A Fort Wayne native's adventures in China
It was actually pretty good yesterday. Technology held up, got through stuff from the units, yada, yada, yada. Had pizza for dinner, ordered from Eleme. I finally broke down and ordered from Eleme (food delivery service) for the first time in YEARS last week, when I had a craving for pizza, but not enough to go out in cold weather for it. I felt like a lazy pig, but damn, that pizza was good.
And today’s pizza was good too.
Spent the evening grading papers. I’m almost done.
Depressing when you spend nearly $7 for Granny Smith apples and you slice one open and you see this.
Baopals is just like Taobao, but in English. I’ve had a hankering for American snacks, so I broke down and bought some caramel pretzels from MiniSo. Of course, they don’t come in the American size. We’re talking a bag containing three “snack-size” packages of pretzels.
They were good, but of course they weren’t enough.
Baopals to the rescue. I really wanted some decent cheese popcorn, so I bought some Cretors Chicago Mix. I’d rather have just the cheddar, but the caramel popcorn thrown in is a nice touch too. I got a notice from Baopals that it might take a while to come.
Or maybe I read the wrong thing. Because I got a text saying my orders came in. They included Campbell’s tomato soup, crackers, cocktail sauce, and (insert heavenly choir here) THE CHEDDAR CHEESE POPCORN!
I was very pleased and having two jumbo bags of cheddar cheese and caramel popcorn
Relax. Visiting a hospital in China doesn’t mean automatic bankruptcy. But of course, being an American, any time I have to visit a hospital, my heart rate jumps a bit.
In China, doctors don’t have the status U.S. physicians do. They also don’t have the same pay. But they do hang out at the hospital. None of these “Minute Clinics” or “RediMed” here.
The reason for the visit was because I swore I saw blood in my urine. I’d been feeling really tired for months now, but my blood sugar has been fine and I’ve been exercising on a daily basis. It could be just general depression, but whatever. I’ve been downing vitamins and B-12.
But I felt for a couple weeks, my urine looked… off. So I contacted a couple of colleagues who made a hospital appointment. Luckily it was my day off.
In China, you prepay when you visit a hospital. No, you really don’t know how much it’s going to cost. But you get a card; looks like an ordinary bank card, at the hospital. You stick it into what looks like an ATM, and put money on the card. I think they base it on what you are coming to the hospital for.
We started off at the gynecology department first. It’s not really related to urology, but I passed if they asked if I wanted an exam. My hysterectomy took everything out a while back, so I don’t have anything to worry about there. I felt I just needed a urinalysis to see if I had anything to worry about.
Turns out I didn’t. Everything was fine.
I got paid a few days ago, so today, I spent close to four hours at the bank waiting for them to do a wire transfer home.
I had to go home and get my old passport, because I showed up at the bank without it, and of course, I ended up needing it. The last time I was there a month ago, I didn’t need the old passport.
But not today. I thought about taking it, but of course I didn’t. So I went back home and retrieved it, then went back to the bank and sat, and sat, and sat.
Then to top it off, after everything was done, I wanted to transfer some momey from the account where they put my paycheck, to the account hooked up to my WeChat account.
See in China, they won’t accomodate YOU, you have to accomodate the bank/employer. So if your employer does their banking at ICBC, you have to get an account there. They won’t deposit your check into China Construction Bank. Or any other bank account you may have. Thankfully, I have five bank accounts and never did get around to closing my ICBC account.
But ICBC is where I keep my “emergency” fund. So my paycheck gets deposited into the “emergency fund” then, I transfer some money out from that account (leaving at least 1,,000 RMB in there each payday to build my emergency fund. Then I transfer it to the account that I use for regular everyday spending. It’s a bad idea to have your emergency fund connected to your regular spending account.
However, the folks at ICBC are suspicious that I transfer a good chunk of money into my China Merchants Bank account that is hooked up to my WeChat.
And today, it took even longer than last time to wire money home, which is a good thing I did this on a day that I didn’t have to work. However, doing this cut a huge chunk into my day, and I was tired when I finally got home. I have plenty of papers to grade but I concentrated on getting prepped for tomorrow. The grading can wait.
But it did kind of piss me off. I feel like I am under suspicion every time I wire money home. It even makes me madder that I’m wiring less than $1000 home, because that’s all I can afford. It’s not like I’m doing something illegal. I’m just transferring part of the VERY small paycheck I get back home to cover the bills I have there.
But now you know I spent my Tuesday afternoon.
And to make matters worse, the ATM ate my card. I had to bang on the door to let staff know my card got swallowed. UGH!
A wedding carriage. Young girls stayed in the room until about age 13, when they were married off. This is what they rode in. I was told these girls basically stayed in these rooms until they got married.
Temple at Huang Zuobin’s house. The furniture you see is from a tree that was 300 years old at the time the furniture was made. The wood is 500 years old.
Pottery room.
One of several little courtyards at Huang Zuobin’s house.
I joined the teacher’s union, and they sponsor trips every so often. They gave me a 1545 yuan grocery card, which is about $266. I stocked up on beef, chicken, personal care products and cleaning supplies.
Yesterday, I went on a trip. And that’s part of the reason why I didn’t post anything yesterday. I was beyond tired when we returned. I think I slept for a few minutes on the bus ride back, but when I got home, even though I had lots of papers to grade, I decided to put them off and sleep. And jeez, I certainly did. I think I made it home by 3:20 p.m. or so, and I continued sleeping until the next morning. Yes, I woke up a few times to pee, but it was right back to sleep for me.
I was shocked at how much I slept. But I’m not a morning person. And going to bed late and waking up early is not a good idea, especially for me. But I like these occasional trips. It was a relatively free way (aside from my union dues) to see a different town and to have a good lunch.
Yesterday’s trip took us to a house that was owned by some guy in pharmaceuticals. Huang Zuobin was his name. The house is huge, and big enough to get lost in. Took him 28 YEARS to build. The house is in Minquing County. The house was hit by Typhoon Nepartak and flooded. It took three years, but they restored it.
A bit of history about Huang Zuobin’s house.
A scale model of what the complex looks like.
These thresholds were kind of high. I’ve seen them before, in temples. I’m not sure if they are to ward off vermin, flooding, or what.
A nice little pond in one of the courtyards.
I love going on these trips. After this, we were treated to a delicious lunch in town, which had the food already on the table for us. I tried bamboo shoots (they looked like thin slices of beef) and also yam beans, also known as jicama. I’d heard of this vegetable, but hadn’t had it until now. It sort of has the texture of a pear, but none of the sweetness. It has a very fresh taste, sort of like alfalfa sprouts, but a lot milder.
Then we got to walk around for a while, and one street were really interesting. It was a combination of commerce and living quarters. The windows were decorated with flowers. It was a pedestrian street, and I imagine it would be very pleasant to live above the shops.
I thought this looked both peaceful as well as trendy. The pedestrian street had a variety of shops as well.
After we walked through the street, we made our way back to the bus and went home. The pedestrian street also had a small museum as well.
A raincoat!
The pedestrian street also had a little museum highlighting stuff made in the area, like pottery. There is also a man from the area who became a kick-ass doctor. Wu Mengchao was his name, and he is the founder of liver and gallbladder surgery in China. He also was a trailblazer in international liver cancer research.
Wu Mengchao!
So it was a nice trip, and also nice to ride in a bus and let someone else do the driving. I love traveling by bus and by train here in China. Because I can take a nap any time I want, and also check out the scenery. Lots of mountains here, which is a novelty for this Indiana girl!
Continued thanks to those who read my blog. Check me out on Medium.com. My handle is Gloriajanelldiaz7.
Gaaaah! Late again! VPN isn’t cooperating. Sorry.
I watched Jerry Maguire again the other night and the fact the movie centers around Tom Cruise, Cuba Gooding Jr., and Renee Zellweger, I still don’t believe the Arizona Cardinals are real.
I’d never heard of them before the movie came out in what? 1996? Yeah, 1996. I thought the team had been made up for movie purposes. But no, it’s an actual real team.
How it it I’d never heard of them? Were/Are they really that bad? Our family has always rooted for Green Bay. Of course I knew the Chicago Bears, and Detroit Lions, because before I moved, I was literally just a few hours’ drive time from the former two cities. But Arizona???
I STILL think they’re fictional, but I guess they’ve been around since 1898.
But those are just one of my super stubborn, “I know I’m wrong about this” thoughts that I just can’t give up. I KNOW the Arizona Cardinals are an actual NFL team.
But I still don’t believe it.
I woke up this morning with the worst headache I’ve had in a long time. I get headaches in China, usually right before it’s going to rain. But this was a right behind my right eye, stomach-churning pain that had me wondering if this was a pre-flu trailer.
I took some Walmart Acetominophen, and went back to sleep. I had a mid-afternoon class today, so thankfully I could do that. The pain lessened, so I went to class. But I decided to stay home tonight and get some extra rest. That really helps me if I think I’m coming down with something.
There’s a drama presentation I want to go to tomorrow, so I might spend the majority of the day just hanging around home. Sunday, there’s a day trip I agreed to go on. I really like going on these trips. They sponsored a weekend in Foshan when I was teaching in Guangzhou, and that was really nice. It’s a way to see other Chinese cities for free or next to nothing.
But to have a headache like the one I had this morning was kind of scary. I just looked out the window and the pavement is still dry. So no rain… yet.
It’s been very busy here, and I can’t even look forward to the weekend to relax.
But it isn’t normally like this. It’s just a convergence of stuff to do. Grading, prepping, starting a new Chinese class, English corner two times a week, a drama presentation Saturday night and a full day trip on Sunday.
The day trips sponsored by the school I look forward to, because they’ve been good. It’s a good way to see another Chinese city without the travel costs. As someone pointed out to me, traveling in China is very cheap. Yes, but it isn’t FREE. And if you’re trying to save money, and you make less than $9.50 an hour, maybe you can feel my pain. Apparently lots of people are just rolling in money and can travel all over China. Not me. I’m fucking poor. No matter what I do, nothing gets better.
The drama presentation last year was good, and related to one of the trips I took. I enjoyed the trip so much, I went back this summer to explore more, and I’m glad I did. There was just so much more to the place than I realized.
I don’t think I’ll ever get fluent in Chinese, but whatever.
I’m grateful to whoever is reading. My stats went up in a big way a couple weeks ago. As I’ve told a couple of people, I’d love to say I’m doing spectacularly well, but I’m not. As it is, I just seem to be a cautionary tale.
Lately my blog has been getting way more traffic than usual. I’m not sure why, but thanks! And if you really like my musings about life in China, spread the world!
So last night I had really bad insomnia, even though I took a Unisom, split in half. And when I woke up this morning, it was overcast. And after my last class today, there was just the lightest of sprinkles.
But I made it through both classes today.
For some reason though, my computer would not hook up to the wifi. It’s annoying, because I have everything here on my laptop that I want/need for class. I usually use Kahoot to review for quizzes. But I could only go online through the classroom computer, which of course, is entirely in Chinese. Also, I had to have students log in to the computer for me, because of course, my credentials didn’t work.
But Kahoot thankfully does NOT require a VPN. So I was able to sign in and do the review online.
And I put up another shelf. I saved for several months to get shelving. I rigged up something that is unusual, to say the least, but my initial purchase of used wardrobe doors and plastic waste basket/buckets meant I could create shelving at a dirt cheap price, even for Ikea. No drilling into the walls, none of that.
Of course, I need to be careful where I put stuff. I need three waste buckets per shelf, and to center most of the heavy stuff over the buckets, which seem pretty tough.
I couldn’t find boxes that worked. I thought I did a few weeks ago, but it turns out not. But Ikea is selling packing boxes, so rolling my eyes, I picked up a few. I’ll have to cut them down, but whatever. I have white drawing paper on a roll, so I can wrap the boxes up, and not have them be so brown and moving-ish. When you’re poor, you have to work with what you can afford, or already have.
Even so, the shelves look way better than having sagging, more than a year old moving boxes to keep the stuff I want handy nearby. When I went to Ikea last week, they had a lot more doors. I didn’t want to spend the money, but when next paycheck rolls around, I might snag a couple more for my spare room. There’s hardly any floor space in there, so walking is a hazard. And I can plunk the boxes of craft/clothes/handbags/office supplies on shelving and maybe turn the floor space into a yoga area.
It also makes me realize I have way too much stuff. But it never fails–whenever I throw something away, just weeks later, I need it.
Pics to follow soon about my transformed living room. I’m pretty sure I took a before shot of my saggy-ass moving boxes. Now to take pics of what it looks like, which is better.
I got done what I needed to get done for tomorrow. Plus, I don’t have to get up too early, so that’s another good thing. Went for a walk today. And that’s really all I’ve got done.
It’s finally cooled off, which is very nice. I’m not dripping sweat five minutes after I leave the apartment. It means I can wear makeup again, and maybe style my hair, because I’m not sweating buckets.
And my hair is finally long enough for a ponytail. A small ponytail, but a ponytail nonetheless. I made a huge mistake getting my hair cut in January. It seems like no matter how I style it, it always looks the same. Like a poodle. A puffy afro. Or, as my mother would say, “a bubble bob.”
When I first got my hair cut, it didn’t look the way I wanted at all. So I spent about $40 on hair crap to see if I could make it look right. If it looked right at home, it didn’t a half hour after I went out the door. The stylist said I would look elegant. I just ended up looking like a fat lesbian. Which would be fine if I WERE a fat lesbian, instead, I’m just fat.
And I’m convinced I have a fat liver and cortisol problems. I feel like I don’t eat very much, but I haven’t lost any more weight. I’m down to maybe one meal a day and a snack. I usually try to start the day with fruit, but some days I’m just not hungry, so I end up eating lunch for breakfast.
But the idea of eating nothing but meat for days/months on end sounds disgusting. I like meat, but I think I’d like it better if I could eat the kind and quality of meat that I wanted to. That won’t be happening in China. And even so, I like my veggies. I like tomatoes with my bacon, and yes, I KNOW that tomatoes are technically fruit. II like artisan lettuce with my chicken. I’ve replicated the Wendy’s Apple Pecan Salad here in China, and it is WONDERFUL. I need to make that again, because that sounds really good right now.
I slept super late today. For some reason, it’s taking me a very long time to get started when I don’t have any particular time or reason to get up.
But I got some prepping done today. Not all of it, but a good start on it. I am back down to five classes, so I’m going to have a little more time to do stuff. Which is good.
I went for a walk tonight. Still no Campus Kitten. I think I’ll never see her again, which is sad. I hope she has a good life. I am glad that I helped keep her alive for several weeks. It’s just hard not knowing. Her food bowl was gone again, but the water dish was still there. Weird.
It’s cooled off so it was very pleasant to walk. But the melancholy remains.
October 25 my stats on here exploded. I can’t figure it out. For years, I have like 10 views a day, if I’m lucky. This past week, I had hundreds of views. Not sure why. Doesn’t matter what I post, or my tags or whatever. But this week, it was huge. Whatever it is, thank you for reading.
Stopped by and called and she didn’t come.
I hope she has a good home.
So I haven’t seen Campus Kitten in days. The last time I saw her was Sunday, I think. Monday, one of the vertical bars was out of its hole, making an eight-inch opening in the fence. She’s so small, she didn’t need that space, but I’m wondering if someone raised the vertica bar, reached in and grabbed her.
I got her used to being petted and her back scratched, so a friendly enough person could have grabbed her.
When I went by there today, it was three times. I put food and water down for her, and I brought bowls. Two of the bowls were out of reach, so it’s a good thing I brought new bowls. I called for her, but nothing. On my way back I stopped by, and called for her, and nothing. I stopped back again tonight, and nothing. Her water bowl was still there, and two of the bowls I couldn’t reach were there, but her food dish was gone.
I feel guilty. I thought about adopting her, but years ago when my dog died, I vowed never to adopt another animal unless I had the money to properly care for it. My dog died before I could get her to the vet, but maybe it would have happened anyway. She was over 17 years old. But I still felt guilty. I hated being so poor. I struggle and struggle and struggle, and I mean STRUGGLE. And I’m still struggling and wondering if this is going to be my life. It HAS been my life and I’m fucking tired of it.
I came here to China to earn and save money so I could buy out my brother’s share of the house. I hardly have any money saved. I feel like a fucking failure. And so that’s why I’ve not gotten any pets. Right now, based on a 40-hour work week, I make less than $9.50 an hour after taxes.
So yeah, not feeling very happy right now. Sometimes I feel I don’t deserve a happy life.
Or a pet.
It’s ironic, I worried and worried how to bring a cat back. I looked up carriers online, looked up airlines to see which ones were pet-friendly, and it looks like I worried and worried for nothing.
I don’t know what kind of money I will have when I have to leave. There’s some sort of pension that I pay into, but I don’t think I’ll be working long enough to get it. Supposedly, when I leave China, I’ll get that money. But I worry that something got fucked up and I won’t get anything back.
And the amount I save per month seems miniscule. It’s funny–people ask me if I go to the canteen to eat, but I refuse. If I have to pay anything, it’s not free. And people say, “well, it’s 12 yuan, it’s basically nothing.” True, but 12 yuan is NOT the same as free. And if I don’t like the food, it’s a waste of money. And if there’s a ton of leftovers and no way to get it home, that’s wasting food.
And I really don’t feel like eating at noon. But you know things aren’t great when you purposely skip lunch, or take a couple handfuls of blueberries for your lunch because A. You’re more tired than hungry, and B. gotta save that money.
So I hope Campus Kitten has a good home. I’m glad I was able to keep her alive for a few weeks. I saw her once with her mom, but I guess mom wasn’t too helpful in getting her food. I remember how much Campus Kitten cried when I first encountered her.
She’s still thin, but at least she wasn’t crying anymore.
It took nearly three hours at the bank yesterday. Since I don’t have class on Friday until 2, you can bet your ass I don’t get up until I absolutely have to. But insomnia, coupled with having to get up and get to the bank by 8:30 a.m., meant I was tired. I was so tired, I fell asleep at the bank.
Then I had lunch at McDonald’s and went over to the campus in the mountains. I wasn’t early enough to do any work, but that was okay.
Then, I went to the English corner. That was two nights in a row. They didn’t invite me to this one because they felt that English corner two nights a week was too much. But it’s in my contract, so I went. It was a lot of fun. I just sat and talked to students from our school.
So when I got home last night, I didn’t want to do a damn thing.
So I went to bed. Slept super late like always, then I went to feed Campus Kitten. She’s letting me touch her now. She’s still thin and really hungry.
Some people from English corner were talking about going to the fried rice place I raved about, but we didn’t go today. We might go tomorrow, and I hope we do.
And I did get some papers graded, but not all of them.
Instead of rice, I had pasted and cheese garlic bread made from home baked bread. And it’s a beautiful night weatherwise. Today was one of those good days.
And the dinner was cancelled because one of the students had a last-minute rehearsal call. But he brought me snacks. He didn’t have to do that. I was very surprised he bought them and then delivered them to my apartment complex. I already dug into the peanuts, which were good. He also brought a piece of tiramisu, and cashews and a bag of sweet and salty snacks, and some chocolate milk. I love chocolate milk and haven’t had it for a long time. It was really nice of him to do that.
A very good day, indeed.
I’m still posting every day.
I made it to her usual waiting place for me around 4:30 p.m. She wasn’t yowling like she was when I first saw her, but she sounded somewhat desperate.
I talked to someone yesterday via WeChat about how much it would cost to transport her home, should I adopt her. I told the pet travel agent the kitten’s story, and she had all sorts of suggestions of how to catch her even though I can’t get onto campus.
I still have to earn her trust though. She’s let me pet her, but it’s not like she CRAVES to be petted. She won’t eat out of my hand yet. I’m scattering bits of food along the bottom bricks of the fence. Maybe someday she’ll climb up and sit there while I pet her.
Next I have to see if there are any good cat boarding places nearby, just in case.
I’m torn. I worry about her, but do I want the responsibilty? I feel like I failed with Daphne. I fostered Summit with a good friend and total animal lover, so she was in good hands. But I felt guilty about leaving Summit. I hope she forgives me. Her health deteriorated, and she was put down about a year and a half ago. She wasn’t the most affectionate cat, but I found her too, and felt bad for her, being so tiny and seemingly alone in the world, eyes sealed shut because of a grass allergy. I took her home, fed her Iams for a year, and she lived for 15 years.
But I still felt I said goodbye in less than ideal circumstances. Getting her into her carrier wasn’t pleasant, and she was probably wondering what the hell was going on. But better than leaving her at the shelter, or with a total stranger.
Didn’t really get to sleep until past 8 this morning. Fortunately, I didn’t have to go to class until 2. So I got a little sleep. I performed pretty well for being so sleep deprived. I bought some melatonin. The Unisom won’t be here until another few weeks.
And I checked my blood sugar this morning. Perfect as can be. WTF?
I had a really great supper. Pepper steak over white rice was good. I woke up this morning with a weird stomach. I found the mint gum I bought the other day and chewed some of that. But it always makes me wonder when I wake up with a bad stomach what caused it.
So I actually had two meals today. Having mint tea for dessert to hopefully ward off the stomach pains.
I certainly slept deep last night. I never know what sort of sleep I’m going to get anymore. It was hard to get out of bed, but I did it. Had to teach yesterday because of the makeup day situation. I had one of my classes write about how they felt about having a long vacation, but having to come in the weekend before for one day, and then come in for a weekend after for one day. Nobody seems to like it. They don’t like having their plans disrupted, and it throws them off schedule.
Because of this, I have them play Scrabble. This Saturday class I had I had them write dialogue using the words they made during the Scrabble game. It’s an oral English class after all.
Maybe I’m upset about Diane Keaton. I only really knew her from The Godfather and Annie Hall, but I always wonder if I should go, would I be satisfied with what I’d done? I’ve got a novel I want representation for, but I fear I’ll have to self-publish. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, because that IS an option, but somehow it feels like failure. I want to have a bit of money to promote it this time.
It could be I’ve come to terms with my life. Like some things will never, ever, change, and I’d better be okay with that or risk permanent unhappiness. And for every hour I indulge in something mindless, it also reminds me I’m nowhere near where I want to be, and time’s running out. It always has been running out, but if you run into never-ending setbacks, you wonder if you should still go on.
There are so many things I wish I had the courage to change, so many people I wish I would have stood up to and said, “fuck off!”
But I also realized standing up for myself doesn’t get me anywhere either, except the “quit or be fired speech.”
Goodnight, everybody.
I got paid a day early, which was nice. I was also able to save quite a bit this month so I wasn’t down to nothing before payday. I’m not sure how that happened, but after thinking it over, I have an idea.
I have several accounts I try to put money into each month. Plane ticket home, small emergency fund, real pearls, Ikea, Hong Kong, eyeglasses (the ones I bought a year ago broke) and editing for my novel. For the last three months, I’ve not contribued anything to any one of them, because in July I had a double whammy of blod tests and a broken computer.
So that’s how I ended up with a surplus this month, and it was very nice.
But I’m also behind on saving for these things.
I may try to switch phone providers as I pay waaaaay too much for as little as I use my American phone. Verizon knocked the monthly payments down, but it seems like they do it sporadically. So I may try Mint Mobile.
My American phone I use for minor texting, the occasionall call to the US and verification for some of my accounts. You try to log in, but they say they will send a verification code. You know how it works. So I feel like I can’t quit my American phone.
So we’ll see if I can switch to a cheaper provider. Because I swear, taking care of stuff at home costs more than running a house here.
I’m still sort of in my funk. I have food in my house, but the food bores me. So I’ve been eating out a bit too much recently. And I feel bad about that because I could have saved another $20-$30 in these last few days before payday. But I’m doing really well, considering. I still have more than $200 left and payday is Friday.
Today I went to Pizza Hut. The last time I went there, I had food poisoning, so it’s been a while. I am not sure if it really was food poisoning, or just way too much grease. I had an entire pepperoni pizza plus an order of French fries. I’ve been fine since then. So I just had pizza today.
I walked there and back, and it’s really nice to live so close to things like that. My neighborhood grocery store is going to close for remodeling. What was funny was there was a huge sign at the entrance saying something along the lines of “due to the immaturity and incompetency of the corporate management, we will be remodeling and training the store staff.” I wish I would have saved the sign’s translation. You usually don’t see corporations admitting their faults. But it means I need to find another location of Yong Hui so I can use my discount card. I think I still have nearly $70 left. I need to reorganize my freezer so I can stock up on chicken, salmon, and shrimp so I can have those ready to go so I won’t be tempted to eat out as much.
Finding good frozen pizza here is hard. I remember I think it was Tony’s Deep Dish Pizza I used to get when I lived back home. These pizzas were about five inches around, and were perfect for a very simple lunch. They came like five or six to a package. I’d LOVE to have something like that available. Young Hui had corn dogs available for a while, and I went MAD over those. They tasted just like home. And yes, not the most nutritious of entrees, but those plus tater tots were amazing.
I’ve only made pizza once here. It was okay, but I’d rather walk to Pizza Hut.
And one of my students informed me that Subway Sandwiches finally opened on campus. If I wanted Subway, I’d have to take a bus to Gulou district, stop off and get Lay’s chips at Ole, the fancy western food shop, then continue to Subway. The Subway’s in mainland China don’t sell chips, but the one in Hong Kong does. So if you want the usual experience, you have to make an extra trip for the chips, and I always do. But at least I can walk to Subway now, which will save me about 56 cents in car fare.
I wish I could get rid of this funk though. I am not sure what it is. But at least this month, I didn’t run out of cash. I had a surplus for a change. A small surplus, but that’s nice. Not sure how I managed it, but I hope I can keep this up for the next couple months so I have a little more breathing room by the fourth week of the month.
Occasionally I like making stuff by hand. I think it’s to prove I can do it. One of the first things I made here in China was a bolero, I think it’s called. I refer to it as a “shoulder shrug” but it’s one of those tops ballet dancers wear. They basically cover your shoulders, arms, and just a tiny part of your back. They’re handy in case you are wearing a sleeveless top and want to take something along in case you get cold. I had no idea what they were called, and I decided to make my own. I got a long-sleeved stretchy black top, cut it up the middle, and hemmed it. It was okay. Later, I found out what they were called, and bolero is the correct term, although a quick glance online had one of them referred to as a shrug. Or in German, a “schulterwarmer.”
I like miniatures. I’ve loved them for years, since my mom had that as a hobby as well. I bought a doll years ago for photography purposes so I could experiment with light. Anyway, I decided I’d make her a house out of a cardboard moving box. But I’m not sure what I got myself into. I decided to make her a stove/sink combo. I didn’t even know if there was such a thing, but there is. So I set to work.
I had some wood I’d ordered maybe two summers ago. Some of it was pre-cut, some wasn’t, so I got out the utility knife and started cutting. I also have sandpaper, so I sanded the edges down. I also cut out a sink hole. I collect pieces of plastic packaging, and found a perfect sink.
Front of the sink/stove combo, with oven on the right.
The plastic piece that is now a sink.
I tried to think of low-cost paint alternatives, and I went to MiniSo to see what they had by way of nail polish. I think I went to Sanfu as well to see what was there. MiniSo is a great little store that has something for everyone, sort of like a smaller version of KKV, which blew my mind the first time I looked around in the store.
Anyway, I picked up some black nail polish and some silver sparkly polish for the burners, the faucet, the handles on the cabinets and stove and broiler, and for the sink.
The metal things you put the pans on turned out to be the most time-consuming and complicated. I planned to use wire, but it wasn’t working out. So I used wooden Q-tip sticks painted silver. For the actual burner for where the flame would come out, I saved the snap-on lids from my lemon juice bottles. They also got the nail polish treatment. The metal pan holders have been glued on. But I’m not done yet. It’s looking pretty good, and when I feel it’s done, I’ll be posting a picture.
Had dinner with a friend then went on a walk. Campus Kitten made an early appearance today, further down from when I usually encounter her. I reminded her her food and water bowls were a bit down the fence, and she followed me to her usual feeding spot. I fed and watered her. A video will be coming so you can see her in action.
It’s a warm night here in Fuzhou. Clear skies, a nearly full moon, and 29 celsius which is 84 degrees F for all you Americans out there. I could only eat half my dinner which was 19 yuan ($2.66) so I used the baggie I packed to take the rest home. I bought some beef which I froze a couple of weeks ago, so I can cook that up and add it to the rest of my dinner. How often do you get two dinners out of something that’s only $2.66, including two little bottles of Coke?
Oh, lest you think I have it great (it’s pretty good though) what comes after nine days of vacation?
Payday.
Today I went early to see Campus Kitten, and lo and behold, she was there! I wanted to get something to eat and also get meds. So on my way, I stopped and fed and watered her. Because it was still light out, I was able to get some pictures of her.
This was the best one today. Tried to touch her again, but she wasn’t having it.
And when I came back, the bowl was almost empty. Looks like I will have to spend some of my 1545 yuan gift card on some more cat food!
I didn’t get to the campus last night. So when I showed up at the relatively early 8:45 p.m., Campus Kitten almost jumped the fence she was so happy to see me. She was crying, so I knew she was hungry. I filled her bowl, then reached out to her, and she let me touch her! It was just the tip of my middle finger, but I pulled back and let her eat. I also filled her water bowl.
The way the fence is built, it’s possible that very soon, she’ll be able to jump onto the low ledge and go in between the bars and be out on the sidewalk. Maybe she can do it already. But if not now, very, very soon.
After my walk, I came back around and put more food into the bowl.
I’ve seen small dogs at my complex, so I guess I could keep a cat if I wanted. But I really don’t have the money. I’m worried about vet bills, and eventually trying to get her home when I return. Or having to take her with me if I move again before coming home.
It was hard saying goodbye to Daphne, and hard to say goodbye to my cat. I honestly thought I would see Summit again, but it didn’t happen. And when Daphne was struggling, I said I wouldn’t have another pet unless I was positive I could take care of it.
Hoping things will turn out okay.
So a discovered a YouTube channel that does stereotypes of countries. They are done in a very funny way. The YouTube channel is called Well.
For smaller countries, they go by regions. Canada is sorted by province, and the United States is sorted by states.
I’ve been watching the Spanish stereotypes over and over. The animation style is kinda wacky, but it works. The heads and faces are done in good detail. The bodies are literally black spaghetti. Seriously.
I learned about Caga Tio, and the tradition in Catalan. I’d never heard of this and it’s pretty funny. You can get Caga Tio figures, and also Caganer figurines. I wondered if South Park’s Mr. Hankey was inspired by this, but it wasn’t. Apparently Trey Parker’s dad used to threaten him by saying Mr. Hankey would come out and eat Trey if he didn’t flush the toilet.
Anyway, Caga Tio is a Catalonian Christmas tradition in which a log has a face painted on the end. It is “fed” and on Christmas, little kids beat the log with sticks and other things and the log “poops” out candy and little trinkets.
There are also Caganer figurines in which the figures are squatting and pooping. I guess you can get well-known Spaniards squatting and pooping. And these figures wind up in the nativity sets. I never knew about this until a few days ago. What a hilariously disgusting Christmas tradition!
Oh, I put up another video, this time about Lemon Coke. Watch it here: https://youtu.be/c9kSNHmCybk
Campus Kitten made an appearance when I came by around 8 p.m. to check on food and water. Food bowl was empty, water bowl still had water in it, but I got fresh. Campus Kitten seemed a little weepy, so maybe he/she was hungry.
Had a good appetite when I filled the food bowl.
I haven’t seen Campus Kitten in a few days. I went by yesterday, and the bowl of food looked untouched, but it had been moved farther away from the fence than normal. I could barely reach it. The water bowl was gone. Fortunately, I had one with me so I refilled it.
Part of it is that I haven’t been coming by as late as I normally do. The freshmen have completed their military training, so I have three more classes to teach, bringing me to a total of six. However, I have about four more weeks of my argumentative class. They’ve split it up somehow, and I am only responsible for the first eight weeks. Once that is done, I’ll be back down to five classes and a bit more time off.
I hope Campus Kitten is okay. I will probably go by every couple days to see about food and water. There are lots of stray cats here in China, and there are people who will set food and water out for them. Also, it doesn’t get terribly cold here in the wintertime. Although living outside wouldn’t be ideal, it’s better here than suffering through a Beijing winter.
Still, if I never see Campus Kitten again, I’m hoping she grows up as healthy as she can for being an outdoor cat, and has a long and adventurous life. I asked if pets were allowed in our complex, because I hadn’t seen too many, but I saw a small dog being walked in the courtyard yesterday. So it’s possible I may cross paths and become Campus Kitten’s mom, but I really feel uncomfortable adopting a pet.
Pets are expensive. And after my beloved Daphne got sick and I was about to take her to the low-cost vet, she died in my arms before I could get her there. I felt really guilty about that. Then my kitty, Summit, was left with a foster mom because I couldn’t afford to take her with me. Summit developed health issues and had to be put down. I felt guilty about that too. She was probably scared and confused that I took her to an unfamiliar house that had lots of dogs and cats. She lived in the basement and came upstairs periodically, but I have to wonder what she was thinking.
To go from our quiet house after Daphne died, to an unfamiliar place. I knew it would be a good home, and it was, but I’ll always feel guilty.
So even though I could get Campus Kitten a good home, I don’t want to leave China without her.
So if she can make it on her own, that’s good.
Just wish I didn’t have to work tomorrow. But soon comes an eight-day vacation, so it’s all right.
Tastes so good!
Mid-Autumn Festival (and an eight-day vacation) is coming up and my teacher’s union gave me a gift card worth $216.30. This particular grocery store delivers, so I’m looking forward to that. The last time I had something delivered, it was from Ikea, my wardrobe doors that I bought for cheap to turn into shelving. I’m still waiting to scrape up enough cash for storage boxes, but I put up the shelves (with plastic trash can supports) and it has made such a difference. Much better than the saggy moving boxes I’d been using.
I really haven’t taken advantage of having food or anything else delivered to the apartment. My favorite rice place is quite far away from my house, and I wouldn’t want anyone having to navigate that on an ebike. Plus, I feel the exercise I get walking a half hour to McDonald’s, or to the little Muslim place nearby helps to negate any calories I might consume.
The food that I HAVE had delivered is whatever I can order through Baopals. But for some strange reason, my new (to me) computer is not allowing me to access Baopals. I have to order on my Chinese phone. It works, of course, but I’m used to having a big screen to scroll through all the choices I have.
Even using Bing (ugh) doesn’t work. VPN, no VPN, I just can’t get Baopals on my newish computer. Oh well.
I don’t watch the Jimmy Kimmel show, but I AM glad he’s back. Freedom of speech is extremely important. I thought his monologue was simple, yet brilliant. Catch it on YouTube. He gave shout outs to lots of people. I didn’t know that Erica Kirk had forgiven the shooter, and that moved her up a couple of notches in my mind. Christians make a big deal out of forgiving, and I know if I’d been in her shoes, I wouldn’t have forgiven. I’m too bitchy, bitter and vindictive.
But I hope this incident makes us realize that no one deserves to die for their opinion. NO ONE. The first amendment applies to everyone, even to people whose opinions you don’t agree with. If you don’t like the message, change the channel, turn the TV off, or maybe write a rebuttal to that person–but realize that this great freedom is for all. They can have opinions, and so can you. Walk away, turn off the internet, go take a nap, do something to get the anger out.
Just don’t take it out on another person.
Is on her way in. It started raining earlier, but I was able to feed and water Campus Kitten. Her food bowls/plates are gone, but the water bowl was still there. I fed her on my way home, after a somewhat sleepless night.
I’ve been in the habit of watching tons of YouTube, and I leave my computer running all night to videos I’ve watched before; sort of like falling asleep in front of the TV. It’s probably unhealthy to do that.
But I’ve noticed I’m very sensitive to changes in the barometric pressure, which of course I can’t control. If it’s been rainy/gloomy for weeks, I literally have a brain fog. Then, when it changes to sunshine, I’m sleepy for a while, until the weather changes again. I hate it.
So last night, I went to bed rather early, but woke up absurdly early, like around 12:30 a.m. I couldn’t really get back to sleep, so I watched videos and tried to rest my eyes a bit. So when class was over today, I went straight home and didn’t do anything, even though I had plenty to grade.
I’ll get to it.
But because it’s hard for me to sleep sometimes, I take my rest whenever I can get it. And it turns out a gloomy, rainy afternoon and some peanut M&M’s were enough to make me doze off. Now, the question is, will I be able to get back to sleep and be rested for my classes tomorrow?
I wish I could keep my current schedule. It’s awesome, but I’d probably be paid half of what I’m getting now, and right now is barely affordable. The freshmen have military training for a few weeks, and next week I’ll be teaching the rest of my classes. But–after another five weeks, my argumentative class will be taught by someone else, and I’ll be able to snag another day off during the week.
I’m a bit spoiled. But after all I’ve been through here in China job-wise, I’m happy to have great work-life balance, so I’m gonna stay with it.
Still around. Hadn’t seen he/she/it in a few days, but there was a sighting last night. I think 9-10 p.m. is prime time for her. Lots of people take their evening walks from 6-8 p.m., and she’s very skittish around them, even though a fence separates her from the folks on the sidewalk.
Today I had to get a new bank card. I forgot and left the old bank card at home, so as I was going to the bus stop to go back home, I ran into a former student who took me home, then back to the bank. On the way home, I asked if she would stop at Campus Kitten’s usuall hangout so I could feed and water her. We did, and I was able to get my old bankcard and head back to the bank.
I slept super late and finally went grocery shopping.
I blew my spending allotment for both today and tomorrow, but that’s fine. I’ll spend very little tomorrow and the next day, and be back on track on Wednesday.
I’m bad at math, but I figured out a fun and novel way to keep track of my spending. After I get paid and take care of the bills I need to, I keep track of my bank balance. I then divide it by the number of days until the next payday. I get paid monthly, so it’s a bit of a challenge.
But I figure out how much I can spend each day until the next payday. Today it was $27.50. This amount had actually gone up in the past couple days. So I went grocery shopping today, and blew the budget for today and tomorrow.
To get back on track, it means I can’t spend anything tomorrow. But I think I can do that. Or at least, I won’t be spending $27.50. I can walk to the bank and back tomorrow, and that will save me a few cents. Then, on Tuesday, I can take the bus to school and walk home. That should get me back to being able to spend at least $25 a day.
The object, of course, is to spend less than that. The last couple days, I spent less than half my allotment, which is why the amount of money I could spend each day increased.
But hoping I can spend next to nothing until Wednesday. Then I’ll have to see how much I can spend per day until payday.
It’s a fun way to keep track, and also helps me delay gratification.
So even though I blew my budget, today was a good day. It’s rare that I have a bad day here in China. In the U.S., EVERY day seemed like a bad day. Workplace frustrations, sexist customers, not being able to eat lunch on time (if at all), being physically attacked by customers, oh yeah, retail is a total blast to work.
So the rare bad day in China took place yesterday. I’ll know better than to go swimming on a weekend day. That will help.
and it wasn’t nearly as relaxing as I’d hoped it would be. My usual pool was having a swim meet, or something going on, so I went to the smaller pool next door. Each lap lane had about eight swimmers in it. China is strange in the sense that people can be really nice, but they aren’t courteous. The fast swimmers don’t take speed into consideration, and will swim so they are right up against your feet. Or, if they go around you, they cut so close that you’ll get hit or sideswiped anyway.
I was so fed up and angry, I only did a half hour today, instead of a full hour of swimming. I really should have gone Friday afternoon. I knew I might be in for some shit if I went on a weekend day. Once the freshmen complete their military training, I’ll have Thursdays off so I can swim and maybe run a few errands. And once the halfway point rolls around, I won’t have a Monday class anymore, so that will make two full days off within the week, and two days on the weekend. Hoping I get a routine going, because I really do love to swim. But it hasn’t been as relaxing because the pool is so full. Even on weekdays.
And it reinforces my urge/desire/dream to have a pool if I move back home. I don’t care if it’s a little 6×8 foot rectangle, I think I can rig up a harness or something where I can lap swim and not constantly have to do flip turns. Ideally, I’d love an 8×24, but financially, I’m not sure where I will be. But I want a pool, by God. I’m tired of sharing a pool with rude people, inconsiderate people, and people who block up the lanes just standing there. To say nothing of the parents with little kids who think lap lanes are the perfect place to teach their young’uns. I don’t care that my mother said pools are hard work to take care of. I just don’t fucking care anymore. I also hate that the physical activities I enjoy doing involves huge pieces of equipment. Why couldn’t I have loved basketball. You find hoops everywhere, and balls are cheap.
But no, I had to be a child with millionaire tastes born to poor parents. I love swimming and there are no pools within walking distance. I love horseback riding, but could barely afford lessons, let alone tack, the horse, money to board the horse, a way to get out to the stable to ride said horse, vet care, farrier, and all the other stuff.
I’m also angry at my former job, which let me go without really any solid reasoning. I was planning to take horseback riding lessons the summer of 2024, but didn’t, once I found out they didn’t want me back.
I wonder how many other people out there got to take music lessons and horseback riding lessons, and always thought when they became adults, they could enlarge that feeling and continue with doing those things. Instead of things getting better as an adult, my childhood remains the best time of my life. Being an adult is an exercise in poverty, and I tend to live in the past because it was a hell of a lot better than the present.
Mail in China works a bit differently than in the United States. In the USA, everyone has a mailbox, or a mail slot in the door. In the more modern housing developments, you may have a big box mounted on a pole or two. There might be a big box for smaller packages. I’m assuming every house that has a mailbox in that collection has keys. But every house has a mailbox.
In China, I am not sure how much the post office is actually used. In my new apartment complex (new as of last year) every apartment has a box, but no one gave me a key for mine. So my mailbox isn’t secure.
So when one of my debit and a credit card expired, I had to have them sent out. I assumed that since I had an actual mailing address and a mailbox, my cards would get there. Except they didn’t.
I had no idea which local post office had delivery responsibilities for my apartment complex. Finally, I decided I’d have my debit card sent to the university China Post office. Except it didn’t actually have a street address, adding to the challenge. The post office is actually located in one of the student dorm buildings, but the area is just off a main street. But the area has streets, but literally no names. So listing the main street won’t work, because it’s just off that main street.
So I had my debit card sent out again, with a very long, detailed address listing the China Post branch that was located in student dorm building nine, hoping it would get there. I also asked my credit union to make sure my Chinese phone number was on the outside of the envelope. That way, the post branch could call me and I could come get it. Finally, it arrived. I pay most of my stuff via PayPal anyway, through an account I set up before I left home. So mainly the card is there if I want to buy something online, which is rare.
I also had my expired credit card sent there, and it arrived.
A few months ago, I ordered some books from Lulu.com. I naturally assumed FedEx would take the books to the post branch, and I’d be notified they arrived.
Except FedEX is not allowed to go inside the college campus post office. Due to my own stupidity, I didn’t realize I already had an account set up with FedEx and they had sent emails to my email address that I refer as the “spam account” email. I’d gotten emails from FedEx that I knew were spam, and so I never paid attention to those emails, nor did I realize they would be sending me emails regarding my recent package there.
When I finally got around to contacting them, I found out my books had been destroyed at customs in Guangzhou, because I didn’t respond quickly enough. Thankfully, Lulu.com sent out another shipment for free, and I paid attention to my email account and responded promptly to the emails.
I managed to pay the necessary fees by myself, which I’m proud of. Within an hour and a half of paying the fees, I had the books. But because FedEx couldn’t come on campus, they were at the north gate of my university. I thought they were at the gate of my apartment complex. Phoning me didn’t really work, because I’m not fluent in Chinese. But even though I couldn’t understand anything, I had a hunch the call was from FedEx in Fuzhou, because the caller id said the call was from Fuzhou.
So I sent a text back. Then I called a colleague and explained the situation and asked if they would call the local number and see who it was (FedEx, of course). So they arranged to meet the FedEx courier at the north gate of my uni, then get the books to me.
I had forgotten that FedEx couldn’t access the campus. So next time, I may just include my apartment address and have them sent there. At least my Chinese phone number was on the package (I asked Lulu to put it on the package) so I could be contacted.
And so I have my books.
I never realized how tricky ordering things from overseas can be. I regularly order from Baopals, a shopping service started by three expats living in Shanghai who wanted other expats to have the same kind of shopping experience the Chinese have with Taobao. I’ve ordered lots of American foods from there, plus all sorts of other things, and I don’t have a problem with them arriving. There’s something called Cai Niao, a sort of holding center with lots of locations in town. There’s one in my apartment complex, and the way it works is that you order something, and when it comes to Cai Niao, they send a text with the package shelving number. You go to the holding center, look for your package on the shelf, and scan it out, then take it home. It means your package doesn’t sit out in the rain, and it doesn’t have a chance to get stolen. Sometimes my packages come right to my apartment door, so I’m not sure what the criteria is for what comes to the door and what doesn’t.
But not with regular letter mail. And wanting a good solid address, I’d given Lulu.com the China Post location. However, FedEx can’t go on campus.
Knowing this, I may buy more from home, knowing that maybe they can get parcels to my apartment complex, but letters have to go to the post office.
But I admired FedEx for working so hard to get my package to me. I sent them an email of thanks, and also thanked Lulu.com for being so kind. I also thanked my colleague and one of my students, who offered to help me track down the original shipment.
And I would advise people moving to other countries, or who have just landed there, to ask about the postal service and what they would suggest in terms of international shipments. FexEx will always have my heart. You pay more, but if you want it, it’s worth it.
And no, FedEx did NOT pay me to write this.
Haven’t seen Campus Kitten in a couple of days, but then again, I’ve been visiting earlier than usual.
The bowl of food was empty tonight, so I put some in and also got some fresh water.
I saw the orange cat cross the street the other night. So I don’t know if Campus Kitten is eating the food, or the cat. But someone’s eating it.
Earlier in the evening, lots of people take walks along the street. But 10 p.m. or later seems to be the time when Campus Kitten hangs around the fence. Hardly anyone is walking at that hour, so I’ll go around that time for the next few days and see if he/she shows up.
Americans think of square dancing as a circle of couples, boy/girl or man/woman, dancing in a circle according to what the caller wants them to do. We always had to take it in gym, and I remember one time a boy saying, “you’re doing it wrong.”
I never picked up on this type of dancing because you have to join square dance groups to find anyone to dance with. Try doing “Allamande left” at the local bar and see where that gets you.
But in China, it’s different. Square dancing pretty much happens anywhere there’s a flat space. Parking lots, plazas, street corners, in front of apartment buildings. Our local group was at it tonight.
This is a nightly occurance, especially when it isn’t raining. Someone brings a CD player, or anything that will play music on loudspeakers. This particular group also got the benefit of video, so they could see what moves they could be doing.
I’ve noticed it’s mostly women who do this, although I’ve seen people doing dance floor moves to a variety of music. Tonight’s selection was a little techno number.
And overall, people seem a lot healther in China, because they MOVE. Early evening, I see lots of people out walking or jogging.
But ladies everywhere in China get out and bust moves either solo or in group settings. It’s like a flash mob (remember them?) only they just want to dance for themselves.
I did catch the lunar eclipse the other night. But it was sort of weird. I didn’t know where the moon would be in the sky, and as I looked out my balcony, I couldn’t see it.
So I put on some shoes and grabbed my camera and tripod to go downstairs. Still couldn’t see anything. It wasn’t cloudy. What the hell?
As it turns out, I had to almost cross the courtyard to see the moon, much farther than I thought I’d had to go. But my apartment buildings in my complex are so tall, the moon was behind one. Then I saw it.
I think this is the second lunar eclipse I’ve seen in China. Last one, maybe a couple years ago, was a partial. I’ve also seen two solar eclipses in China as well.
This was last night:
Same camera, obviously closer. The camera was on the tripod. I set it on a delayed timer, so after hitting the shutter, the camera and tripod had a few seconds to stop moving. I also set it for five shots of continuous shooting. I don’t think this is too bad, considering the camera is a Canon Powershot SX 740.
Maybe someday I’ll get a big , long lens that costs thousands of dollars and get some better shots, but for now, this is what I have to work with.
So I went a little early this evening to feed and water Campus Kitten and she came right away when I announced myself.
Her food and water bowls were still there.
It was kind of busy along the street. Early evening is a popular time for people to get out and walk, and she was a little skittish when she came up to the fence.
So I got better pictures of her today.
Or him?
I may never know.
I’m still posting every day, but sometimes I’m too lazy to post links. So check in, will ya? I don’t have a set time of the day I post. May be earlier, may be later.
I should have stayed home yesterday and today to recuperate. Rest is the only thing that does anything for a cold, at least in my case.
But I actually didn’t feel too bad today. My nose wasn’t running. I still got meds though and after I had “lunch” at a very late hour for lunch (more like dinner) I came home and got into bed.
The heat isn’t helping either. But I got to the bank, transferred my money and wired some of it home.
So it was a productive day.
I visited Campus Kitten last night during a rainstorm. The two plates and one bowl were gone, but I dumped a couple handfuls of Whiskas on the ground anyway.
Tonight, I announced my presence, and within seconds a large orange cat came by. At first I thought it was Campus Kitten, but I thought “no, can’t be.” CK came bopping along and realized that Campus Kitten has either a mom or dad.
This warms my heart. A couple weeks ago I passed an acquaintance while out for a walk who thought that maybe Campus Kitten’s mom had died, and the kitten was hanging around and wailing with sadness. This made me really depressed. But after a few days of regular food, the kitten wasn’t wailing anymore.
Campus Kitten has teeth, but I don’t know how old he/she is. So the kitten may be weaned already, but I don’t know. All I know is that the food is being eaten, but maybe mom or dad is chowing down too. I walked away tonight, only to come back to see if the orange cat approached the food. It did, but ran away at the sight of me. However, Campus Kitten was still chowing down. So I was happy about that.
Yes, I posted yesterday. I just didn’t post the link. https://nowaylaowai.home.blog/2025/09/10/supper-was-excellent/
I visited Campus Kitten last night during a rainstorm. The two plates and one bowl were gone, but I dumped a couple handfuls of Whiskas on the ground anyway.
Tonight, I announced my presence, and within seconds a large orange cat came by. At first I thought it was Campus Kitten, but I thought “no, can’t be.” CK came bopping along and realized that Campus Kitten has either a mom or dad.
This warms my heart. A couple weeks ago I passed an acquaintance while out for a walk who thought that maybe Campus Kitten’s mom had died, and the kitten was hanging around and wailing with sadness. This made me really depressed. But after a few days of regular food, the kitten wasn’t wailing anymore.
Campus Kitten has teeth, but I don’t know how old he/she is. So the kitten may be weaned already, but I don’t know. All I know is that the food is being eaten, but maybe mom or dad is chowing down too. I walked away tonight, only to come back to see if the orange cat approached the food. It did, but ran away at the sight of me. However, Campus Kitten was still chowing down. So I was happy about that.
Yes, I posted yesterday. I just didn’t post the link. https://nowaylaowai.home.blog/2025/09/10/supper-was-excellent/
Today was my first day of class. I only had one class, so that was nice. I’d never taught in this building before, so finding out where stuff was connected in the classroom was nerve-wracking. However, there was someone in the room next door, a technician, who showed me where the HDMI cord was. For some reason, my computer wouldn’t get online, but then it did.
There is a computer in class, and I was able to log on to it, but using my own computer seems faster and more familiar. Plus, I have a VPN, and the classroom computers are not equipped with that. And of course, my browser stores passwords and such. If I use a different computer, I have to have those passwords written down.
I have a lot of familiar students too. So the first day went okay.
I do get nervous/anxious when it comes to change. I had a nice long vacation, so getting back into the swing of school will be difficult. But the freshmen have military training the first four weeks of school. So I just have three classes a week this first month, which is nice. Then, my argumentative students will finish their class with another teacher, so after eight weeks, I’ll have five classes per week.
So I was up way earlier than I needed to be, and noticed my dining room/living room, had a red cast to it. So I got out on my balcony and took some pictures.
I came home and went to sleep. I’m still feeling low energy despite the blood tests being okay. I’m wondering if it’s the heat that’s taking it out on me. My A/C doesn’t seem to be nearly as cold as it used to be. I’m thinking the filter needs to be clean or something. And coming home soaking in sweat is disgusting to me. I did put on makeup today, but my face was dripping sweat so I wondered why I bothered. Yes, I have Mist and Fix spray, but what I would like is an antiperspirant for my face. Sweat literally drips off my chin. I should have walked home today, but lugging my bag with my new computer and all the stuff I take for class (textbook, notebook, planner, pencil bag, HDMI cord, powerstrip, bottled water, ziploc bag of cat food) means my totebag weighs at least 20 pounds. I fed the kitten before I came home because I didn’t want to come back out. She/he cleans the plate every day.
For supper, I finally got out of bed and made brown sauce for my steak, onion, and green pepper stir fry. I followed the directions, and boy, it was good.
Recipe was from The Woks of Life. I got a shot of that too.
I came by early again, just as twilight was hitting, and she was right there! Then some fireworks went off down the street and scared her off. But I gave her a new water dish, plus a good portion of cat food.
Here’s a shot of her after the fireworks, posing for me.
Is open again! Great free soup, a portion big enough for two, and at a great price!
Add in a nice long walk, and you have a pleasant afternoon!
More culinary excitement is on the way!
And I fed and watered the kitten, even though I didn’t see it.
Stopped by to feed and water Campus Kitten, and she/he was waiting for me.
That was sweet.
My mother took me to see this movie when it was in the theaters. I really liked it, even though I was probably too young to enjoy movies like this. But my mother took me to movies that weren’t really aimed towards kids. Like Soylent Green, for example. Or Live and Let Die, which was my first James Bond movie.
The voodoo imagery fascinated and scared me. And it forever turned me into a Roger Moore James Bond fan. Sean who?
I was happy to see American Graffiti on YouTube. But it doesn’t really suit my mood right now, but there isn’t any other movie on the website that does.
Nostalgia and the past are wearing a groove in my brain right now. And I can’t allow that to happen. Some things about me haven’t changed and never will change, no matter how hard I try. And watching movies about high school remind me of the memories that linger; very unpleasant memories, and the feeling that I haven’t moved on, and never will move on.
Seeing Terry the Toad really gets me down. And the fact he disappeared in Vietnam makes me realize he never rose above his high school experience either.
Ａｎｎｏｙｅｄ， ｔｉｒｅｄ， ａｎｄ ｓｃａｒｅｄ．
Couldn’t sleep a wink last night. And today was my Chinese lesson. I’m learning on an app called Anki. I have no idea how to use it, but apparently, that doesn’t matter to my teacher, because I suspect he likes to see me frustrated. It’s like taking flying lessons and the pilot takes you up to 30,000 feet and lets you take over the controls, but you have no idea what they do. Well, okay, it’s not THAT stressful, but still. If you are an instructor and you force your students to use an app, and you teach them nothing about it at the beginning, yet assign things to do on the app, I mean, WTF?
So yeah, wasn’t feeling super duper hunky dory today. It’s probably going to rain soon, I wish I weren’t sensitive to changes in the barometric pressure, but here I am. And today was appropriately gloomy, with enough clouds to make you want to stay in bed all day.
Soon, I’ll be able to dot that.
I managed to get ready for all my classes so I could have a more relaxed week this week. And today went okay.
I’m making another effort at Chinese study. However, managing the tools my instructor wants me to use seems a huge effort. Electronic flashcards and recording my pronunciation (how do I know if I’m pronouncing it right?) seem too much to bear right now. It’s annoying when the study tools don’t make sense and involve technology.
So my Mexican dinner last night with a friend (also studying Chinese with the same instructor) was a pleasure. I was a bit hangry, so that made my burrito and chips and dips taste even better.
But I was tired and didn’t even think about posting last night. So I didn’t. At least I don’t think I did.
No Way! Laowai! 
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