Yup. That’s what I am right now. With Bubs out of town or rather, out of the damn country, I’m left with the two awry pups. You think it’s not that bad. Well try depriving Remy and Martin of dog parks, birds, squirrels, and practically all other creatures you once thought INedible, for three months and you see what happens when they discover rodents living in the bushes of their new playground. Yeah, getting home after dark and walking them in my heels (ahh, the demands of the business world) was only part of the problem. The other was locating their shit with a flashlight and scooping it into size way-too-small sandwich bags, all while trying to hold on. Silly fools. Martin saw a critter scatter across the parking lot and all hell almost broke loose. In a situation like that, there’s a lotta room for error. I gotta watch where I step in the darkness plus it’s been a real close call keeping my fingers clean, if you know what I mean. With these rascals, you gotta be a real hard-ass. A real disciplinarian, I tell you. And it’s not easy, especially for a softie like me. 🙂

In other news, I had a meeting wtih a potential corporate client this afternoon. I got the job! I’ll be training their staff of seven on business English writing. And the gig pays too! This marks the first deal for Move the Brain English Language Services. Woo hoo! Must be the business cards (designed by the ever-so-talented Bubs)! So after landing the SABIC (they’re a petrochemical company, headquartered in Saudi Arabia) job, I treated myself to a banana smoothie and veggie sandwich at Zoe’s Cafe (or as John calls it, “Zo’s, because it should rhyme with Joe’s.”).

In the evening, I was off to my Tuesday/Thursday tutoring job (thanks Emily!). I tutor this young lady who works for Carrier Corp (the A/C company). She’s a total workaholic: she puts in like 12 hours a day, plus training and other studious activities on the weekends. Anyway, she’s all about China’s growing economy– even at the expense of the environment, worker’s rights, human rights, etc. Yeah, so needless to say, she’s a little on the conservative side. But that’s one of the greatest challenges with teaching: you have to figure out how to mold the minds of your pupils. Ha, ha, ha, ha. Okay, so I’m not that cunning. Teaching is great. I’m glad to be back into it.

Oh, I forgot to mention my other small victories. Yesterday, I picked up some pants I dropped off at a nearby tailor’s. I’m definitely very clueless about fabrics and clothing (in terms of how they are made), but the stuff I got back fit beautifully. Yes, leave it to me to purchase very inexpensive pants that don’t exactly (or even closely) fit. Yeah well I get the last laugh because thanks to my magical tailor, now my cheap pants look more expensive. 🙂

For some reason, my bike is always getting knocked over. John says someone has a grudge against me. His bike (parked right next to mine) is NEVER knocked over. After John left on Monday, I went to ride to re-orient myself (now that my navigator has left). My front brakes wouldn’t release. Riding my bike became ten times as difficult with the friction from the brake! I went to a roadside bike repairperson who suggested that I got into an accident and got the brakes all out of whack. There’s been no accident, I told him. I’ve simply been the victim of bike abuse. It took the guy about 25 minutes to finally fix the problem. And it’s only a temporary fix. The brake is damaged. It’s only a matter of time before a replacement will be needed. Goddamn cheap bike. He pumped my tires up (they need air every few days!) and off I went. Happy as a clam, speeding through the crowds and ringing that wussy bell. I even discovered a shortcut to the light rail station. John will be proud.

There’s a Chinese story about a couple where the husband did all the cooking. One day, he was scheduled to leave town for a few weeks on business. Worried that his wife would not make food for herself, he baked a large doughnut to place around her neck. He made sure it was large enough to last his entire time away. When he returned, he discovered his wife dead. The doughnut had been eaten, but only on one side. She never thought to twist the doughnut around to get the other half.

John’s heading back to the US to work for a few weeks. He keeps bringing up the Doughnut story (as if I can’t fend for myself!). Yes, I’m a terrible cook, but that’s no reason to fear that I’ll starve being home alone! Just in case, John ordered a ton of groceries–mac & cheese, pasta, spagetti sauce, bread, PB, etc. So now I have my own doughnut. I’ll remember to twist it around after I devour the front.

My friend Emily invited John and me to her friend Rebecca’s house for dinner Friday night. Apparently, Rebecca has a really kick-ass ayi (cook/maid) who makes outrageously delicious meals. I had to see what all the fuss was about. Unfortunately, John baled out last minute to work. Boy did he miss a meal to remember! Mashed potatoes (clearly not a Chinese dish), lo mein, lotus patties, white bean soup, green veggies (some kind of sprout), tofu with tomatoes… every dish phenomenal. And the rate for such a luxury? 10 yuan per hour. That’s about $1.20 USD per HOUR. My friends here say there’s no reason to ever do housework again. As tempting as that sounds, I’m still a little reluctant to give in. Not sure what my hangup is… I guess I just feel like you should clean up your own mess. Plus, I kind of have this obsession with vacuuming. There’s just something very fulfilling about hearing the dirt rattle through the vacuum hose and seeing the before and after. Yes, I’m a little crazy. I’m sure all of you heard the story (from John) about how I opted for a new vacuum instead of a new tv when I moved to Florida for grad school.

I saw an ad the other day for an ayi cooking class. I suggested that John go and check it out. 🙂 Obviously, I don’t consider him my ayi. It’s just that he said he wanted to learn Chinese cooking so this seemed like a new opportunity. They said the class was taught in both Chinese and English. I think instead, John and I will consider finding an ayi to show us how to cook Chinese food. There are plenty of lessons to learn with picking out fresh ingredients and throwing them together to make something wonderful. We’ll see. My friends say good ayis are tough to come by.

John turned the big 2-8 today. An old man, though I must admit, we became an old married couple years before he became an old man. 🙂

We had a busy day. With the recent purchase of a new blender/juicer, John was on a mission to purchase fruits/veggies “from their source.” It wasn’t enough that we lived right down the street from an open-air produce market. He claimed those vendors were middle-people, who unnecessarily came between him and his produce. So what, he wanted to buy direct from the farmers, some of whom lived in the Phillipines or the US or whereever the goods were grown? I dunno–it was all rather unclear. He just knew he wanted to slice through the layers, so fine. We walked about 20 minutes south to a big warehouse, filled with vendors and their endless cases of fruit: oranges, apples, mangoes, pears, pummelos, strawberries, dates, tangerines, cherry tomatoes… It was weird. I felt like we should have been entrepreneurs running a restaurant or juice joint. Many of the vendors said the goods sold only by the case. Of course when it came down to the sale, they were more than willing to calculate by weight. We went home with a case of Sunkist navel oranges, mangoes, and Phillipino pears. Cheaper than the open market and so sweet and delicious! John and I are psyched about this latest find–the fruit and veggies are comparable to even those of California! Come visit and we’ll take you on the fruit safari.

For his birthday, John got to satisfy his hamburger craving– twice. Once at brunch and then again at dinner, where we shamefully went to TGI Friday’s. I know, we hated that place in the US, but someone (she’ll remain nameless) told us they had the best burgers. Well, big disappointment. The entire meal was expensive and just disgusting. I don’t know what we were thinking. Afterwards, we walked to the ritzy Xintiandi where this band called Crystal Butterfly was going to play covers of U2, the Cure, and Radiohead at the ARK (one of the restaurants). One horrendous Bloody Mary (I never learn) and Long Island Iced Tea later, the band got started… with some boy-band tune. Ok, so an odd beginning for an alternative rock band, but surely the good stuff would come later. Wrong. Next, we were subjected to a Japanese boyband song and then “Celebration.” Clearly, this was NOT Crystal Butterfly. According to my waiter, this band was Fax. My sources were all wrong. Crystal Butterfly hasn’t played there every Tuesday night (as my mag suggested) for a long time. ARGH!! We left. Hoping to find consolation in ice cream, we dropped in a sweets shop. Bombed again. Mediocre ice cream and a flavorless, gross ice cream/coffee drink. We decided to plug the money pit immediately. Caught a cab and headed home. Next time, I’ll call to confirm that Crystal Butterfly is playing. Of course, I’ll drop the expectations. After all, what kind of band would be dumb enough to perform covers of songs from such greats as U2 and the Cure?

John turned the big 2-8 today. An old man, though I must admit, we became an old married couple years before he became an old man. 🙂

We had a busy day. With the recent purchase of a new blender/juicer, John was on a mission to purchase fruits/veggies “from their source.” It wasn’t enough that we lived right down the street from an open-air produce market. He claimed those vendors were middle-people, who unnecessarily came between him and his produce. So what, he wanted to buy direct from the farmers, some of whom lived in the Phillipines or the US or whereever the goods were grown? I dunno–it was all rather unclear. He just knew he wanted to slice through the layers, so fine. We walked about 20 minutes south to a big warehouse, filled with vendors and their endless cases of fruit: oranges, apples, mangoes, pears, pummelos, strawberries, dates, tangerines, cherry tomatoes… It was weird. I felt like we should have been entrepreneurs running a restaurant or juice joint. Many of the vendors said the goods sold only by the case. Of course when it came down to the sale, they were more than willing to calculate by weight. We went home with a case of Sunkist navel oranges, mangoes, and Phillipino pears. Cheaper than the open market and so sweet and delicious! John and I are psyched about this latest find–the fruit and veggies are comparable to even those of California! Come visit and we’ll take you on the fruit safari.

For his birthday, John got to satisfy his hamburger craving– twice. Once at brunch and then again at dinner, where we shamefully went to TGI Friday’s. I know, we hated that place in the US, but someone (she’ll remain nameless) told us they had the best burgers. Well, big disappointment. The entire meal was expensive and just disgusting. I don’t know what we were thinking. Afterwards, we walked to the ritzy Xintiandi where this band called Crystal Butterfly was going to play covers of U2, the Cure, and Radiohead at the ARK (one of the restaurants). One horrendous Bloody Mary (I never learn) and Long Island Iced Tea later, the band got started… with some boy-band tune. Ok, so an odd beginning for an alternative rock band, but surely the good stuff would come later. Wrong. Next, we were subjected to a Japanese boyband song and then “Celebration.” Clearly, this was NOT Crystal Butterfly. According to my waiter, this band was Fax. My sources were all wrong. Crystal Butterfly hasn’t played there every Tuesday night (as my mag suggested) for a long time. ARGH!! We left. Hoping to find consolation in ice cream, we dropped in a sweets shop. Bombed again. Mediocre ice cream and a flavorless, gross ice cream/coffee drink. We decided to plug the money pit immediately. Caught a cab and headed home. Next time, I’ll call to confirm that Crystal Butterfly is playing. Of course, I’ll drop the expectations. After all, what kind of band would be dumb enough to perform covers of songs from such greats as U2 and the Cure?

We thought we were outta the woods. We thought wrong. Big time. These last several days, we’ve seen nothing but wind, rain, and cold. So even though the dogs want to stay outside forever in their new playground, John and I cut their freedom short. It’s that damn cold. And I lost my hat again. The second one I’ve lost. I think I need one with strings to tie to my body. Otherwise, they just disappear. The last thing I remember is taking it off and holding it in my hand. I tried to search for another at the store, but they’ve already shifted their merchandise to spring stuff (baseball caps and such).

My uncle took us out to lunch yesterday at the swanky Dynasty restaurant. Of course anytime we eat out Chinese with people who know what to order, the meal turns out to be a real winner. We had several hot veggie appetizers followed by fish, shrimp, crab, noodles and a buffet of fresh fruit and coffee (but you had to elbow your way to the table). Excellent meal. I kept the receipt itemizing each dish for future visits. We’re in on the secret now…

In the evening, John and I went to Carrefour to buy the place out–again. This new apartment didn’t offer the luxury of an equipped kitchen (as the previous apartment did), so we were forced to purchase a rice cooker, pots/pans, bowls, etc. But no worries. No elaborate sets (like we had in the US). Just exactly two bowls, two plates… you get the picture. Well okay, we did get that blender/juicer combo (for only $30 USD)… we just couldn’t pass up on the idea of drinking fruit smoothies every day, especially with the fruit/veggie open-air market down the street. It’s John’s birthday tomorrow… just give in, ok?

We went out bowling tonight with my friends Anqian, Emily, and Zack. We went to a locals’ joint called Sakura. John and I went bowling several weeks ago with Wang Jian and Ya-Ya near their home in Hankou district. I really suck at this sport, but it’s so much fun. We showed pretty good improvement last night compared to before. But John and I are going to start bowling on our own so we can practice our game!

The cool thing about places in Shanghai… there’s no open container laws. Not that such regs apply to nondrinkers like me, but it’s good news for John and others. After bowling, we headed to a 24-hour place called Bi Feng Tang. John felt a new kind of liberation, chugging his beer in public. BFT was cool… we sat in these makeshift outdoor rooms, covered from the rain by a patio umbrella and sheltered from the wind with shower curtains. Sounds dingier than they looked actually. Plus there was a little fan heater by the table… it was so nice and toasty. I’ts been awhile since John and I have hung out late with other people. It was a good time. We hope to throw a party at our new place in a few weeks. Maybe even break out the boardgames (yes, I brought Taboo and Cranium to China)!

Less than a week ago, John and I started looking at apartments again. You see, our lease requires three months’ notice. So, since the lease ends in June, we’re supposed to give notice in March on whether we’ll want to renew or leave in June. Well after seeing a bunch of places nearby, we came across THE place. A new community with serious grassy area, a huge patio, cathedral ceilings, an awesome floorplan, a water heater for the bathroom (scalding hot showers!!), and UNFILTERED internet (I can access Washpost and NY Times!). At first we were really bummed because the place was available immediately, but we couldn’t move in until June… But in China, anything can happen. Our realtor, seeing how much we loved the place, started putting the wheels in motion. Three days later, they said they could get us out of our current lease for a nominal penalty, they got the new place to come down in rent by almost 10 percent, AND they would halve their commission. So needless to say, we bit on the offer. By week’s end, we had packed up all our stuff, ended the old lease, signed a new lease, processed our address change, and moved in.

And there are no regrets. Our new place rocks!! And it’s even a little cheaper than the other. The dogs are already reversing their slow path towards retardation… it’s wonderful here. Someone please come visit just so we can have witnesses! 🙂 And down the street, we discovered an open-air produce market. So fresh and cheap. Now we just need to work on learning to cook Chinese food!

In other news, I did a week of teaching earlier this month. Was fun to get back into things… but the experience made me decide to start my own tutoring/freelance writing business. I got a bite last week… a petrochemical company called and asked me to do corporate business English training. So now I’m doing research to put together a course outline and proposal. It’s so much work– I’ve already spent like 5 hours in the bookstore looking for a coursebook, but I’m very excited. I like the sound of working for myself. 🙂 John’s been helping me design my business cards and brochures. Wish me luck!

John and I just celebrated our 8th Valentines Day! I must admit, after so many years together, birthdays and holidays just don’t offer the same level of excitement. I think we’re just getting old! 🙂 But we still had a great day. The weather was beautiful, so we took our new bikes out for a spin. The way we rode those things… you’d think we’d never been on a bike before! Of course we had Giant and Trek bikes in the States– rode them all about 4 times. Blame it on the hills of Virginia, okay? In Shanghai, it’s a whole new sport. The land here is so flat, riding bikes is almost as easy as breathing! Okay, not really that easy but still, not strenuous in the least and that is key for non-athletes such as ourselves.

We also get a big thrill from the dangers of biking. Here you have to basically fend for your life– against taxis, psycho drivers, not to mention oblivious pedestrians, obnoxious scooterists and other cyclists. John and I are all about riding fast. We book it full speed ahead (as fast as our single-speeds can carry us), weaving in and out, ringing our little thumb bells nonstop. Outta our way, we’re coming through! Being maniacal bikers is a total blast!

After an afternoon of tearing through town, we stopped at Simply Thai for dinner. After a series of disappointing misses at the local restaurants, we were pleasantly surprised. Despite having his mouth on fire, John was very pleased with his Thai spicy beef salad and coconut curried duck. Thank goodness– one less McD’s dinner. 🙂

My grandmother in Taiwan passed away today. Earlier in the week, my family had moved her out of the hospital into a Buddist temple to live out her final days. I’m not familiar with the traditions in Taiwan, but according to my brother, family members went to the temple daily to pray. They say she passed away looking content and at peace.
Death, no matter how expected, remains a difficult event. But what I learned from this final visit is that love truly grows around good people. You show compassion and humanity towards others and more often than not, you receive a lifetime of love, friendship, and respect. So many people came out of the woodwork to see my grandmother when she fell ill. Even though she wasn’t some VIP or famous individual, my grandmother had clearly touched the lives of so many. And kudos to my grandfather… for over a year, he was her caretaker–giving her baths, cooking her meals, feeding her, dressing her. When she was hospitalized, he endured a 90-minute each-way commute, complete with two bus transfers, to see her every day. Most of the time, she was unconscious, but it didn’t matter. Nothing could stop him from loving her. Not lack of personal transportation, poor eyesight, fragile bones, a chronic cold, or his own old age (85 years).