Lions, and Contracts, and Beers! Oh my!

I'm in the process of "feeling out" the new MacOS - Lion... I think I'll call mine Mufasa!...Oooooohhhhhh... Do it again! Mu-Fa-Saaaa!! So far it's quite nice, and quite a good deal at $29.99. There's still a few features to get used to, though. The biggest on is the trackpad... they've decided to reverse it... so now down is up and up is down. It fits with their iPad-ization of the OS, but it's still a little disorienting. I'm still occasionally wondering why the hell the page won't scroll down... and then realize it's because I'm pushing the wrong way. Doh.

I've just concluded my latest round of contract negotiations. Though I'd been pursuing the idea of striking out on my own, it turns out it wasn't as simple as all that. Due to certain less-than-reputable individuals scamming customers and fleeing the country, the barrier to enter into the English business has increased dramatically. On a single salary, with a little guy, it's just not feasible at the moment to try to lay down all that groundwork.

So instead, Pearson and I hammered out a new deal... I got a 15-20% raise, depending on the numbers used (it's complicated), and I essentially will just keep on keeping on. We'll be moving out of Nancy's uncle's apartment in August, and so we're in the beginning stages of looking for a "new pad." I've made it clear what I require from any potential apartment:
1) rent at or below 4000/month... it can take some effort and negotiation, but it's feasible...
2) preferably at or south of Xujiahui... I wanna be close enough to work...
3) north of Shanghai South Station... but not so far from city center...
4) As close to Line 1 Metro as possible... no more 20 minute walks to and from the subway, tyvm.

In other news, I've been drawn into a family semi(not really)-competitive "cookoff" and have, as a consequence, decided to "up my game," both in terms of food I'm making, and the beers with which to wash it down. As a result, I've been discovering some of the remarkably delicious brews available to those willing to track them down in Shanghai :) It's not all Tsingtao and Suntory, after all!

(CS) TAW Out.

Hello again, friend of a friend