbers a BAM, more friends.  I love this picture.  Not to sound dramatic, but it tells quite a story.  The two walking together, and then the person  who is responsible for casting the shadow and taking the photo, perhaps to capture a feeling of yearning and to illustrate what it is he is lacking.

You know you're in China when...

OK, below you see a panorama.  It was literally taken across the street from where I live.  Every night there are TONS of people here.  I LOVE it!  I love seeing China become more developed.  For instance, the big thing right now is rollerblading.  Many people rent roller blades here and ride around.  They usually not very good.  I love seeing it though.  Chinese people are so cute.  Also, I'm finally beginning to see Chinese people go running.  YES!!!  While many still run in jeans and regular T-shirts, it's a great start for Chinese people.  I run around this lake and pass through this part of the trail.

The building on the left is pretty cool.  We call it 裤子城 which means "Pants City".

I love music.  I don't love Chinese music.  I feel China's music industry just hasn't taken off yet, but it's getting there.  People are starting to recognize what music is good and what music isn't good.  It's normal to hear absolutely terrible music being played on the radio, and no it's not just my opinion.  The instruments and the singers are often waaay off pitch, bad rhythm, etc..  That's why when I saw this guy (see pic below) I was excited.  He was really good!  Also, for a young Chinese person to tell their parents that they want to pursue music is most likely the worst thing that person's parents have ever heard.  This guy is a pioneer for China and I'm proud of him... and his hair rocks.

In China there are HUGE shopping centers everywhere!  I love them all!  Shoot, I love big cities.  Sometimes I'll go to one of the shopping centers and just walk around.

For just $2.44 USA dollars I eat myself full at this great outdoor/indoor massive shopping center.  That big bridge thing behind me is the worlds largest LED screen.  At night it lights up and they show various things on it.  People lay down on the ground and just watch it.

I like where I work.  I get my own desk space and computer.  I have my little work card that I wear around my neck all the time.  I have to swipe it in the elevator in order for the elevator to do anything.  Also, wearing it causes local Chinese people to stare even more, for seeing a foreigner with a local workers card thing is unheard of.  It also says where I work, so they can stalk me if they'd like.

The tall building behind me is the building I currently work at.  Here I am just waiting for the bus to take me home.

My coworkers are so much fun.  They're all Chinese with an exception of myself and two other interns.  The guys in the picture below are all IT guys, so I work with them.  They are so nice to me and always happy.

Left to right:  Coco, Joey, Winnie, Oliver, Vivian, me, Ricky

Before Photoshop

These were taken with my phone.  On Sundays I'll go out and go people watching.  I was peacefully sitting on a bench when I took this picture.

After Photoshop

The first (and only at this point) obviously gay Chinese couple I've seen.  Going out like this is quite a bold move here in China.  I feel bad for them, for it's especially difficult being gay in China.

I got a hair cut.

I find myself taking more videos than I do pictures.  In this day and age I think that's OK, but I still should take more pictures.  I plan on shooting a video with my DSLR at one point, but I'm not sure what it's going to be yet.

Everyday is seriously a new adventure.  I NEVER know where I'll end up or who I'll be with.  I meet strangers all the time who I end up having dinner with and what not.  I love it.  I love people.  My future is still a huge mystery to me.  I have no idea where I'm headed in life, but it doesn't worry me, it excites me.

More adventures to come!

Living In China Part 1 - "The Voice" Second Round! Please Vote!!

I made the next round of "The Voice" here in China!  

list of chinese names 
(copy paste)

Please go to THIS link and vote by following the above instructions :)

So this is what I know.  There is another round this Saturday, but the person who gets the most votes doesn't have to audition, but rather goes straight to the next round, which I believe is on TV.  I doubt I'll get the most votes, for voting is kinda difficult for non-Chinese people.  I'm preparing a song rather.

Now the Chinese love songs that are high and big, even if it's not all that good.  So I'm preparing a song I'd never sing in the states at a competition simply because I don't have the pipes to own it, but I think they'll like it. I'm not going to tell anyone the song I'm singing, but those close to me can probably guess.  

Excuse me for being a diva.  I'm happy to say that I have terrible allergies here.  Worse than Utah.  I'm happy because I'm glad there is enough vegetation here in this huge city to give me allergies.  Luckily I'm used to having allergies, so hopefully I can just sing through them.  We'll see I guess.

That's pretty much it.

Here is a brief video of my beginning adventures here in China :)

 If you'd like to see an episode of The Voice in china from last year then click on THIS link. If you see a smiley face, just wait for the counter in the top-right to hit zero :)

China & My Audition For "The Voice" or 中国好声音

I'm in China again!!!!!  It's still a bit surreal, but I'm loving every second of it.  Chinese people are so much fun!  I'm making friends wherever I go.

View from my current apartment

Once in China I met Ee Chien, another intern at the company I am interning at.  He is way cool!  We're together 24/7, so I've been calling him my 同伴 (companion).  He's from Singapore.

Me and Ee Chien.

I'm interning at the company called Micro Benefits.  They do lots of stuff, but in a nutshell I do this:  Work on smart phone applications that are fun game-like learning activities that will allow factory workers become educated in a certain field enough to leave the factory and find better work.  There's a lot more to the company, but that's the part I work on.

Me at work.

Just after they made the new interns do push-ups.  The two young guys on the right were doing a job-shadow thing.  They're from a local international school.

Tina is a very tall Chinese girl.  She is also a model.  She works at the front desk in our office and does a lot for us.  Ee and I have spent a lot of time with her riding bikes all over the city getting this and that.  She doesn't speak English, so occasionally Ee will turn to and tell me in English how much he wants her all while sitting right next to her.

Tina and I somewhere.  Apparently she has a huge following on Chinese social media.  She posted a few pics of us together and the comments underneath them were many.

She buys flowers for the front desk.

At Micro Benefits we only have about 20 people working or so, and they're/we're all pretty tight.  I absolutely love my co-workers.  They're all Chinese, with an exception of the three interns.  Friday night we went out to karaoke.

Micro Benefits interns and employees.

After finishing karaoke we were leaving the massive shopping center, we saw a large sign:

Me in front of "The Voice" sign, or "中国好声音“的海报。

It was a sign advertising for auditions for "The Voice", (中国好声音）.  Ok, something you must realize.  I discovered the Chinese version of the show last year and watched EVERY episode.  I love LOVE it!  Auditions were the next day.  I didn't think much of it.

The next day came.  I'm still getting over jet lag, so I'm waking up at ridiculously early hours.  I woke up and went running around the lake.  I listened to Kelly Clarkson the whole time, it was awesome.  Ee was still asleep, so I set off to do stuff.  I ate breakfast at the bakery, walked to get a bike card, but after waiting in line for a while left because I was bored and I had no money.  I went to a bank, withdrew money, then ate lunch at a mall.  It was the same mall I saw the sign for The Voice.

It was then I decided to audition.  'What should I sing?'  I pulled out my phone and started memorizing the lyrics to David Tao's 暗恋，but quickly realized I didn't have the time to memorize them.  I decided I'd sing Hallelujah.  Most people know that song, and it's a song you can do all sorts of fun things to, so I chose it :)

Auditions started at 1:00, but it was 10:45 and people began lining up.  I jumped in line too.  Behind me was a very cute Chinese girl named Angie who spoke great English because she studied abroad in Georgia.  She hates Georgia.

Angie and me getting ready to audition!

The place began to fill up very quickly.  I had several people taking pictures of me.  I was the only non-Chinese person there.  I honestly didn't care at all about the audition because I didn't see myself making it.  Despite such a mindset, I started getting a little nervous.  So did Angie.

People waiting in line for auditions.  This is but a fraction of all who auditioned.

You would stand in front of two judges and sing.  You would sing until one of the judges held up a sign saying "Yes" or "No".

One of the judges holding up the "No" sign.  This guy through a little fit after he didn't make it.  I have it on video.

So I auditioned and got the good sign.

While filling out the necessary paper work after getting through I was told that I was the first person to get through that day.

I have another audition on May 18th, but that's all I know.

Things are great here in China!  I'll post more later about my work and my living conditions.  I'll edit a video of the footage I've gathered so far, so watch for that.  I'm going to bed now.  See ya!