Blowing in the wind

Chinese Lunar New Year is long gone. The lanterns (above) are packed away until the next firework-fueled blow out: Two weeks of the year that an entire nation stops. When the next new year arrives I will be father.

104 weeks later

On July 31, 2006 a slightly bitter expat English teacher married a gentle Chinese lass. In the registry office he couldn’t read the form or make the appropriate pledge.

at the bus stop

Sunday, at the bus stop. Captured: June 8, 2008. [lameda_exif id=882 info=”camera,focal_length,iso,aperture,shutter_speed”] spacer

waiting

I had a dozen better things to do last Saturday than go to Hong Kong, but go to Hong Kong I did. The guest house wanted a deposit on the rooms for our upcoming staff excursion. They didn’t mention they were unlicenced. Giving 3000 Hong Kong Dollars to an unlicenced Guest House is not the…

friday night profanities

I considered my stock Chinese insults: All involve the driver’s sister, mother, or grandmother, and a foreign resident of China and part of his anatomy.

meat cleavers, drawers, and heat syncs

It’s been a challenging week for The Stevo. I mentioned my new desk, complete with credenza and movable cabinet. Thursday morning saw me trying to shift furniture around an impossibly small space. Somehow, the cabinet portion became locked after I shut a drawer. After 20 fruitless minutes I was forced to grab ye ole meat…

International Labor Day: A Workers’ holiday

May 1st is International Labor Day. This is a week-long, national holiday in China. In North America I had associated Labour (the correct Canadian spelling) Day, the September holiday, as a last-fling with summer. It was a day of barbeques, cold beer, and lawn chairs. Sure, there were union parades, that grew smaller and smaller…