China Expat Life

Announcing: Your China Pal

Hey all, I’m way behind in this announcing stuff, but wanted to wait until we had really got things going before plugging my newest venture on here. A friend of mine here in Suzhou and I have created this business as a way for foreigners visiting China to have access to an English-speaking local Chinese …

June 19, 2007
 // 10 Comments
 // Read More »

I am not afraid… I am not afraid…

For years I’ve been plagued with a sleeping disorder, and didn’t really know it. Rather, I knew it, but didn’t do any looking into it until this morning. I guess there’s hundreds of reasons not to look into health problems, particularly ones that centre around the mushy mass in your noggin, but I’m blaming this …

June 17, 2007
 // 16 Comments
 // Read More »

Mask of China: Redux

Some of you may know my friend Derrick’s blog, Mask of China. Starting out in Dalian back in 2003, it has since followed its master to Hong Kong where it has continued to be a fixture of the Sinosphere. It was with moist eyes that I heard Derrick (Dezza) was hanging up his blogging cap, …

June 14, 2007
 // 5 Comments
 // Read More »

Beijing? So, is it a large city?

I’ve just started a group writing project over at the Lost Laowai blog. Basically, the idea is to get bloggers in the Sinosphere to blog about what they knew or thought they knew about this massive country before they got here (and became fat, jaded bastards like myself). I think back to what I knew, …

June 13, 2007
 // 9 Comments
 // Read More »

The Way We Were

I’ve noticed something recently. I’ve become completely apathetic to my surroundings. My living in China has staled and been replaced with just ‘living’. Sure, I still get pissed off at the “HELLOOOOOs” and the whispered “shhysehsshsheshlaowaishehshsheksdlkjed”, but the truth is, I’ve settled in. The moment I realized this was when I noticed I never bring …

June 6, 2007
 // 15 Comments
 // Read More »

Haier Ground

First, sorry. Sorry, I’ve been so craptastic at posting regular – but this sorta fits, as life in China, in EVERY way, is not regular (yes, that was potty humour, laugh damnit). Anyway… the reason is I’ve been working on a couple new “projects” – don’t you love that term, so vague, yet so official …

May 25, 2007
 // 9 Comments
 // Read More »

Watch NHL Hockey Playoffs Online

Every country has its “sport”, and being abroad for several years now has made me mingle with footie fans, gridiron groupies, basketball buffs, diamond devotees, and even a few ‘aussie rules’ aficionados (whatever the hell sport that is)… but for us Canadians, this time of year means one thing, and one thing only… The Cup. …

May 20, 2007
 // 10 Comments
 // Read More »

Clinically Better

This morning marked the sixth and final bottle of antibiotics I was required to suck into my veins in an effort to quell the contagion running amuck in my foot. Rather than continually returning to the hospital to get the IVs, we searched out a local clinic that would give me my fix. Clinics in …

May 18, 2007
 // 8 Comments
 // Read More »

One Foot Forward, Two Feet Back

Sigh. I lost the battle. Today – in a room full of a motley assortment of sickly folk and 30-odd blue plastic chairs welded to a steel bar for the juice to hang – I was pricked. I made the concerted decision with Maggie to ostentate a bit and visit the “best hospital in Suzhou”. …

May 15, 2007
 // 12 Comments
 // Read More »

Not Out Of The Woods Yet

Well, it’s been a bunch of days and though the foot situation seemed to be improving on Friday, it got quite a bit worse on Saturday – helped in no part, I’m sure, by the large amounts of alcohol I drank Friday night in celebration of my friend Alicia’s birthday (c’mon, her mom and bro …

May 15, 2007
 // 4 Comments
 // Read More »

You’re Never Gonna Stick Me

I write about this today, not because I think anyone of you cares particularly about my feet, nor the fact that one of them decided to swell up to the size of a small melon last night. No, I write this because I’ve not heard of anyone visiting a hospital in China and getting out …

May 10, 2007
 // 11 Comments
 // Read More »

Joost: TV 2.0

One of the main gripes us expats in China have is the lack of decent TV. With most homes sporting nothing but standard cable, CCTV9 is about the only offering unless you’re fluent in Mandarin, and then, you’re still limited to the plethora of Chinese soaps that seem to do little but rehash classic Chinese …

May 9, 2007
 // 7 Comments
 // Read More »