China Expat Life

All Moved In…

…and back online! The thing I hate most about moving, even more than the physics-defying process of packing and the bleach-burned skin from cleaning, is the re-setting up of Internet. This move is the fifth place I’ve lived in China, and the fifth time I’ve had had to install, transfer or otherwise pray for a …

February 5, 2007
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Road To Wedlock IV: Lord of the Rings!

They’ve arrived! The wedding rings are in-hand (but will have to wait 2 more weeks to settle on fingers). We ordered the rings online via Gillett’s Jewellers – a company out of Australia that has a very slick Website with loads of helpful information regarding rings, wedding rings, different metals, various gems, etc. We decided …

February 1, 2007
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Movin’ and Shakin’

I’m moving apartments tomorrow. This may seem a little sudden, given my habit of discussing virtually every small thing that happens in my life on here. And well, it is sudden. Maggie and I have been considering getting a better apartment since I visited a friend’s place in town for a BBQ back in September. …

January 29, 2007
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Road To Wedlock Part III: The Stag & Doe

I’m beat. Not bested, but completely exhausted. I’ve spent most of the day, technically most of the month, arranging flights and hotels for my family’s visit next month. Today marks the 30-day count-down until Maggie and I officially become husband and wife (though we’ve been doing a trial run since getting the license in December). …

January 17, 2007
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The Great China Divide: No Heat For You!

I laughed – laughed! – at the poor fools. Images of a crowd of Chinese standing there on the banks of the Yangtse cursing their northern neighbors who sat toasty warm in their centralized heating watching The Best of CCTV. The shivering swarms swearing generational damning profanity while praying the schizo-aircon unit that worked intermittently …

January 7, 2007
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New Year’s And A Few Beers

I spent my second New Year’s Eve in China with good form last night. I’ve mentioned previously that I’ve become a bit of an isolationist in recent months and have rarely ventured out into the Suzhou social scene – quite diametrical from my previous gregariousness. It’s certainly nothing against Suzhou or its nightlife, as it …

January 1, 2007
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I Got My Kicks In 2006

Feckin’ A… I finally have access to the 100+ junk e-mails that have been waiting to be downloaded for the past four days. A big thank you to those Taiwanese deep sea divers working tirelessly to fix this net blackout – it’s still slow as using a Chinese typewriter, but it’s on. Oh… I’d like …

December 31, 2006
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Rock My World

I woke up this morning and my Internet was acting all funny. Chinese sites would load quick as could be, but anything outside of the PRC was as slow as Mao’s second coming. Immediately my mind turned to the worst and I figured that they’d finally done it, they’d finally blocked all content that wasn’t …

December 28, 2006
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We All Need Christmas

It would seem that every year Christmas becomes more and more firmly embedded in the societal norms that make up China. It’s easy for us who’ve a history with the holiday to scoff at the Chinese and their feeble attempts to understand this mammoth festivity. The way they buy tiny plastic trees, recite heavily accented …

December 24, 2006
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