Yearly Archives: 2006

Someone Thinks I’m Funny

Hey, I was trolling around the blogs of a few fellow China bloggers the other day, catching up on stuff that I’ve let slide since coming back to China in August. I stumbled upon some surprising news… I was nominated for a Best China Blog: Humor award. Now, I get the sense – mostly from …

October 4, 2006
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Bring Me Chocolate, Call Me Son

I’m not sure if future mother-in-laws go to a special day-camp for training on how to impress their future son-in-laws, but I wouldn’t be surprised. Maggie mom just arrived from Dalian on a 23+ hour train ride. Rather than bring things she may need to make her stay more comfortable, she instead brought me chocolate …

October 2, 2006
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Cheques My Ass Can’t Cash

I can’t win. I really can’t. I finally get my first pay cheque in like three months and decide I want to take the missus out to celebrate her recently landing of a yoga instructor job. I’ve been dying to check out this Spanish restaurant, El Meson de Carmen, that is not too far away …

September 30, 2006
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Give the Gift of Love – Give Chicken

Anyone that’s been in China for more than six minutes has been hounded by a plethora of bowl weilding beggars looking for your chinky bits (and no, that’s not a racial slur). Rumours abound about these unfortunate, often elderly or massively under-abled, people. I’ve heard tales that they are pimped out by the local triads, …

September 30, 2006
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Maple Bridge | æž«æ¡¥

Continuing our foray into Suzhou’s tourist spots, we headed to æž«æ¡¥ (Maple Bridge – man do I miss syrup) recently and were pleasantly surprised. Generally speaking, I’m not impressed by Chinese tourist spots, yet lately I’ve not been let down – perhaps I’m just tuning out the stuff about them that previously ruined the experience …

September 28, 2006
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Great Expat-tations

To say that there isn’t a divide between the ESL teachers of China and those expats that are here with ‘real’ jobs would be a complete falsity. Nothing paints this clearer than a trip to a local Western-style bar. The teachers are all bitching about their classes whilst sucking back cheap Qing Dao’s or some …

September 25, 2006
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Linktastic

With not much time to write anything, here are a few links that I’ve been meaning to mention. Hotel Ninja: You may have noticed the link to Hotel Ninja on my sidebar. This is my newest sponsor and as they’ve done me the wonderful pleasure of sending me some cash, I figured I’d suggest you …

September 19, 2006
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Don’t Try This At Home Kids

Remember back in the summer when I mentioned Maggie was training to be a yoga instructor? Well, as of today she officially is one. She substituted at a local school here today that is thinking of hiring her, and in doing so earning her first yuan in her new-found profession. I’m not going to deny …

September 17, 2006
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Islam: Fundamentally Flawed

Alright, give me a moment before you start the respective religious retaliation that my post’s headline might invoke. I dig Islam and I dig Christianity. By and by I agree that the two promote relatively peaceful and more fulfilling lives for several billion people. That said, I’ve never been overly kind or sensitive to any …

September 17, 2006
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250 Ways To Stupid

Since arriving in China there has been one answer that I’ve quested for more than any other. Weeks into living here, I was given precious information that would leave me ‘in the know’ many times during my stay in China. It was whispered to me in the busy halls of a Dalian Carrefour supermarket by …

September 16, 2006
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Foreign People Zoo

Alright, so Chinese people want to stare at us laowai. It’s time we quit complaining and start cashing in. The “like a monkey in a zoo” thing is something I got chatting with a friend about once and he had the wonderful suggestion that I might just bank on. As I started to delve into …

September 14, 2006
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