Special Days

Road To Wedlock V: Right, The Ceremony!

Alright, I know this “Road To Wedlock” series has been taking up a lot of the focus of this blog lately, but it’ll all be over by the end of the week! Then, apart from wedding photos, video and pictures from the honeymoon… I’ll be back to less nuptial posting and more “What the hell …

February 12, 2007
 // 5 Comments
 // Read More »

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
 // 6 Comments
 // Read More »

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
 // 8 Comments
 // Read More »

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
 // 11 Comments
 // Read More »

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
 // 6 Comments
 // Read More »

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
 // 8 Comments
 // Read More »

Road To Wedlock Part II: Barely Legal

Gawd, the amount of misplaced search engine traffic I’m going to get from that… So, it’s done. I’m – in the eyes of the People’s Republic of China – married. And here’s the kicker: how many people do you know showed up for their marriage unshowered, unshaved and not having brushed their teeth? Well, to …

December 21, 2006
 // 25 Comments
 // Read More »

Happy Birthday Sis

Hey, so the other day was my sister's birthday – and between trying to call her and wish her such, and make her a little present (more on that in a minute), I neglected posting it on here. When I finally did get in touch with her via e-mail for her new phone number she …

November 19, 2006
 // Leave a comment
 // Read More »

A Pittance of Time

As I'm generally quite entrenched in the "make love not war" camp, I'm not entirely sure why Remembrance Day always strikes a chord with me, but it does. When I first watched the following video last year (at, oddly enough, this time), I thought it was the start of a gag video. Then as you …

November 11, 2006
 // 2 Comments
 // Read More »

Happy Halloween

Well, not much in the way of Halloween here in China, but that doesn't mean I can't get in the spirit. I'm considering buying one of the pumpkin-esque squashes at my local market and seeing if I couldn't put the knife to it creatively… they're a bit small, and I've no idea that their insides …

October 31, 2006
 // 5 Comments
 // Read More »

Debt Free

You know that feeling you get after you finish paying off a decade-old collection of debt and you enter the club of People Who Don’t Own Anyone Anything? I have that feeling. Today. Alright, so I’m not much for metaphors, but damnit – I’m elated. I just went to my online banking account and submitted …

October 15, 2006
 // 7 Comments
 // Read More »

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
 // 4 Comments
 // Read More »