SG vs HTML

I spent an evening last week attempting to become a bit more tech savvy. I thought I had succeeded. I was super excited, as computer nerd I am not. I researched ways to tell how often people visit this blog. The basic blogger setup does not provide a visit counter. It only tells me how many times my profile has been viewed (and a good chunk of that number is from yours truly). So I found a website that offers a visit counter, signed up, got some fancy HTML code stuff and put it in the appropriate places and TA DA! I had a little box with 8 zeros in it on my main page. It was like a magical Christmas present from the Internet!

Well, it was until I had David give it a test run. I wanted to have at least 1 visitor showing up on the counter after all. But his visit didn't register. Not only that, he couldn't see the counter at all! Gah! Foiled! I fiddled around with it, but I had no idea what to do when systems are not go. So, I did the next best thing: I forgot about it.

Until tonight.

I now have 7 visits!! I must have done it right! Now we're talking!

In a nut shell, the counter is more a tool for myself. Honestly, I need some sort of cheering on to make my posts more frequent, as I am somewhat embarrassed to admit, they have not been thus far. But seeing that 7 people have stopped by (thank you, anonymous 7!) and have seen nothing recently posted definitely gives me some incentive. If just one person is reading it, it makes it worth it. So, even though I need to get to bed and fight off what I fear to be a looming cold, I am committed to publishing another post tomorrow, as there ARE stories to tell. (Close calls! Embarrassing defeats! Insect dramas! All this and more!) See you all on the flip side! Wait...I'm already ON the flip side...hmm...



p.s. It is officially December over here in Asia. I cannot believe how time has flown by!

Up Down Up Down...

The past two weeks: classic China experience, in the sense that it was filled with random experiences spanning the entire range of human emotions. Just another mini Shanghai thrill ride. This one starts with Halloween.

Up to mischief (or the day David let me give him temporary tattoos)

I had decided that I wanted to celebrate Halloween this year. I love Halloween, and I didn’t do much for it last year. So, with the promise of plenty of places to get our spook on, I brought the idea up to friends and David and everyone seemed game. So Kellie and I set out to find a rare costume shop to get a few costume pieces. She needed a costume, David needed one, Sanami just wanted some animal ears, and I was undecided as to whether to be a pirate, as I already had a striped shirt and boots.

First, let it be stated that Kellie and I had the “This Is Harder Than It Should Be” blues, as getting to said costume/decoration shop took nothing short of a miracle. ("Miracle" here means running into an acquaintance, chatting about the abandoned blow-up doll spread over the bushes in front of us near the subway, and getting some much better directions in the process.) Anyway, we made it, we found stuff for everyone even though the store was pretty cheesy and we made it back home in one piece.

"A pirate, a lady bug, a tiger and a biker walk into a bar…"

The night went well. We met another friend of mine and his crew at a British pub. They left a little past midnight, (on to “greener”, um, graveyards?) but we stayed there the rest of the night, throwing back some pretty generous portions of wine and Duvel (which means devil in…oh heck, I don’t remember what language). We stayed until closing time. I saw parts of Rocky Horror Picture Show that I hadn’t seen since I was 16 hanging out with the theater kids. The bar tender gave us a free round. We had a great time. However, I think in the future, I will abstain from drinking with the Devil. I’ll leave it at that.

Rock Bottom

After a care free night like that, the next morning was in stark contrast. One text message changed everything. I will not get into too many details, as it is long, involved and not my business to spread around, but a situation at David’s work came to a head Saturday morning and it was not the hoped for outcome. It was a situation David felt partly responsible for and there was a great sense of wrongdoings on the company's part going on. So, we felt pretty crappy the rest of the weekend, mulling it over. Feeling like something needs to be done to fix a situation, but not feeling like you have any power to change it is a hard thing to go through. David is a man of morals, and it just felt very wrong to him, like the type of situation where someone needs to stand up for what is right. To cut to the resolution, things were more complicated than we realized at first and the “victim” turned out to be dealing quite well with it. Just another example of how it’s virtually impossible to truly understand what is going on here. All we can do is trust our gut, and things still feel sour in regards to the powers that be, but the storming of the Death Star has at least been put on hold, with no immediate need to stand up against the empire for the sake of the people. (Yes, I AM making that a bit more dramatic than it needs to be. I just liked the image.) In conclusion, things are fine, for now. For all my worrywarts out there, don’t. Apologies for the vagueness, but we’re fine.

Up, up and away!

So, with that mostly behind us, we were able to concentrate on plans to take a real-live vacation. Sweet! So for the past week and a half I’ve been planning our trip to some islands in Thailand! The key words when deciding where to go were “nature,” “clean,” and “quiet.” Sounds like some islands in beautiful, blue water to me. Ah! But there's a catch! However relaxing this place will be once we’re there, it’s been less than simple trying to make the plans.

In a snapshot:

“How much did you say?!”
“No, no the red eye is NOT what we want.”
“We can’t pay with a credit card? You need CASH?”
“Password tries allotment exceeded” (This is the ATM talking, and it can be translated as "Stick that card in one more time and I'll shred the sucker!")
“Your requested transaction was rejected. We’re very sorry for the inconvenience. Again."

The booking gods hate me...

Hopefully, the results of my Thailand story will turn out way better than the beginning. At least we have all our plane tickets now, so we’re getting there at least! We leave this Saturday and we’ll be there for a week!

Down a peg

To give I. M. Nervous and Nelly another dose of adrenaline on another dip in this roller coaster ride, I hereby admit a blunder. I almost got robbed last Friday. Yeah, I know. It was partly my fault. Funny things happen to one’s well-honed paranoia when you actually live in a foreign country, in a city known to be quite safe. Luckily for me, a very nice Chinese girl told the dudes getting into my backpack that it was not a good thing to do because I was a foreigner. I wondered afterward if she would have stopped them if I had been Chinese… But regardless, after checking and seeing that the two small pockets on the bag were wide open with my money still inside, I thanked her profusely, swallowed my pride as she told me to be careful, and scampered off to the grocery store, hoping the would-be pick-pockets were not watching me. It was a very creepy feeling. Consider my paranoia back in fighting form.

Upside down

Amongst all this, we have had some nice dinners with friends, meeting friends of friends, checking out cozy little bars and maybe sneaking in a guilty-pleasure stop at McDonald’s. I discovered just how valuable public restrooms are after a long, painful, somewhat panicked walk back to the apartment a few days ago. I also soaked in some more local culture, wandering around Chinese neighborhoods with Sanami after a good Chinese meal in a hole in the wall shop one night last week. I was reacquainted with the wild and crazy world that exists outside the normal expat circuit: fruit and nut stands, food streets with piles of oyster shells and fake shoes and neon lights, a man selling rods of sugar cane on the corner…the usual.

This place is a lot of things, but "boring" is definitely not one of them!

One World, One Dream

On August 8, I went with a friend to an Irish bar to watch the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. I always find the Olympics an impressive event, but it is very common for me to miss most of it. I realize they are going on about the time they are wrapping up. But this time, I found myself in the host country where the excitement had been building for over eight years. No one could escape the Olympics (or that ridiculously long them song, Beijing Huan Ying Ni or in other words, Beijing Welcomes You, or in other words, Sarah's Mind is About to Explode). Billboards, commercials, and public advisories suggesting people stay on the curb, help wheelchair-bound folks across streets, and refrain from littering, were everywhere.

There were plenty of people who were over "Olympic fever." These were the same people who had no intention of going to see the games live and in person. We contemplated it briefly, but it just seemed insane to join millions of other people flooding into Beijing. Plus we've never been there, so we didn't know the best way to go about it, even in normal circumstances. David and I were satisfied with seeing a semi-final men's soccer match in Shanghai, the only event taking place in our city.

We were new enough here that the hype surrounding the games had not gotten to us, so I was looking forward to watching the opening ceremonies in China. The last time I saw the start of the Olympics, I think Muhammad Ali carried the torch. So I showed up, a little after the ceremonies kicked off and found myself walking into a courtyard full of people, many of which who were Chinese, just as the Chinese National Anthem was starting. This may not sound like a big deal, but I have never been in a foreign country when its citizens were singing their own anthem. I was struck most by the swelling sense of pride in the air. These people were singing their hearts out. China had been looking forward to hosting the Games for a long time, even before they won the honor back in 2001. I was witnesses a people in one of their most anticipated moments of national pride. It was amazing.

It's a big year for America, too. Being on the other side of the world during a historical event like our elections this year is almost as strange as being in China for the 2008 Olympics. Although I could never claim to miss the presence of constant political ads and news coverage (especially when you live in swing state), it still felt weird not to be stateside during the actual election. So last Tuesday, I did the next best thing and went to a bar at 8 o'clock in the morning. It was strange to be in a place with so many Americans in one spot, as most times when out with other expats, there are plenty of other nationalities in the mix. But here we were, all gathered to watch the historic election results come in. We ate a very American breakfast and kept an eye on the TVs. By the time noon rolled around, I had once again experienced a moment of national pride. This time it was Americans abroad in China, hugging each other and cheering for an amazing moment in our nation's time line.

These two moments, involving two very different countries and two very different sources for celebration, were so strikingly similar to me. I couldn't stop comparing them. Essentially, they felt the same. The excitement, the pride, the purity of it...it all felt so amazingly wonderful and positive. People at their best in a somewhat rare moment that brings them together.

The more I learn and witness, the more I'm convinced of our overwhelming similarities, rather than our differences. It's a small world after all.

It's Always Darkest Right Before It Goes Pitch Black...

So, you know when it's the beginning of December and you wake up and it's dark outside and when you get out of work it's, you guessed it, dark outside? I have long ago decided that it is in fact necessary to have Christmas lights during this time, otherwise we'd all go into hysterics.

Well, I need me some Christmas lights, stat!

Today, the sky went dark at 5:00 pm. I cannot believe it! I mean, it was bad enough that in the peak of summer, the sun went down around 8:00 pm. (A far cry from the daylight still lingering in the sky close to 10:00 pm in Ohio.) I definitely missed daylight savings time, but on the other hand, it was dang hot and nighttime was the only time to feel halfway human outside. But now? It's getting colder. This is why I'm still in my (David's) flannel pj pants, long sleeve T-shirt, a cardigan sweater and knee socks. (And no, they do NOT coordinate together. The height of fashion right here, let me tell you. Didn't you know that "dumpy" was the new "black"?) It is, of course, light around some ungodly hour of 4 or 5 am, but what good does that do me? Now I am faced with half my waking hours being dark AND cold. Misery...

In case you were not aware, China is all on the same time zone. Now, go look up a map of China. Now, stand in awe of it's enormity. I mean the place goes all the way to India! It's about the same physical area as the U.S. and we have 4, count 'em, 4 time zones. So what does this mean? It means time is a weird thing here. It's dark way earlier than it should be because I am in a very eastern part of China. I think out west it's probably light until 11:00 pm or something crazy, but I hear the difference is so great out there that they actually have two different times: Beijing time (my time) and local time (so they can wake up in daylight and normal things like that). It seems a crazy system. Take that back, it is a crazy system. It's a wonder they make it work.

So now my dilemma is, it feels like bedtime again! Why in the world should I actually get dressed and all that when I am about to go to sleep? Plus, my feet are frozen already, so I can't stand the thought of taking the socks off. It's sad really. It's probably only in the lower 60s outside, but my feet are ice. (Reasons Winter Stinks #1)

But the reality is, I am not about to go to sleep. I have a lot of "day" left. And some movement would no doubt improve the feet thing. I just wasn't expecting the siren call to hibernation to lure me so early this year. I must resist staying in lounge clothes past lunch time and force myself to acclimate quickly. After all, it is still autumn and will be for a few more months still. I refuse to think about winter yet. I'll cross that icy road when I come to it.

In the meantime, need to buy a hairdryer, a hot water bottle, a whole lotta hot chocolate and more sweaters. Oh yeah, and some Christmas lights. Maybe I can buy them in orange for a little Halloween cheer...


(And speaking of things fall and Halloween, do me a favor and throw some colorful leaves in the air for me. Autumn just ain't the same here in the East.)

Go Forth and Learn, My Child

I had a moment of clarity this evening. I can't explain why it happened and there are no clear words from a heavenly netherworld to bestow upon you either. It simply felt like clouds parted for moment and allowed me to see a few bright stars shimmering in the cold atmosphere above. I confess it brought a tear to my eye, but I sucked it back in so I could ask the waiter for the bill. I mean the pizza was good, but it wasn't that good.

Most of my day prior to this was actually a major case of Low Motivation. (Doc, it hurts when I do...anything!) I can't really tell you where the hours went. Sometimes days like this make me feel worthless, wasting precious time and all that. But today, I managed to not be too hard on myself, for once. So I didn't harp on the fact that no checks were marked down on the ol' To Do list, and simply went out to get some dinner and read a book.

This is something I have started doing a lot of lately. Actually, besides reading for school, I have consistently resisted reading on my own since childhood (and yes, I do realize that this is a mortal sin of English majors, so just lay off). Now, once in a while a book would get through and hook me, keeping me up until stupid hours of the night, but mostly, I just didn't feel the urge. Maybe it's because my mom is such a voracious reader (which probably explains a lot about why she can out spell me any day of the week, bless her knowledge-soaked brain). I mean, how am I supposed to live up to that? She actually got in trouble for reading, in school no less, because she was supposed to be outside at recess, but instead stayed in to read. I cannot even begin to compete with this sort of devotion!

So, inexplicably, since I have been in China, I have developed a hunger for books. I daresay, maybe even a lust. I suppose it started out as a case of "we want what we can't have," since bookstores with books that are in English are not exactly popping up like Starbucks. And all I brought with me from home were books on China and learning Chinese, because books are pretty heavy and I moved here with just two big suitcases and one carry on. The seventh Harry Potter just wasn't happening.

Then, some time in August, David and I found a foreign bookstore and bought a book by Peter Hessler, under the recommendation of our friends, Kellie and Gregg. They had recommended River Town, but all the bookstore had in stock was Oracle Bones. Both volumes are about China, as Hessler has lived in China almost a decade. So we went ahead and bought Oracle Bones. Now, this puppy is pretty big, around 450 pages of fairly small print, so it's quite a task to take on, especially for a commitment-phobe person like me (Think of all the time it will take to read!), but I was hungry for words I could understand and, for once, I undeniably had the time. So, I blasted through it. I highly recommend it if you are either interested in China already or if you find you don't know a darn thing about this crazy place. It's fascinating.

As fast as I was reading through it, I found myself nursing the last few chapters because I didn't have another book to dive into, and I wanted more. I truly realized the severity of my new addiction when I went to the bookstore to get books for my tutoring gig and wound up with four books for myself. (It would have been five at the time if they had had River Town in stock, the only book I had set out to find.) When I walked out of there, more than 100 bucks less to my name, I felt like a kid who had just ransacked the candy store. I think I even had a stupid grin on my face walking home.

But when I got home, I started to do something even more crazy: I cracked open not one, but two books...at the same time! And this was before I had killed off the last of Oracle Bones! I felt like I was channeling my former roommate, Mandy, who being a true blue librarian, often had maxed out her check out allowance and no doubt had 4 to, heck I don't know, 20 books going at a time! What in the world had come over me? I thought. A week later David noticed too. "Reading? Again?"

I have had guilt about this life of leisure. I mean, it's great and all, reading books, but what am I doing with my life? Such a haunting question sometimes...

But this is where my quick glimpse of clarity comes back into my little story. I felt, all of a sudden, that maybe I am supposed to read while I am here. I have realized that I cannot know what my experience here is supposed to be or even what it has been so far. At least not yet. Maybe I am simply here to learn. Learn about the culture, the people, and of course the predictable part, myself. But I did not realize that maybe the growth I will do here is simply expanding my mind. Learning all I can. Giving myself time to be still and see which way I'm being pulled. I haven't figured it out. But tonight, I felt really good all of a sudden. The possibility of discovery is thrilling in itself.

During my frantic cram session on China back in March when I was trying to decide if I wanted to come, I read a small piece in a travel guide by a western lady who lived in China for quite a while. I cannot remember her name or which book her segment was in, but her general take on this place has stuck with me. Basically, she said, you do not come to China for a relaxing vacation. It's not like going to the Bahamas for the sunshine and breezes. And it's not like a breathtaking trip to Europe, where the place is just dripping in patinas and famous artists and historic architecture and quaint cafes. The point of coming to China is not to simply see China; it is to see how you are affected by China, how you react to it. And you will react to it, this much I know is true.

So tonight, I have a newfound dedication to keeping my mind open to this strange land and to see what happens. I do hope to learn a thing or two.

Tribute

This one goes out to my Grandpa, who turns 90 today.

If you haven't had the pleasure of meeting this wonderful man, well, you have been missing out. I find that I cannot even do him justice as I sit here and try to write about him. But let's just say some of my close friends have told me I have the coolest grandpa. I have to agree.

And needless to say, it's a hard day to be away from home.

I spoke to him on the phone earlier and we agreed that he should eat an extra serving of Mom's macaroni for me. I'll just have to dream about being there while I sleep tonight.

Happiest of birthdays, Grandpa. I love and miss you very much.

Technology Test

So, as I haven't figured out how to put up large quantities of photos on my blog posts (they only let me put the slide show in the side bar) I have decided to try giving you a link to my album on Facebook. As I understand it, you should be able to view the pictures even if you don't have a Facebook account. Let's try it!

Facebook Photo Album

You'll see a couple repeats from former posts, but mostly these are never before seen! I still need to load the more recent ones, so more to come!