Welcome to bizzaro world

Goodbye,
Now I was told that it doesn't snow in Wuhan. It can get a little chilly, even quite cold but there is no real snow and the summers are blistering hot. Also I was told that in the "spring" it rains for days on end until it starts getting warmer and then it's summer practically overnight. Well since I've been here in the winter it's been fairly mild and some days have been downright freezing. Like yesterday for example, it was very very cold and we got combination rain and wet snow. I'm not a fan of either. In the evening and going on into the night, I was told (because I didn't venture outside) that it was absolutely freezing out there. Well little did I know, there was more to come. I woke up this morning and it was SNOWING!!. Yes, snowing. And this ain't your typical wet snow that melts as soon as it hits the ground. I'm talking, snow that's building up and kids playing outside and throwing snowballs at each other kind of snow.
I'm freaking out. This is truly bizzaro world. Everything is opposite and it's snowing in a town that hasn't seen snow in probably decades. Well I hope it warms up soon because I'm not sure about how much more of this I can take.

Hello.

Saturday or sat all day

Well yesterday was a pretty good day. I slept in late and just hung around. Around noon I made lunch for Matt and I. This guy might as well be my son or something. He whines when he's hungry and bitches when I don't cook fast enough. Anyway, we both pretty much spent the day watching movies in the living room. Then in the evening he left to go out somewhere and I stayed, drinking beer in front of the television. By the time Matt came home at 11:30, I had watched an additional 2 movies and was pretty drunk. The funny thing is, he was drunk too. I blabbed to him about something and we made stupid drunk jokes that had us in stitches. Then he went to bed and I sang at his door, then I went to bed.
This morning I woke up with the classic hangover headache and found my clothes all over the floor. Back in the day, in my "youth", I would drink and have little to no hangover. Plus I would be able to remember everything that happened the night before. Now I get hangovers and my memory is fuzzy. Sometimes I have to be reminded of something in order to recall it, whereas before I would just remember.
Well, that's how life is I guess.

TTFN

meh meh meh

Well the past few days have been pretty routine. I have a cold and it's not making me a happy camper. Breathing through your mouth all the time ain't fun. Other than that, things have been fairly normal.
Melissa and Christa are enigmas. They both hang out in Melissa's room whenever they are home. They never come hang out in the living room and they don't go out and explore or anything, unless they're going out for a specific reason, ie to buy something etc. They'll stay in that room for hours, the door closed and you don't hear anything. Then I guess when they get tired, Christa leaves and goes to bed. I just don't get it but maybe they are still just trying to adjust.
The weather has been a crap shoot on almost a daily basis. Sometimes you get lucky, sometimes you get shit. One day it was really sunny but cold, the next, overcast but a little warm. Then another day would start off warm and sunny and then by 10 am, it's freezing. Last few days Matty stix and I have been in the living room watching CSI and cooking dinner (and by we cooking dinner I mean me). We're both pretty broke so we have been eating in. Today we realized how cheap food is. I mean, it's cheap when we go to the restaurant but it's even cheaper when we buy things to make dinner on our own. Anyway, I'm gonna hit the hay. My head is fuzzy and I gotta get some sleep.

TTFN

Instinct goes a long way

Well yesterday I decided to go out with Annaick. I figured that in past, everytime I didn't want to go out and she forced me to go, I always ended up having a good time. Well not this time. So the group was Annaick, Christa, Melissa of course and myself. On our way out, we bumped into Matt who was coming in. At first he said he wasn't going to join us, then he changed his mind and said he was going to come, then halfway to the bus stop, he changed his mind again and bailed. Anyway we met up with Etien and then headed over to meet Gabriel and his girlfriend. There was much deliberation on the restaurant that we would go to. Finally a decision was made and it was a place not too far off. Then Matt called and said that he changed his mind again and he would come out.
Anyway we got to the restaurant and found that the kitchen was not very clean so we didn't want to stay there. So now, we've changed our minds. Matt met up with us and they (and by "they" I mean the other frenchies) decided that we would go to Giano's for dinner. Then while walking to the bus stop, they decided on some other cafe.
Anyway, we grab a couple of cabs and get to this cafe. We had been there before once but never for a meal. Well I think we figured out why. It took them forever to get most of our drink orders out. Then the food orders came out one by one. Gabriel ordered a semi good steak that came out atleast 30 mins before anyone else's things came out. Matt and I ordered pizzas and those were both disasters. My pizza first. I ordered a deluxe and the menu indicates that the pizza toppings would include all the things that you would expect to be on a deluxe pizza. But when it came to me, it was something different. There was ground beef, corn and carrots on my pizza. Then covered with cheese. It was like a shepherds pie but without the potatoes. Then the crust was sort of sweet. Almost like a pastry. Matt ordered a hawaiian and that came with cucumbers, pineapple (I think) and lychee. Matt didn't even finish it. I atleast ate the toppings on mine because that wasn't half bad but I left the crust. Maybe someone else would like it.
After all that drama, Annaick said that they were going to go to Wuchang Blue Sky. My night was over a long time ago and Matt said that he was going to go home. I was right behind him. Melissa and Christa I assume had had enough as well and they said that they would take the cab back home with us.
On the way home we were laughing at the oddities of the "meal" that we had and vowed to never go back to that place. I really should have followed my gut and just not go anywhere but because I had had good times in the past, I figured I would again, but something inside told me this was different but I went against it anyways.
Anyway this morning I spoke to Annaick and thanked her for the night. She actually ended up apologizing to me about the fact that she forced me to go out and then we ended up having such a bad night. I wanted to rub it in her face that if I had stayed home against her advice I would have avoided all that but I decided to just forget it all.
In other news I got a call from my friend Toni from Giano's this morning and he told me to come out for english corner today. Well there weren't as many people as normal but Linda was very happy to see me and Deng was laying it on thick for her. He really likes her and practically tells her at every opportunity but I think she likes being his friend and doesn't like him that way. In any event, we chatted for a while and then I bailed. I'm going to try to go next week but I may not be able to make it unless I get paid before the end of the month. If not, then I'll have to go the week after. After I get paid. So now, I'm just gonna hang out and get my stuff ready for class tomorrow. If it's not raining tomorrow, I have to do the sentence of the week. God, I hate that thing for no other reason than I have to get up earlier in the morning and especially on a Monday.

TTFN

yeah, right

Well yesterday, Matty stix was MIA after work, so I ended up hooking up with Annaick and her french friends, we also took the girls Melissa and Christa out with us. We were going to go to the restaurant for dinner but I was really in the mood for a burger so we went to Blue Sky in Hankou instead. We met up with Francois and his new french girlfriend as well as Gabriel and his girlfriend.
Anyway we had a nice dinner and then my central preoccupation was waiting till happy hour. Well alot happened between our arrival at 9pm and happy hour at midnight. The music got louder, Francois's girlfriend left, then he got drunker, some of Francois's french friends showed up and one of his friends, Etien (who by the way is 22, tall and very cute) started hitting on Melissa 20 minutes upon his arrival. Yeah, I was smoking like a chimmeny and getting Francois to buy me drinks. The way I see it, he could afford it and he was probably too drunk to even notice, I needed to be numbed out.
Anyway, we had a pretty good time. Heck we were home at 2:30 in the morning. Today Annaick wants me to go out with them again. She sort of has to go though because Etien invited Melissa out on a date but he has no clue how to get around or where to go because he's only been here for 2 weeks and Melissa has only been here since Tuesday, so it's even worse for her. Annaick wants me to go so she has someone to talk to or whatever (like a buffer person). I'm still on the fence.
Well, that's about it......

TTFN

like the song says, I need home for a rest

Well the week went by with little damage. I'm slowly adjusting to the new office. I used to visit this office everyday, to visit my chinese friends and say hi to Matty stix. Now that I'm there permanently....well I don't know, it's not the same. It's just too big. The old office was nice and small, cozy even and it was just us girls. Well, I guess I don't have much of a choice so I'll just have to adjust.
Well as far as this weekend goes, Matty stix and I may celebrate it's coming. Like we used to in the old days, before it got cold. Speaking of which, the weather here has been shitty. It rains every night and then in the day it's cold and overcast. My only consolation is that there is no friggin snow. No ice. No sleet. No nothing that could get me killed or injured if I walk on it.
In any event, life for me is about the same. My kids keep me busy but when I'm alone I feel a bit lonely. I miss home sometimes and other times, I'm very happy to be here.
I spoke to Mr Ye and asked him if there was anything I could do to make sure I'm doing a good job. I told him that I was interested in staying with the school for another year. For now I'll get alot of "yeah yeah yeah's" from him but atleast I've planted the seed. Closer to June, I'll specifically sit him down and let him know that I want to stay another year.
So I guess what I'm trying to say is, I'm happy to be here and I'd like to be here for another year, but I can't wait for these last four months to go by, so I can be back home.

TTFN

Happy fucking Valentine's day

Well yesterday morning I got up early to help my mom into a cab. I was supposed to get up at 5:30 am but ended up waking up at 4 am. Couldn't go back to sleep. Anyway, I got her in a cab and off to the airport. I pretty much got back to my room and waited until it was time to go to school.
The new teachers came in on Monday night and we met them Tuesday in the day. They seem nice. Two girls from Waterloo area. Annaick, Matt and I took them out to the restaurant for dinner. Once again, they seem nice but a little ditzy at the same time. Then later in the day, Mr Ye told me that me, Annaick, Lily and Julia will be moving over to the other office. They're doing some restructuring (long story) and we'll be in the bigger office from now on. Which will be quite interesting but sad at the same time. I like our smaller office, it was cozy and it was just us girls. The cool part is that we'll be in the same office as Matt, so now I'll probably get no work done. As you are aware, Matt makes me laugh to no end.
So blah blah blah, the new girls are here, I don't see me talking to them very often. I don't particularly like the new guy Russell and I've spent another Valentine's alone.
Anyway, today wasn't too bad. I cleaned out the fridge in the frathouse. That thing was so horrible. I threw everything out and hopefully got rid of the stink. Then I got rid of stuff that was in the freezer as well. Apparently, Russell bought a rabbit (to eat) and kept it in the freezer, well that got thrown out too. Then later today, he came into my room and asked about it.
"Sorry to tell ya, I threw it out" He was a bit upset but what could I do? He moved upstairs, so I wasn't expecting anything to belong to anyone in there. Atleast anyone that lived downstairs. Anyway, I feel better now that that thing is clean. It smelled really bad.
Now we can start fresh. Anyway, I'll see how the week unfolds.

TTFN

Days gone by

Well yesterday mom and I went to Hankou to do some last minute shopping. She picked up some tops and I actually got a pair of pants. It very surprising when I find clothes that fit me. They don't particularly cater to fat asses like myself on this side of the world. So i felt pretty good, especially since my ass isn't as fat as it was before.
Anyway, we got back home and just hung out for a bit. For some reason I couldn't get any sleep, which was bad because I had to wake up fairly early to get ready for my first day of school. We were told that we had to be out for 8:20am but if it rained then we didn't have to bother. Well it rained but I was still up early because you have to get up early to see if it is raining. Well blah blah blah.
The first day wasn't too bad. My kids were all pretty much behaved. Mom came to watch my classes in the afternoon and she told me that she was impressed. She thinks that teaching will be a good career for me. I inclined to agree with her. Anyway, after school was over, we met up with Matty stix, Gary and his girlfriend to go to the Brazilian restaurant for dinner. Yeah I think I need a coronary bypass to live through the night. So much meat!
Currently, I'm getting ready for bed. Have another morning of getting up early. I have to get my mom a cab for the airport and see her off very early in the morning (6 am). I will miss her all over again but atleast I know she had a good time here and it won't be very long till I see her again.
So that's the story thus far

TTFN

Good times in China

Well yesterday was a good day. The weather was nice and pretty much stayed that way. Jason and I made plans to go to the chao kao restaurant and I went with mom in tow. So mom got to meet Jason and we had a nice time. I love this chao kao place because it reminds me of the chao kao I had in Shanghai. We stayed there and chatted for a long time.
After that we parted ways and headed back to the frat house. We met up with Matty stix and went back out or another bite to eat. Well I didn't eat but Matt was hungry and so was mom. I had a barley sandwich. At the restaurant, I took pleasure in retelling the story of Matt the night before. Even in retelling the story, I was still dying of laughter. The funny thing about it as well, was that Matt had absolutely no recollection of everything I was telling him. It was as if it never happened to him and I was just making up the story.
Anyway, we got back home, had a few beers and mom and I watched TV till we couldn't keep our eyes open anymore.
Tomorrow, we're going back to Hankou to maybe do some more shopping. Got to get things ready. She'll be leaving on Tuesday.

to fast forward

Ok, so I've been a little busy.
Well My mom came on Feb 1st and we spent a few days in Beijing, saw the sites, blah blah blah. Then we got back to Wuhan, which I couldn't wait to do. I like Beijing and all but I couldn't wait to get back to Wuhan. My friend was saying that Wuhan had more character and it's true. Here, you can go out and there are people on the streets and vendors and things are happening and there's shopping. Not so much in Beijing. It's nice and the regular sites are great too but, it's just not for me.
Anyway, we got back to Wuhan and have been having a fun few days. Unfortunately, Wuhan is not a tourist destination, so there isn't much to see or do. Mostly it's just me showing mom around and giving her a window into my life here. I've taken her to a few sites but for the most part, with the weather not being it's best, we've just done what we all normally do at the frat house. Sit around and watch TV.
Yesterday was a good day. It was sunny for a change, so I decided that we should take the opportunity and do something. Before that I had a meeting to attend with the school, to discuss the new semester and how we were starting etc. There were somethings that were said that made no sense and then there were other things that just made me laugh. In any event, after the meeting I invited everyone to come out to Blue Sky with me and my mom to have dinner and stuff. It would give us all an opportunity to chat together (and be together before school started) and also give my mom an opportunity to see Blue Sky and what it's all about.
Anyway, before that, we went over to Hankou by ferry and walked around on well, walking street. She did a bit of shopping but then we had to make a quick exit because we were meeting the others for dinner. She really enjoyed it and we decided to go back on Sunday for any last minute shopping and to go to the Thai restaurant out there (anyone who knows, knows that Thai is my favourite food).
So we get back home, meet up with the others and head over to Blue Sky. Cast of characters included Roy, Angela, Annaick, Harry, Melanie, Nick, Chun, a friend of Nick's and then me and my mom. Other friends joined us as the night went on. Matty stix was supposed to be there and we were disappointed when he didn't show up, but half way through the night, there he came. My mom was happy and so was I.
Anyway, the Blue Sky in Wuchang isn't as much a club as the one in Hankou is. The one in Wuchang is more of a sit down and eat restaurant. On special occasions, they clear off a dance floor and yesterday was one of them.
We had a great time! We ate, we drank (some more than others) and we even danced. Mom had a fantastic time and so did I. I was glad to get one last party in before school started up again.
Now a few things to know. I just adore Matty stix. He reminds me of home and he makes me laugh, all the time, every time, and this is when he's sober. My favourite Matty stix, is drunk Matt. That guy is a riot. Then my favourite, favourite Matt, is putting Matt to bed Matt. That guy almost has me peeing in my pants. Well I know that Matt can handle himself, but sometimes he get sooo drunk that I have to handle him. I take off his clothes (and no Tricia, there is no "funny business") and tuck him in after he's had so much to drink that he can't even see straight. As I've said before, this guy is 6'3'' and weighs about 90 lbs soaking wet, so it doesn't take alot for him to get pissed drunk. Anyway, my mom was laughing, and frankly so was I but for some reason, putting him to bed this time was a little more difficult than usual.
Anyway, I finally got him in and had a good laugh. I made it a point of remembering everything that he told me because Matt's favourite part of an evening of drinking, is hearing the stories the next morning of what he did the night before.
Anyway, today's agenda includes meeting my friend Jason for chao kao with my mom, then I don't know whatelse. On Sunday we plan t go to walking street again. After that I'm not sure what the plans are but then mom's gone on Tuesday. So it will be a rushed next couple of days and then on top of that, school's opening on Monday. We'll see


TTFN

Beijing Jan 31st, 2006

What a great day, but before I get into that, this is how my day started. I'm a fairly light sleeper. It doesn't take a lot to wake me from my sleep. So I'm lying on the bottom bunk of the bunk bed in my dorm and there's a guy sleeping on the top bunk. Now, whenever he moves or rolls, the entire bunk moves. It's as if we're sleeping side by side on the same bed and when he moves I can feel it. Anyway, on this particular morning I was sleeping but was awoken by the movement of the bed. The bed was moving in a distinctive rhythm. Now, I have no way to actually confirm this but I really think that the guy was jerking off. I tried to ignore it but with the entire bed moving, it wasn't going to happen. He wasn't making any noises but with the bed movement, I can only suppose that that is what he was doing.
Anyway, I eventually woke up later and got the shuttle bus out to Simatai Great Wall. The bus ride is about 2 hours and this part of the wall is quite steep. First you have to take a walk on the Beijing wall to get to the Great Wall. The views are spectacular and the weather wasn't bad. It was a sunny and wasn't too cold.
On my way up I met up with a local Simatai farmer who acted as my guide. She spoke little english but enough to show me around. Getting to the wall was easy but climbing it proved to be very hard. I was able to get up to the third guard tower but I had no energy to go further. I stayed there for a bit, took some pictures, enjoyed the views and eventually made my way back down. Going down was pretty easy but you still had to be careful. The steps are all uneven. From one step to another the gap can be very small and then another set can have huge gaps. Then some steps are very small, almost half the size of my foot and then again some other steps I can step on comfortably and without a problem.
Anyway, I slowly made my way back down and waited for the bus to leave. We waited there for about 2 hours and then the bus was back to the hotel. I got back in and after all that climbing I was exhausted. I pretty much went straight to bed.
Tomorrow, momma is in town.

Beijing Jan 30th, 2006

Woke up with no plans and kept it that way. I did some reading. I ate. I went back down to that coffee bar and watched a movie, came back upstairs and read some more. Then it started to get late and I had some dinner, then went back down to the coffee bar for another movie before bed. When I got there, there were these three people sitting at the table closest to the TV but they were all reading. I'm thinking "What the heck!?" Anyway, I asked them if they would mind if I watched a movie. No objections, then they asked me to sit with them. Turns out 2 of them are from Canada and the third was from Australia. We had a nice little chat and enjoyed the movie. I told them about my plans for the Great Wall and they gave me some great advice. Anyway, after the movie was over, they headed their way and I headed to bed. I set my alarm and smiled at my plans for the next day. I can't wait to be at the Great Wall and fulfill promises made to myself. Hopefully, it'll be a nice day out.

Beijing Jan 29th, 2006

Happy Spring Festival!!
Well I woke up around 11:30 and went to the tour booking guy and apologized. I gave him a lame story that I was sick and asked him when I could go again. He told me day after tomorrow I could go. Luckily no extra charge and no hassle but if I wasn't there the day after tomorrow, then that was it So I got something to eat and headed out to the street. There was a street market that was set up and it was full of people. Vendors selling all kinds of novelty items plus food and even a few games. I hung out there with the people for a few hours then headed back to the hotel. Once back, I just hung around the coffee bar for a bit, watched a movie and before I knew it, I was back in bed. I was going to do a bit more today but thought against it.

Beijing Jan 28th, 2006

Ok, I woke up had breakfast and a quick shower, then I headed out o see some sites. My travel book told me that Beijing wasn't pedestrian friendly and they were right, especially in the winter. In Wuhan, I practically walk everywhere or walk a fair distance to get to a bus to where I want to go, but walking in Beijing is exhausting. Especially with the cold weather and the fact that I was still in a fair bit of pain from the train, it made things even less pleasant. Anyway, despite all of these inconveniences, I made it to Tien'an men square. It's quite huge, about the size of 2 or 3 Sky Domes. Plus there are alot of other sites just in that area alone. Mostly museums but they were all closed due to the holiday, but I got to see something interesting. It was the countdown clock to the Olympics. It showed how many days, hours, minutes and yes even seconds till the big opening day. Since there isn't anything to do at Tien'an men, I didn't spend alot of time there and then headed very to the forbidden city. that was some good time spent. I picked up a couple souvenirs and made jokes the vendors. Then I figured, I had had enough and got a cab back to the hotel. I had considered packing it in but instead I hung out at the coffee bar and after a little bit went back out. Firecrackers and fireworks were going off all over for new years. I took some pictures, mingled with the locals and then came back to the hotel. I made arrangements for a trip to the Great Wall and also made some enquiries about a room for 2 nights and transportation to the airport. My mom is coming on Feb 1st and I wanted to get things ready. Anyway, I paid for my Great Wall trip and was told that the bus left at 6:30 in the morning. I made it a point of going to bed early but unfortunately that did me no good. I lay in bed for 5 hours and listened to the sound of 1000 kettles of rapidly firing popcorn with the occasional kettle exploding. That's what it sounded like. At a quarter to midnight it got louder and faster. Then at midnight, it was almost a steady but very loud hum. Extreme rapid fire and impossible to ignore. I felt disturbingly exhausted and still in pain but I couldn't sleep. I think after 1 am or so the noise started to die down and maybe around 2 am it stopped. I think I fell asleep around 2:30 or 3 o'clock. I had my alarm set for 5:45 am. I knew there was no way I was going to make it to the Great Wall. The section of the wall I chose to go to is less popular but it also a bit of a difficult hike. I knew it wasn't a good idea for me to so. I shut off my alarm and tried to go back to sleep. I was successful at that but probably should have told the tour group I wasn't going. They came knocking on the dorm door maybe around 6:30 am. I felt bad about not getting the door but someone else took care of it. The guy tried to wake me up but I wasn't hearing it. He left and I went back to sleep.

Beijing Jan 27th, 2006

Well I was lucky to get a sleeper on my train ride to Beijing and by lucky I mean I booked way in advance and I had Harry to help me but I wasn't so lucky on the trip. I think I dozed in and out along the way but I got no real sleep. By the time I got to Beijing I was in more pain than ever but was proud of myself or having made the trip. For some reason everyone had a hard time understanding me. I don't know if I've just picked up the Wuhanhua too much or I just need to relearn my pinyin but I couldn't get the cab driver to understand the name of the hotel. Anyway, I had him let me out in the general area of the hotel. I figured I could just get it on my own. Although looking back on it now, I don't think that would have happened. I lost my sense of direction and neither the hostel nor the name of the street it's on, was on my map. I was sort of walking aimlessly when a pedicab driver got my attention. I said no at first the I figured he'd probably be better at helping me.
I told him the street name and by some miracle he understood and new exactly what I was looking for. Anyway, after much huffing and puffing (and that's him carrying my fat ass in a circle instead of a straight line) we got to the hotel. I made a reservation for a dorm bed and was luckily the first person in the room. I hit the sack right away but soon after my slumber was disturbed by a nice young english couple. Anyway, I went back to sleep and stayed there till early afternoon. I woke up and forced myself to go out for a walk. I was in alot of pain and very tired but I figured it was better than lying in bed all that afternoon and night.
After I got tired of walking, I went back to the hotel got some dinner and then went downstairs to the coffee bar. Luckily some of the other residents were watching a movie down there and even better it was a Nicholas Cage movie (some of you may know that he is my absolute favourite actor) Anyway, after that, I figured it was a good time to go to bed. Tomorrow, we see some sites!!