China Expat Life

CNYE in China Lite

Guò Nián HÇŽo and welcome to the Year of the Tiger! A couple cups of strong coffee and I’ve recovered from my 5th Chinese New Year‘s Eve in China. Despite living in Suzhou-Singapore Industrial Park (SIP) last year as well, this was the first time we celebrated the holiday in this district. Normally I would …

February 14, 2010
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In Utero Update

We had our scheduled checkup with the doctor late last week and managed to convince the ultrasound tech to get a couple good shots in hopes that we could print them out and share them. The 10 minutes with Maggie’s womb on the screen gave me lots to look at (while Maggie just sorta stared …

November 30, 2009
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World-renowned author visits Humanaught

Alright, Lisa might not be world-renowned yet, but she’s well on her way. And she’s certainly a well-known fixture in the China expat/blogging circle. Perhaps best known as “Other Lisa” in the comments at the Peking Duck (or @otherlisa on Twitter), Lisa’s a long-time blogger (her blog, Paper Tiger Tail is one of my favs., …

November 25, 2009
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Friends Baby Together

Our good friends, Ric and Gin, are proud owners of a brand-new 2009 model Laowai Baby, and having just returned from meeting her for the first time, I wanted to take a moment and reflect. The benefit of having two close friends go through everything we’re about to, only six months ahead of us, is …

October 27, 2009
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A baozi in the steamer

I may be a lot of things, but someone who can keep their mouth shut is not one of them. This blog is a testament to the fact that I am completely under-skilled in respecting the sanctity of privacy in my personal life. For years now I’ve blogged the smallest and largest moments of my …

October 9, 2009
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What I’ve been up to

It’s been brought to my attention that I’m not updating enough, so much so that friends have begun to worry that something has happened to me (sorry Zak!). Something has happened to me, and more on that later, but that is not the reason for my blog absence. I’ve simply been inundated with new projects. …

September 30, 2009
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Dalian vs. Suzhou

Despite the combative title, it’s rather tough to A-B the two places I’ve spent the most time with in China. They are both supported and mired by a number of attributes that make them both rather unique places to live. Last week Maggie and I grabbed a flight out of PVG and made our annual …

September 30, 2009
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Button sexes it up post de-sexing

I don’t buy into those little doggie jackets that every anthropomorphizing pet owner drools over. In fact, I’d say I’m outright hostile to the idea of breeding a dog to look like a toy and then playing dress-up with it. That said, I think I’ve stumbled on a goldmine: The Canine Call-girl Outfit® Is your …

September 9, 2009
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16 Candles x 2 = Some Serious Wax

So, it’s my birthday — and shaping up to be one of the best ones I’ve had in years. As mentioned in the previous post, my best friend Cory arrives from Canada today for his first visit to China. I leave in a couple hours to grab the shuttle from Suzhou to the Shanghai Pudong …

July 16, 2009
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Summertime and the livin’s easy

So summer’s definitely here – I know this because when I’m outside for more than a few minutes everything gets blurry and my skin starts to melt. I’m Canadian — +40°C weather is something for fairytales of where the old folks go come winter. Of course it’s the perfect time to take a holiday and …

July 13, 2009
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Proud to be a Canadian (expat)

I love Canada, I truly do. For all the grief that myself and my fellow compatriots give the country, it really is top shelf as countries go. Sure, it’s a bit vanilla when it comes to foreign affairs and global influence; a bit archaic when it comes to political makeup; and, well, a bit cold. …

July 1, 2009
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