China Expat Life

Am I A Racist?

I’ve been pondering this question a bit lately. First I/this blog got called such in the comments on Time‘s rather prominent The China Blog. Then, lately I’ve had a bit of a dimwit spamming my comments with this drivel. I got three separate notifications of his comments being posted. Each notification gave the text of …

August 10, 2007
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Born To Be Mild

Picture, if you will, a slight breeze trying to muster the strength to ruffle your hair as you glide deftly through the wilds of Chinese traffic at a cool 35 km/hr. The slight buzz beneath you hums into your thighs with all the power of an electric pencil sharpener. For only a few thousand kuai …

August 1, 2007
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The War On Fat: The Way of the Samurai

A little over a year ago I declared war on the softness of my exoskeleton. May 3rd, 2006: Seems everyone has got their “War On” these days – and I’m a follower of the Faith of Conformity, so I’m starting my own war. Dubbed “Operation: Reclaim Waistline“, my War On Fat shall combat the Axis …

July 22, 2007
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The Razr thin line between sad and happy

Hey, for anyone that’s following along. I’m all hooked up with a new phone. It’s a sweet little Motorola Razr. It’s loaded with all sorts of goodies that makes having lost my phone in the first place a bit less painful. I was able to keep my original number, and oddly enough, all the money …

July 21, 2007
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My Overly Mobile Mobile

My first act as a thirtysomething has happened. The marker of things to come. That thing that makes you realize your mind was a terrible thing to waste… I forgot my damn phone in a taxi yesterday. I’m not 100% on how it happened, and only came to the conclusion after tearing apart my bag, …

July 19, 2007
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Dao By Design

So, yesterday I entered my fourth decade on this watery rock. I’m officially 30. The Big Three-Oh (My-God). Meh. I had a friend ask if I was freaking out about it at all, and really, I’m not even a little. You hear about it, they make Hallmark cards for it, people generally fuss over it. …

July 17, 2007
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Will I Ever Leave China?

This is a question that is continually asked of me by friends, family and – perhaps most often – myself. Will I ever leave China? The short answer is: Yes, God yes! The long answer, however, is a little more complicated. The truth is, I’m starting to like it here. Now before the boys at …

July 5, 2007
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Looking Back At My Life In ESL

So, today is officially the first day of the next ‘phase’ of my life. It’s hard to chunk stuff into nice little boxes, called “phases”, but as my memory tends to work best when I remember defining moments – lets call this one. Yesterday ended my run as an ESL teacher; a roll I somehow …

June 29, 2007
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Things that go “squeak” in the night

I was working late on the computer yesterday, and after being quite certain I’d dosed my eyes with a suitable level of radiation, I decided to turn in. Maggie, having to be up bright and early (oddly, at the same time as myself – but she requires something stupid like 10 hours of sleep), had …

June 28, 2007
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Random Australian Girl In My Bedroom

So, today I am receiving a guest. I love guests. Living in China for two years, I’ve had only a handful of people from back home come visit me, and so it is always with a great deal of anticipation that I receive new visitors. So much so, that I don’t really care if I …

June 21, 2007
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