The Forming of the Expedition Team: The Gathering of the Four

It was time to begin the drawing of the four.  I needed an expedition team, and I thought it would be me who needed to do the organizing.  My host, Svet would do it all.  

Let’s name the players.  There’s Svet, the entrepreneur.  She’s my host.  Street smart, ambitious, extroverted and playful.

There’s Sasha.  He’s 36, extremely tall, introverted and a quite thinker.  He has a PhD in engineering and his father is a famous physicist in Russia.

There’s me.  You know me.  Somehow I located the Elixir’s base in Siberia. We were going to meet number four.

Svet drives her car, picking Sasha up along the way.  On a rainy Sunday, the three of us enter a modern café on the outskirts of town.  It could have been a café from anywhere in the Western World.  In other words, it didn’t feel that Russian.

The man was sitting down.  He was a thick man, who surmised all of us.  He must have been in his late 40’s to early 50’s.  He had a round face and was Central Asian in origin. 

We sit with him and each of us orders.  I order my usual: a small cappuccino.  The others order their coffees and cakes.  At first, there’s small talk with the Central Asian.  He tells us of his background.

I said, “Yes, but you know, I’m here for the Essence of Immortality.”

Svet translates between us.

He says, “There’s a better ingredient for the Elixir.  It’s the Spirit of Life.”

I said, “Yes, I believe you that the Spirit of Life can be better, but I need the Essence.  The Spirit won’t do what I need it to do.”

He said, “It’s located in the wild mountains, near the entrance of Shamballa.  The Shamans live there.”

Shamballa is the mythical, mystical city of perfection.  Some call it Utopia.  Others just call it the Heavenly City.  I’m not surprised that my elixir is near the entrance of Shamballa.

He goes on, “When you grab the elixir, you must have a Shaman do the ritual.  Otherwise, you will become a slave to the Spirit of the Elixir.  It will never release you.  There is a powerful energy in it that will enslave you.  You must beg it to serve you.

Once, a group of friends and I obtained the Elixir.  We did not do the ritual.  And we brought it back for my father and his friends.  But because they drank too much of it, it made them ill instead of better.  But I do not believe it’s because we did not do the ritual, I believe it’s just because my father didn’t know of the Elixir’s property.”

I said, “Don’t worry about this.  I have a ritual.  It’s called the blood ritual.  It will cleanse the Elixir of the spirits.”

He nodded.

Svet looked up the properties of the Essence of Immortality.  She said, “It says here, whoever finds the Essence will be granted infinite luck and will live 200 years.  It also says the Chinese Emperors sent expeditions for the Essence.”

Sasha listens attentively to what we’re talking about.

I said, “Tell me more about Shamballa.  Have you ever been?”

He smiles and says, “No.  I wish.  But I’ve heard the Heavenly Choir play in Shamballa.”

“What does it sound like?”

“Like church organs.”

“To enter Shamballa, you must be of the highest spiritual level.  I’m not there yet.  Also, during the Communism era, the Soviets destroyed the caves that lead into Shamballa.  I still know where the caves are.”

“Once you enter Shamballa, can you leave it?”

He says, “Yes, you can.  But people who leave tend to become mystics and live much longer than man.  500-1,500 years is what I’ve heard.”

Interesting, I think.  Sasha mentions later his father believes one can live this long.

Svet and him begin to talk about their own destinies, and I take a back seat.  He promises to take the three of us on this expedition. 

Everyone who sat around the table knew felt like we were treasure hunters in a movie.  Yet, all of us were embarking on a spiritual journey that was uniquely made for each of us.  Svet said, "I never knew that you would be coming for this.  I would've never imagined we would all go too." I said, "Yes, we must.  It's important."  

Like you the reader, I don't know if I'm chasing a windmill, or an illusive Holy Grail.  But even if I fail, at least I know I tried and am having fun.  My usual travels were getting boring without a strong sense of purpose.  Now, I have one.  I believe I will be successful because I believe God honors the faithful.

I found out today, he’ll take us next week.  Svet is coming.  I believe Sasha will be too.  Get this: we have to rent a SUV to enter to the entrance of Shamballa.  There are no roads or path into the Mystic Mountains.

I get an email this morning from my best friend from New Zealand.  He has an indirect connection with Svet.  He writes, “I heard you guys are going to look for some magic sh** in the mountains.”  

I guess word is getting around.  I laugh and write back, “Why else would I go to Siberia?”

“I thought you wanted to see Polar Bears.”

 

“Well, maybe that too.”

In Siberia: In Search for the Elixir of Life

I flew from Moscow into Siberia yesterday.  For those of you who don't know, Russia spans both Europe and Asia.  It's huge.  I'm only a little passed the midpoint of Russia, and that flight alone took me five hours to fly into Sibiera.  From the midpoint to Vladivostok it would be another 9 hour flight.  So, it takes about 13-14 hours to fly from one end of Russia to the next.  I bet you didn't know it's the largest country out there!

For those of you who don't know, I didn't really know at the time, I go to Siberia on a mystical journey.  The word mystic has the same base word as mystery.  Both essentially appear in the English text a few centuries after Jesus' cruxifiction.  Essentially, it means a spiritual connection or union with God.  A mystical journey is one where you're search for the truth, the meaning of life, and a connection with my God.  I look for all these things.

I made the decision to go to Siberia right after I took the California bar.  I wasn't sure why I was to go.  I just knew it was where I was meant to go.  A month later, I discovered a valuable item needed for the Elixir is located in Siberia.

But where was I going to find it?  Siberia is huge.  It's probably larger than all of the United States itself.  Even on my flight, I wasn't really sure where to find the elixir.  I just knew I had to go.

I flew out of Moscow at 12:30am.  I red eyed in at 7am.  A girl was meeting me there.  What American has friends in Siberia?  Before I left the plane, I wondered would she be strange, old, obese, or homely.  Would she want to meet me to try to marry me?  Who knew?  She was a friend of my best friend's sister in New Zealand.

When I left the airport, a blonde, fit, girl with blue eyes gave me a hug.  She was gorgeous and young.  The only problem with this story is that to make it feel more like a movie, she needed to have been driving a sports car.  She's a sharp entrepreneur, who even arranged the first TED Conference in Siberia!  =)

I took her out to breakfast for her kind hospitality.  After the chit chat she asks why I'm in Siberia.  I tell her I need the mystical artifact for the Elixir.  She doesn't look at me like I'm crazy.  She says, "I've heard this item is in Siberia.  It's in the mountains two days from here, but the range is enormous.  You cannot go by yourself.  There are also dangerous people that live there.  Once, when I led a tour group there, a band of wild tribespeople, drunk, attempted to attack us with chains on horseback."

I just said, "Hmmmm.  Well, can we find someone to take us?"

She said, "This is interesting.  I would like to help you find this artifact."

I said, "Yes, it is a precious, rare item.  I need it."

I go back to her place and crash on the couch.  I haven't slept well in days because it's a hard journey into Siberia from Los Angeles.  

After a few hours of sleep, she wakes me up and says, "Come on, we got to go.  I posted on my facebook about your Elixir.  Someone, I never even heard of responded.  He says he knows where to get your Elixir in the mountains.  He says that it's guarded by Shamans, but he knows.  We have to meet this guy in 30 minutes on the outskirt of town."

I said, "You never heard of this guy?"

She said, "No, he's a random facebook friend.  He used to be a geologist.  Then he became a lawyer.  And now, he's an investment banker."

I thought, that sounds a bit like my life.  I studied biology only to become a lawyer.

She continues, "We need to get my friend, Sasha.  He's interested in the journey.  I told him a random American looks for the Elixir."

She pauses and adds, "He also says he knows the mountain entrance to Shambala. . ."

Picture Courtesy of Google's depiction of Shambala.

The First Person to Help Me in Moscow

The first person to help in Moscow was a North African university student who believed in Islam.  He was very kind, and he helped me get into the city.  He spoke fair English, and I gave him my skype information.

Now, you need to read this story that just happened today. http://news.yahoo.com/protesters-attack-u-embassy-cradle-arab-spring-165247459.html

The guy was from Tunisia as well and was going to work for their government.

What a small world.

The Long Wait to Moscow

The good news is I finally made it to Moscow, Russia.  The journey getting there though was long, and I feel exhausted.  I think in total, the journey took over 24 hours including wait time.

Besides the wait, the journey was a pleasant one.  It just wore down my body.

For instance, when I got to the airport, I had a whole full row of three seats all booked to myself.  Someone had an awesome sleep into Berlin.

Yet, in Berlin I had to wait 6 hours to transfer to Moscow.  So, I had a complimentary lounge pass.  I used it to eat some salami and crackers.  Not very good, but at least they had French Cognac and champagne.  That was nice.

The flight to Berlin to Moscow was about another 3.5-4 hours.  I arrived into the Russian Capital at 2:05am.  No buses running.  No trains running.  They're were just hawker taxi people who wanted to charge me a $100 USD to take me into the City.  I decided to wait for the morning train and skip on the hotel.  Why pay a full fee for just a few hours?

I instead went upstairs and ate an Indian meal and had sparkling water and a beer.  The price of the water was unbelievable at $6 USD.  It was a small glass too.  The beer was $6 USD too.  Everything is just way overpriced (more than a usual airport) in Moscow.  But I was already warned.

I already experienced racism.  I was targeted by a police officer, who wanted to randomly check my passport.  They do this, and extort a bribe from you to get it back.  When he saw, however, it was an American one he backed off pretty quickly.  Racism is really overt in Moscow.  Tomorrow night, I fly out into Siberia.

Missing a Flight

As the title suggests, I did miss my flight to Russia.  As a friend already asked, "Why?"

I quote two axioms to explain what happened.  Murphy's Law states, "If it can go wrong, it will go wrong."  Cook's inverse law states, "If there's a way to make it go right, finesse can make it go right."  Let's remember those two things.

Today, a package that it was supposed to deliver my Russian travel book was lost by the Hollywood United States Postal Service.  I called at 9:01am because they had my package.  I told the lady on the phone please hold my package.  She said, "Don't worry, we'll hold it."  I said, "Can you please make sure it's back there because I'm driving from Baldwin Park [an hour drive]."  She replied, "I said 'It'll be here.'"

I should've known then I was dealing with a lazy excuse for a human being.  I go to the Post Office (PO), and the supervisor says, "Sorry, we don't know which package you're talking about.  Go get your slip."  So, I drive back to my house.  I find the slip.  I return. 

This is the second time to the PO.  I ask the African-American male, I mention his race and sex because he was the only one there like this, and I'm copying and pasting this story to USPS.Com.  Therefore, it's not racially charged.  I ask him to get the supervisor.  He says, "I'm busy; I can't."  I said, "I want to see him now.  This is my second return."  He goes and gets the supervisor.

He comes out.  Looks at the slip.  Says, let me call your post-lady.  He does and says, "Hey she's out sick today.  Your package already went out for delivery."  I sigh. 

"Ok, I reply.  This wasn't supposed to happen."  I flash my phone in front of him and show the call log to 9:01am.  I said, "Whoever answered that phone said my package would be here." 

He says, "And who was that?"

I said, "I didn't get her name."  I didn't know we were moving towards the Big-Brother State, where government officials need to be threatened by asking for their name all the time.  Now, I know. 

He says, "I'm sorry.  Your package went out."

I said, "Let me find the carrier.  What's her route."

He gives me the route.

I go and follow the route and there's nobody.  I follow it again, and still no postal truck.  This sucks, I think!  I find a distant mail carrier, who tells me her route in more detail.  I follow his route twice.  This sucks again, I think.

Finally, I met up with the kind mail carrier.  He's an Asian guy with long hair.  (Again, I want him to get credit for doing the right job.)  He calls up, whoever he has to at headquarters and the voice on the line says, "There's no substitute for the route today.  We've split it."  A split is where they divided up a person's load amongst two or three carriers and it's delivered at the end of the carrier's normal shift.  In short, I was sent on a wild goose chase!  There was no carrier that day doing that route.  How P(*&)(*&) annoying I think to myself?  I am really not happy, but I'm controlling myself.

The kind post carrier says, "What's your name?"  I said, "Paul Cook."  The phone on the other end says, "Hey, his package is still at headquarters."

When I hear that, I want to blow my top!  HOW COULD IT STILL BE THERE?!  That supervisor said it wasn't there.

I thank him and said, "Just know you really did the right thing today."  I went back to Headquarters.  I park at a meter and feed it.  I ask the staff to get the supervisor.  The same lazy man says, "I'm busy."  Why are all the people at the headquarters so lazy?  It tells me that whoever is in charge is some lazy guy.  You always know.  Because if I was in charge, I know I wouldn't tolerate such behavior.  Anyone who's worked with me knows that.

They make me wait.  I go again and say, "Where's the supervisor?  This is the third time I've been here for a package you've always had!"

The staff said, "You just have to wait."

Finally, the same supervisor comes out and says, "I already told you the packages went out for delivery."  I protest and explain they didn't.  Then I see the parking meter lady give my car a ticket.  I run out and try to stop her.  She's African American too.  This is weird.  She says, "I'm just gonna give it to you.  If you were my husband or lover, I wouldn't.  But you drive I nice sports car.  So why not?"

OMG, I think.  Is this real?  Is this really happening to me today of all days when I'm supposed to fly out to Russia?  She gives me my ticket.  I take it off my car.

I go back.  Hallelujah!  There are two packages waiting for me.  An Asian lady courier hands it to me.  I give her the parking ticket and said, "Give this to your manager and ask him to pay for it."  She looks like she's experiencing deep shame.

I said, "Listen.  I came here three times today!  Three!  I called ahead of time, so this wouldn't happen to me.  But it still did."  Now everyone in the PO is listening.  "Let me explain why this is important that I need this today.  See: I'm flying out to Russia today."

In a dramatic way, I rip open one of the packages so it makes a loud tear.  I take out the Russian travel book and show it to her and said, "Now you see why I need it."  The PO people are looking in horror as they're hearing my story.  She looks even sadder.  "Then, you make me wait again for 30 minutes to get my package!  I didn't do anything wrong."  She can't handle the stress.

So - this old hag of a toothless lady comes out.  She has wiry grey hair too and reminds me of the witch that would come out of a Grim's fairy tale and says, "We're just going to throw out your ticket in the trash can.  It's not our fault you're not responsible."  I smiled in slight irony.  I'm irresponsible now?

I didn't say much.  No point in arguing with a foolish witch.  The Witch always thinks she's right.  I just left the parking ticket with them, took my books, looked at all the people who watched me cause a scene, I saw the face of the sad Asian PO worker, and walked into my BMW.

It gets worse though.  As I drive back to my mother's place, I think to myself, let it pass.  Don't think about it.  You have more to do.  You have to pack and get your passport.  As I drive home, I realize the mail is there but the passport isn't there!  I live in Baldwin Park for USPS.

I hunt down my courier and find her post truck.  I ask her, "Don't you have an Express delivery for me?"  She said, "Not for your address.  I was there earlier today."  What?!  Where's my passport.

She says, "Here: call my supervisor at the Baldwin Park PO." 

I do.  He picks up and says, "Sorry, no express mail left here for you."

What the heck is happening?!  I go to Starbucks and trace my passport.  It says it got into Baldwin Park PO in the morning.  What is going on?!  Someone in Baldwin Park has my passport!!!!  Where is it?!!

I go back to the courier and tell her my story.  She says, "Go to the post office."  So, I do.

There, I tell the staff my story.  They try to trace it down and the lady staff comes back and tells me, "Hurry!  Go home!  They're going to try to re-deliver it.  There was a mistake.  It didn't go out when it should have."  What is going on?

I go home.  I try to pack.  Another post man comes at 3pm and gives me my express parcel with the passport inside.  I ask him, "Why is this coming so late?"

He says, "Oh, there were 10 express packages delivered at 1pm today.  Yours was one of them."

I think to myself - you are a damn, filthy liar.  Tracking says it came in at 9am today.  Furthermore, your boss already told me no express packages came in at 1pm today.  You're a filthy, filthy liar.  But I don't show what I'm thinking in my face.  That's a common trait and flaw about me.  Instead, this time, I take in a deep breath of relief, show a grateful smile and said, "Thank you."  All the while, I'm still thinking he's a filthy liar or that supervisor is.  But one of them is lying.  And that package came in at 9am.  So someone screwed up royally with my passport.

Anyways, long story short - under all the stress and lost time, I forgot my passport at home on the way to the airport.  Halfway between the airport and home, I turn around to get it, but it's too late.  I missed my flight.  I didn't mean to forget it.  I don't know if I would've made it anyways had I not because on top of that, my booking had a technical error that checked me in early to Moscow but didn't check me into Germany - my interchange city!

See, as Murphy's Law states, if it could've went wrong today, it royally did.

Cook's law was also in play.  I got my packages.  I got my passport.  I had my flights changed without a fee!  Now, that's amazing.  I had to pay a small fee to rebook into Siberia, but my miles covered it.  At the airport, I bought my mother a Japanese dinner.  She patiently and sometimes impatiently waited as she witnessed her son skillfully manage the problem with each of the managers.  And all in all, it felt good to have someone there by my side while I was going through all this.  I mean, I could've suffered through it alone, but it's always better to have someone that loves you around - even when they're just around and not able to help.  That still means a lot.

Thus, in some ways, these kind of challenges can also bring about the best in human behavior and human connection.

As we drove back home, in my little roadster, through the Los Angeles freeways, my mother asked me, "It's night now.  Do you think the ducks and chickens will be ok?"  We put them away every night so that predators like stray cats won't get at them.

I said, "I'm sure they'll be fine."

When we got back home, I found them sleeping in the vegetable garden.  I grabbed them.  My mother grabbed their cage - and I put them inside.  They're always happier in the cage at night, as they instinctively known the night is a threat to them.   I said, "See: I told you they would be ok." 

Reckless Traveling

As a veteran traveler, I tend to also be a reckless one.  You learn not to get upset when things go wrong.  You stay clam and try to work around the issue.  And when you've traveled around the world enough, you realize something always tends to go wrong.

I didn't make it that clear about how wrong my Russian Visa went.  Not only was it initially rejected on its first round.  It got rejected again because my signature wasn't in ink that was bold enough.  I then had to scan it in, and the lady told me, "It might get rejected again because it's not the original signature."  I asked her if she could trace my signature with a pen.  She said she would not, even though I authorized her to.  In the end, I used a black marker to sign my name and scan it in color.  That way, it's kind of hard to tell a copy with a signature using a black marker versus the original black marker signature.  The worst part was the robbery of the whole visa price: $266!

I then waited.  The scary part was I booked my flight for the same day I was allegedly going to receive my visa.  What if it didn't come?  Then I'd have an ugly mess on my hands.  I mean, no visa.  How would I rebook my flights when I knew that new flights were already overbooked?  I also knew I had to get to New York in October to meet some friends.  So, I was really letting the Fates decide if I would go to Russia or not.  Not to mention the non-refundable $266 fee.  =(

But my Muse of Wisdom and Creativity, as always, was in my favor.  I received the email today that said that my VISA was processed and that my passport would be mailed out today and received tomorrow.  Yes!!!!  =)

Perhaps that is why one of my favorite quotes states that: "Fortune favors the fearless."  It must be the alliteration in the quote I enjoy.  =)

I'm going to Russia!

PC

Getting a Russian Visa!

Yup, as you can see from the title, that there must a preceding condition before getting a foreign visa.  That condition is that I have to intend to go to Russia first.  I'm going to Russia - at least I think I am. 

The problem is the visa!  I've never had so many problems with a visa before.  It got rejected the first time because it wasn't typed; it was handwritten.  But it wasn't typed because there website for a pre-populated form was down.  So what was I supposed to do? 

In any event, want to hear something that's crazy.  The visa is supposed to arrive this Tuesday on Sept. 11th.  My flight leaves later in the evening.  I hope I get it in time.  Since I haven't heard more about rejections, it looks very likely that things should be smooth.   I don't know.

I'll let everyone know why I'm going on my next entry.