The updates, they are frequent, no?

I forgot I wanted to make you all giddy with a good quote from one of my bosses. Maybe he just doesn't understand the idiom, but I overheard him say this to a customer during a tour: "This production line works 24/7, 6 days a week."

A cookie to the first person to point out what is wrong with this statement.

There are 3 alternative apartments/hotels the AA has found for us (so many complaints about Tohkin). One is a hotel, very small. Too small. Near the old, 5-star hotel (oh, Renaissance! How I miss you!!). The other two are nice, but few restaurants are near; don't know about quickie-mart.

Other interesting news; the dump I live in now is about as much $$ as my nice place in Hatboro. The other, nicer, places are about $1875 US. See? Everything is much cheaper in China.

Stolen from Ruminations.com

Sometimes my job sucks.
And yet other times it sucks more.

(Scott Carpenter)

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A fun site (NSFW! = not safe for work) is www.prickwear.com. If I had the guts, I'd wear some of these t-shirts. Others I would give as gifts.

I did order a "Death has a bunny" t-shirt from ScaryGoRound.com. Can't wait to wear it around Suzhou :)

Tales of water and anger

I'm too wound up (for various reasons - more later) to make this wordy.

I came home Wednesday from work. Go to the bedroom to change, found a puddle of water on the floor, more water dripping the sprinkler head in the ceiling. Very glad only the floor was getting wet. I'm sure Rita (in the apt below me) was glad the ceiling was water resistant.

I complain. They come up say things in Chinese, put a bucket under it. Tell me they are sorry. Will work on it Thursday.

Thursday I tell the AA at work and she calls the manager. I can move to another room if I like - can't tonight, dinner with the group. I will move Friday.

Friday I go to the manager office after work. She says she will give me the key for 602 *after* I move everything out of 601. WTF!?!? I have things in the refrigerator, things in the cupboards, dirty clothes, all kinds of stuff. What am I supposed to put it in?!

She calls 2 cleaning women with a sheet and a box and all 4 of us move things to the new apartment. A maintenance worker shows up to replace 6 lightbulbs (yes six) that are burned out. This apt is a different layout - 2 BR, 2 bath, smaller living room which is more cozy. Ah, no problem.

Saturday morning - water on the kitchen floor. Coming out from under the sink. WTF?!?! Someone comes up, decides it is the trap - it needs Teflon(TM) tape. Ok, whatever.

Come home Saturday evening after going to amusement park (where GP got sunstroke again) and a massage. Hey! More water on the floor! Who should I kill first . . .

After 10 seconds of inspection, I figure out it is a shutoff valve, not the damned drain. Thanks, Dad, for teaching me plumbing. I put a bowl under it and decide I want the rest of my weekend in peace.

Sunday morning (now), the bowl has overflown and I'm angry. I take a photo (digital cameras are great), go down to the manager's office (10am) and stamp my foot to wake him up. I show the picture, tell him in simple English what the problem is. Tell him not to send anyone until after 12 as I'm having breakfast and going out later.

On top of this, they told me Friday I couldn't have internet until next week. I don't know why. I'm also learning that even in Chinese I wouldn't understand why. The "why" explainations from Chinese people are, at best, insufficient. From my engineers and everyone. It's completely different than the West.

Then I open my new Pink Floyd CD (The Wall) and find it won't play in my computer. My very nice, new computer with CD/DVD read/write capability. Luckily it plays in the cheap DVD/VCD/CD/MP3 player that was in the apartment. I couldn't choose the option easily, though, as all the damned buttons are in Chinese.

This on top of some homesickness earlier this week makes me want to quit my job and just move back to the US. Find a new job - hardly even care what anymore :p Maybe live in NY and work for The Thomas Register (ha ha for Ray's benefit).

book review and . . stuff

Hey, it's Friday in China. And boy am I happy about that. It's been hard getting out of bed in the morning. No plans for the weekend except sweating. The humidity is infinibad like if we lived underwater but there was an abnormal amount of air in the water. Sort of like that.

I read _Naked_ by David Sedaris on the latest trip to China. Right up there with _Me Talk Pretty One Day_, though a little less "haha" and a little more "squirm-in-my-seat, did-that-really-happen". A VFMatt Recommended(TM) read.

There was something else, but I forgot. I updated "100 things about me", but that wasn't it. Hmmmm, maybe a movie? Dun't remember. I'll post again later if'n I do remember.

Aha! Also a new recommended comic strip. Scary Go Round. Decidedly English and quite funny. Here's a peeker for ya.

playing catch up

It's been awhile and I have a lot to write about. But not enough time.

The trip from China to the US was good. I sat next to Americans returning home after teaching in China for a month. Also ran into a China coworker going to the US for the first time. Good thing, too, as she lost her cell phone in Pudong and needed to borrow mine in Chicago. No problem!

In Chicago, I called my Mom, as I always do in Chicago, travelling to or from the US. "I'm thinking of visiting sometime." "Really? When?" "Mmmm, about 11pm tonight." "!!!!"

Got to see the family for 4 days and had a good time. Emptied my suitcase of China souvenirs (I'm sure everyone has enough by now). Then back to PA for 4 days of mowing, relaxing, chatting with Maura, hugging Lily.

Also got to see John, Denise and the girls and filled up on traditional Philly food - cheese steak, pizza, hoagie, and wings. Should have had a Yuengling and a water ice to round it out :)

Flew back to China with some annoying moments (in my life, there's always something annoying - like not getting the damned car title from my ex before I left!). In Chicago, they started a visa check. Ended up getting on the plane later than I like, but, luckily, still lots of overhead space. In Shanghai, I had to search for an entry card as United didn't have them on my flight. Lost out to a plane from Hong Kong, so immigration took 1/2 hour longer than it should have. blech! And then I was in a lane which moved, quite literally, 2.5-3 times slower than the two on either side.

The car ride (sometimes <2 hrs on a good day) took 2.5 hours due to a traffic accident. But, when all was done, I was safely and happily in Suzhou. Happy because I made it alive :p And got to go shopping at Carrefour (French chain in Asia) which had some good stuff - like pinot noir, gin, and tonic ;)

Now, it's Tuesday. GP celebrated her birthday yesterday (Happy Birthday!) and today is good friend Cheryl's birthday (Hi, Cheryl! - did you get your birthday card from China?).

And then it was time to work. Enjoy some photos below. I'll try to upload most of them to Yahoo when I get more time.

Susie by the flowers



Mom puts up the flag



Josh being cute



Kids bouncing



Jordan and Kelli



Matt, Mom, and Kelli



Joshua and Kayden



Joshua and Airelle

Hanzhou photos

Here's the Hanzhou photos with captions.

Temple on a hill (recurring theme in China)




Tea growing in terraces




Dragonfly on a lotus bloom




Liange da de lau wai (Two big foreigners)




Touch the commerative stone for luck. Collect the whole set!




Matt in his $4 Nike shirt




Peacock. I had to explain the difference between peacocks and peahens to the Chinese. And the German.




Temple on hill #2




Temple on hill #3




GP's breakfast. Yes, chocolate and other candy.




Bronze people




Shopping area




In case you can't read it: "The Waterside Pavilion (where you can wash your tassel)"

Heck, my tassel wasn't dirty, but I took it out and washed it anyway :)




Dinner after Hanzhou, back at my apartment




Finally, a Sunday, garden-trip-in-Suzhou photo. I call it "you can wear a skirt to the garden, but remember that the pond will reflect"

got fired

Not what you think.

Thursday after work, my buddy and I decide Mexican food sounds good. We head for a place we'd both been to before; he knows it's in a certain area.

Long story short: it's not in that area. We ended up having some pretty good Indian food instead. Nice for a change. No feet. :p

Afterwards, I walked towards the Renaissance (where we used to stay) to get a massage at my favorite place. I must have been too tired. I read the massage menu and chose the "physical therapy set". No, it looked good, just that I forgot there aren't 100 minutes in an hour. 150 minutes does not = 1.5 hours. Equals 2.5 hours. Is ok :)

Massage consisted of shower, lie on table (face up) and nice chinese woman with hot, damp towels massages the back of my neck. Then arms, chest, legs. Turn over and do the same on the back. Oh so nice.

Then she puts *two* hot, wet towels on my back. Ah, nice. And she pours stuff on the towels. Then I hear *snick snick* - lighter? 'scuse me? Towels get hotter. Turns out she was putting something flammable on the towels and lighting it. Only part that hurt was on the fronts of my knees. Good thing I know Mandarin for "pain". Overall, very nice. And about $35.

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Friday night we found the Mexican place. At one point, the car driver called a friend of his who spoke English, I called one that speaks Chinese, and finally we called the restaurant to get directions. Good food, pretty good margaritas, a nice way to finish off Friday.

Saturday, 3 of us took the bus to Hangzhou, land of West Lake and many lotus plants. I believe lotus (aquatic plant) is where they get arrowroot, too. One of the staples in Hangzhou is lotus starch with flavor and color with which one makes a breakfast food. Mmm, basically berry-flavoured gravy. Mmm, tasty enough, but not nutritional. A fun day except for the 6-hour bus ride and GP getting an attack of something that made her very sick for a short time. Thought it was bad food-on-a-stick, but it was too fast and she was better again too quickly. Maybe just heat.

Sunday, Horst and I hit another garden (Master of Nets Garden - photos later) and had some lunch at a chain. Interesting having lunch. Hard to order. Horst's soup had a chicken foot in it* and I successfully ordered some strawberry Haagen Dazs for dessert (Haagen Dazs, cao mei).

Monday morning we start a new process, so I need to sleep and get up at 5:30 for work. Fun, fun. Only 2.5 more days and then off to the US for a short time. C'est la mon vie :)
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*I've seen almost all feet on menus now. Chicken feet, pig feet, cow feet, sheep feet and (brace yourself) camel toe. Yes. it's true (zhen de, as they say here)