From bad to good, things have a way of coming back around again. It began with an impromptu phone call from Warren's wife, Xiaohong (means "Little Red"), calling on behalf of Mr. Ma - the school's financial go-to-guy who is very nice, but doesn't speak a word of English. He'd been relayed my request, but before he went through the process of find a guy to fix an apparently broken heating pipe, he wanted to know if maybe, just maybe I had flipped the switch to turn on the water heater.
Yes, that's right... a month and a half of cold showers... all because I was never told that you could turn off the heat by using a seemingly-useless lightswitch next to the mirror. Sigh.
I wish they'd given me an instruction manual on all the weird little eccentricities of this apartment. But the point is I finally have hot water! Woohoo! And moreover, I was paid (finally) and so was able to go to the nearby-ish Trust Mart (owned by, of course, Wal Mart and connected to a McDonald's) and buy a new "hose" thing to connect my showerhead. The result: a fully funtional, fully temprature-control-able water with no holes in the hose to spray said pleasant water every which-a-way...ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
In addition, today was a phenomenonally pleasant day. It rained - or rather, misted - all day yesterday, and so the usual heavy blanket of smoke, ash, and other miscelaneous pollutants was MIA. Not a cloud in the sky, and the sun shining brightly. It was so pleasant that I decided to go for a walk. And don't worry... I brought my camera. I'll post the pictures up soon :) But for now...
(CS)WC Out.
The lycanthropic jottings of my fourth year prowling the Chinese moonlight.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Now I know why they don't allow firearms here...
Because I'm just about ready to go kill someone. My day is just beginning, and yet already I'm feeling more than a little irked. There are several chief causes of this phenomenon.
1) Construction continues downstairs. That's right, the same crap that's been pounding away for weeks and weeks continues unabated by weekends, hangovers, or godawfully-early hours of the morning. Fortunately, they seem to be down to the small detail work, meaning there's much less of the floor-shaking grinding and pounding, and mostly only the relatively easy-to-ignore occasional hammering. It's sad that I've actually learned to partially tune-out hammering on my floor...
but that's just the beginning. I'm used to that. Let's read on...
2) My shower nightmare continues. Like peeling back the layers of some unholy onion, my bathroom debacle just seems to go from bad to worse at every turn. I was just getting ready to call in my lack of water-heat, when the hose from the spiget to the showerhead abruptly developed a leak. A little edge of metal on the outer sheath seems to have sliced right through the hose, meaning that every time I turn the water on it spray out in random directions... cold, cold water. And as the temprature drops that is going to get less and less pleasant. Hopefully I can get it fixed soon.
but that's just more of the same. I already know that bathroom hates me as a matter of principle. No, what really turned my crank today...
3) I hung my sheet out on my balcony to dry yesterday, and clipped it firmly in place so I wouln't have to go searching for it again...like last time when the wind picked up at just the wrong moment. I checked it today and there were several pieces of fish stuck to it. Fish... raw... that had dried in the sun because someone had either dropped them from their upper apartment like an idiot, or had actually thrown them up from street level and fucked over my sheet. I swear to god, I would pummel whoever did this, whether they "meant" to or not. I'm washing the sheet again as we speak, but I fully expect that I'll have to go buy a new one. It's ridiculous. I really pisses me off.
A 10-Day waiting period may not be nearly enough...
(CS)WC Out.
1) Construction continues downstairs. That's right, the same crap that's been pounding away for weeks and weeks continues unabated by weekends, hangovers, or godawfully-early hours of the morning. Fortunately, they seem to be down to the small detail work, meaning there's much less of the floor-shaking grinding and pounding, and mostly only the relatively easy-to-ignore occasional hammering. It's sad that I've actually learned to partially tune-out hammering on my floor...
but that's just the beginning. I'm used to that. Let's read on...
2) My shower nightmare continues. Like peeling back the layers of some unholy onion, my bathroom debacle just seems to go from bad to worse at every turn. I was just getting ready to call in my lack of water-heat, when the hose from the spiget to the showerhead abruptly developed a leak. A little edge of metal on the outer sheath seems to have sliced right through the hose, meaning that every time I turn the water on it spray out in random directions... cold, cold water. And as the temprature drops that is going to get less and less pleasant. Hopefully I can get it fixed soon.
but that's just more of the same. I already know that bathroom hates me as a matter of principle. No, what really turned my crank today...
3) I hung my sheet out on my balcony to dry yesterday, and clipped it firmly in place so I wouln't have to go searching for it again...like last time when the wind picked up at just the wrong moment. I checked it today and there were several pieces of fish stuck to it. Fish... raw... that had dried in the sun because someone had either dropped them from their upper apartment like an idiot, or had actually thrown them up from street level and fucked over my sheet. I swear to god, I would pummel whoever did this, whether they "meant" to or not. I'm washing the sheet again as we speak, but I fully expect that I'll have to go buy a new one. It's ridiculous. I really pisses me off.
A 10-Day waiting period may not be nearly enough...
(CS)WC Out.
More Pictures from the Weekend!
That's right, kids! You get a double-dose of shutter-speed action this time around! For a limited time we at AWW are offering you TWICE the photos for HALF the cost! These are from this past weekend (ok, the first one is from Friday, but Close Enough!), which, after the gods decided to take mercy on my poor, foreign soul and let me not be sick, has been quite fun... you'll soon see why...
I'm not sure what the idea was with this, but around noon, the campus landscaping staff covered many of the sidewalks on campus with these orange flower petals. I guess they're for tea and cooking... they sure smell nice. I was told this is the time of year they bloom.
Firstly, this is just a cool shot I think (and considering how friggin hard it is to get a decent shot at night with a handheld camera, I'm doubly happy... seriously the exposure times on a lot of these are 3-5 seconds... just try holding perfectly still for that long... try it).
Secondly, this is a 1-Way street. The carswhose headlights you see? Yeah, they're totally going the wrong way. It's like this every time I come tot his street. Seriously. These people are just plain driving-retarded.
Two temple-towers on an island in the middle of a river. They look quite nice at night, but again, it was a pain in the ass to get a quality shot without a tripod. I think you'll agree it was worth the effort, though. Also, this was the spot a beggar would NOT leave Nancy or I alone. We told her to go away several times, but she'd just clank away right behind us. Finally I had to start yelling at her to get her to go away. Never underestimate yelling at someone in a foreign tongue.
Ferris Wheel. Didn't ride it, but it was fun to look at.
My God! What are those lights in the sky?! Some kind of UFO?!
It must be an invasion! Look out they're everywhere! ... Wait... they seem to be going up instead of coming down...
Really, though, it does look a bit like some kind of close encounter... we'd better check it out, eh Nancy?
Miniature Hot-air balloons?! Well that's pretty cool. I was told people write wishes on them and then send the up. They're powered by a little open flame burning - I would think - a bit of oil. Still they can be a major fire hazard if the wind blows wrong, which is why they're illegal.
Of course, laws only mean as much as the police are willing to enforce them... which here is roughly "not at all."
I have no idea who these girls are, but they were nice enough to let me take pictures of them prepping for launch :)
I'm not sure what the idea was with this, but around noon, the campus landscaping staff covered many of the sidewalks on campus with these orange flower petals. I guess they're for tea and cooking... they sure smell nice. I was told this is the time of year they bloom.
Firstly, this is just a cool shot I think (and considering how friggin hard it is to get a decent shot at night with a handheld camera, I'm doubly happy... seriously the exposure times on a lot of these are 3-5 seconds... just try holding perfectly still for that long... try it).
Secondly, this is a 1-Way street. The carswhose headlights you see? Yeah, they're totally going the wrong way. It's like this every time I come tot his street. Seriously. These people are just plain driving-retarded.
Two temple-towers on an island in the middle of a river. They look quite nice at night, but again, it was a pain in the ass to get a quality shot without a tripod. I think you'll agree it was worth the effort, though. Also, this was the spot a beggar would NOT leave Nancy or I alone. We told her to go away several times, but she'd just clank away right behind us. Finally I had to start yelling at her to get her to go away. Never underestimate yelling at someone in a foreign tongue.
Ferris Wheel. Didn't ride it, but it was fun to look at.
My God! What are those lights in the sky?! Some kind of UFO?!
It must be an invasion! Look out they're everywhere! ... Wait... they seem to be going up instead of coming down...
Really, though, it does look a bit like some kind of close encounter... we'd better check it out, eh Nancy?
Miniature Hot-air balloons?! Well that's pretty cool. I was told people write wishes on them and then send the up. They're powered by a little open flame burning - I would think - a bit of oil. Still they can be a major fire hazard if the wind blows wrong, which is why they're illegal.
Of course, laws only mean as much as the police are willing to enforce them... which here is roughly "not at all."
I have no idea who these girls are, but they were nice enough to let me take pictures of them prepping for launch :)
Friday, October 10, 2008
As Per Request
Here's some pictures I've recently taken. There's a couple that somehow failed to be included from earlier, but by and large, they're new. And due to overwhelming family deman- er...that is, request, I'll go ahead and post em on up.
I'm glad the week's over, since I'm feeling - once again - borderline sick. Just that general achy feeling all over my body, as well as a particularly sore back... ugh.
Ronald Reagan?! I didn't know he had a business in China!
Here's a picture of a group of the freshman class in uniform. Prior to starting classes, they went through several weeks of semi-military "training." Apparently they teach them to march, let them fire a gun, make them follow orders, march them around a bit, and then let them go on their merry way. Interesting stuff... especially after meeting some of these freshmen... :)
If it's not one collectivist, quasi-uniform, then it's another. The girls here love umbrellas... love them. And not for rain, either, but for sun. They don't want to be tan because it implies that they work in the field and are low-class. Think the Victorian West.
This guy was cruising around the campus after hours. I was told it's actually the University's Science Dept. that has built it as a test vehicle.
Finally, an (admittedly underexposed) shot of my friend Nancy Sun... again, by request.
(CS)WC Out.
I'm glad the week's over, since I'm feeling - once again - borderline sick. Just that general achy feeling all over my body, as well as a particularly sore back... ugh.
Ronald Reagan?! I didn't know he had a business in China!
Here's a picture of a group of the freshman class in uniform. Prior to starting classes, they went through several weeks of semi-military "training." Apparently they teach them to march, let them fire a gun, make them follow orders, march them around a bit, and then let them go on their merry way. Interesting stuff... especially after meeting some of these freshmen... :)
If it's not one collectivist, quasi-uniform, then it's another. The girls here love umbrellas... love them. And not for rain, either, but for sun. They don't want to be tan because it implies that they work in the field and are low-class. Think the Victorian West.
This guy was cruising around the campus after hours. I was told it's actually the University's Science Dept. that has built it as a test vehicle.
Finally, an (admittedly underexposed) shot of my friend Nancy Sun... again, by request.
(CS)WC Out.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Back to the Grind
It was a good break... full of sitting around, watching movies, eating, and later on grading a million papers. And yet, like many breaks, it's almost refreshing to get back to work... if only because one can easily become bored with nothing to do. When you start spending too much time with people - even people you enjoy spending time with, it can easily begin to feel like a job unto itself. So suffice it to say, I'm a little glad I now have a real excuse to say "sorry, I can't come" now. It beats lying.
The students today were... how can I put this delicately...?... completely lifeless. Yeah, that'll do. Just utterly dead in the water... Not that I can say I blame them, really. It's their last break for 2 months, and heck, they're freshmen. What can you really expect from freshmen? Nevertheless, I'm hoping tomorrow's classes will be slightly less bleak and zombified.
I hear there's some disappointment from me not taking pictures over the break... but really it because I didn't go anywhere! I think the most exciting place I went was with Nancy to pick up a cellphone.
Speaking of which, I got a cellphone. that's right, I'm actually en communicado once again! It's a cheap little Nokia... only ran me 299 RMB, and then another 100 for the # and activation. My monthly plan here is 18RMB/month, and it's 0.25RMB/minute to make calls. I get 200 free outbound text messages, and then they're some piddling surcharge after that.
So, to sum it up, the who activation/phone cost was roughly $38, with a monthly charge of...oh... $2.50. And calls (at least domestic) are about $0.02/minute. Not only that, but I can take this (or any) phone and swap out it's SIM card to whatever country I'm in. Phones in the US are locked down, and cannot be used outside their company's call area at all... unless you pay$50-60 dollars to buy the "unlocking code" from a third party... which quite frankly sounds more than a little fishy.
My God. Cell phones in the US suck! Those companies are horrible! And the governement just lets them gouge the hell out of us! Sigh...
anyway, I've still got more papers to grade. You know how it is with me: work, work, work.
(CS)WC Out.
The students today were... how can I put this delicately...?... completely lifeless. Yeah, that'll do. Just utterly dead in the water... Not that I can say I blame them, really. It's their last break for 2 months, and heck, they're freshmen. What can you really expect from freshmen? Nevertheless, I'm hoping tomorrow's classes will be slightly less bleak and zombified.
I hear there's some disappointment from me not taking pictures over the break... but really it because I didn't go anywhere! I think the most exciting place I went was with Nancy to pick up a cellphone.
Speaking of which, I got a cellphone. that's right, I'm actually en communicado once again! It's a cheap little Nokia... only ran me 299 RMB, and then another 100 for the # and activation. My monthly plan here is 18RMB/month, and it's 0.25RMB/minute to make calls. I get 200 free outbound text messages, and then they're some piddling surcharge after that.
So, to sum it up, the who activation/phone cost was roughly $38, with a monthly charge of...oh... $2.50. And calls (at least domestic) are about $0.02/minute. Not only that, but I can take this (or any) phone and swap out it's SIM card to whatever country I'm in. Phones in the US are locked down, and cannot be used outside their company's call area at all... unless you pay$50-60 dollars to buy the "unlocking code" from a third party... which quite frankly sounds more than a little fishy.
My God. Cell phones in the US suck! Those companies are horrible! And the governement just lets them gouge the hell out of us! Sigh...
anyway, I've still got more papers to grade. You know how it is with me: work, work, work.
(CS)WC Out.
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