Category: Uncategorized

Surprise!

Today was one of those surprise days. I didn’t expect to go out, but I did. Two of my colleagues wanted to take me to Three Lanes, Seven Alleys, which is a cultural and historical place in the middle of town.

It was a nice day weather wise. We went to the chocolate museum, and since I’d been there before, I wanted to go to their store to see if they had any chocolate-covered raisins. They are tasting very good to me at the moment, and they are sort of hard to get in China. You can’t just walk into the store and buy them.

So I got some, and that’s all I had planned to buy… but, it’s that kind of place where they have all sorts of really cool stuff. My colleagues took me to a cork-carving store. There are hundreds of examples of these carvings that you can buy. Some are very simple, some are really big and detailed. But I never would have imagined cork, of all things.

I’m doing my best to save money. There’s a LOT of really cool things here in China, but I’m trying to control myself. However, I saw these little coin purses. I’m a handbag freak (they had handbags there too). I may have to go back and get one. But I figured at 35 RMB, I could afford it. That’s only $4.90 USD. It seems sturdy and has enough room for several credit cards, cash and coins.

Then we walked around some more and stopped for snacks, then we all went to the teacher’s canteen on campus and ate. I insisted we have Sweet and Sour Pork as one of the dishes. It was excellent!

So what would have been another Saturday probably spent at home, I got out and socialized a bit, and that was good. As well as needed.

Hurray for 1980s Hair Styling Technology!

My banana clips came! I’ve been looking for these for YEARS here in China. But the only thing I could find was this.

See that puny thing on the right? For years, that’s what I had to deal with.

The piece of crap on the right just doesn’t do it. It has a flimsy clasp, and you can barely open it. I suppose this would work for a five-year-old, with wispy thin hair, but not for me.

It took me years to find one, but the one on the left is the old school, Goody-style banana clip. So named because they curve like a banana, I relied on these as a teen to keep my super thick mane of hair out of the way. Slightly fancier than a ponytail, they gave a literal mane-like look, or a Mohawk replica. I was horse-crazy at the time, so these were okay with me.

I wore it for the first time today and I’m thrilled. After my haircut January 2025 that made me look like a fat lesbian, I’m so glad to have longer hair again. I’m never getting it cut again in China by a professional. I’ll stick with my own handiwork, which served me well for years. And the next time I think I want to change my hair, I’ll just say, “no you don’t.”

I’ll wait until I’m in the capable hands of Kara Bush, stylist at Ulta Northcrest, Fort Wayne, Indiana. She’s a curly girl who knows how to work with curly hair.

Technology is Great, When It Works…

Having computer issues again. I got a new VPN, which is why I’m here in the first place. But Google Chrome isn’t functioning. I can get access to my passwords, which is fine, but the ease and convenience of being able to spread the word with my posts in a matter of seconds is gone.

Also, when I open my video editing program, it freezes. So I put a bunch of stuff on my external hard drive and put a lot of stuff in the recycle bin, which I’ll dump before firing up the software again.

In other words, I spent too much on makeup today, but at least I got a couple of good duplicates for Urban Decay’s Lounge eyeshadow which was a game changer when I first got it as part of my Ipsy bag, years ago. Make Up For Ever has something called “Beetle Chrome Metallic” and Sephora has a couple of pallets called “Color Shifter.” One was called “Freaky Pink Rose,” and the other one was “Mystic Brown Mushroom.” BOTH pallets have something jaw-droppingly close to Lounge. I wasn’t about to buy them both, but the woman at the register said it was buy one get one free.

And there must have been some additional discount, because I was prepared to pay 159 RMB, which is $22.26 USD, but I got both pallets for around $11 USD. SCORE!

My eyeliner was BOGO too, so yeah, makeup buying spree for cheap today!

Disappointing Day

Ｗｅｎｔ　ｔｏ　Ｐａｎｄａ　Ｗｏｒｌｄ　ａｎｄ　ｄｉｄｎ＇ｔ　ｒｅａｌｉｚｅ　Ｉ　ｈａｄ　ｔｏ　ｒｅｓｅｒｖｅ　ｓｉｘ　ｄａｙｓ　ｉｎ　ａｄｖａｎｃｅ．

Ｔｈｅｎ，　ｍｙ　ｂａｎｋ　ｃａｒｄ　ｇｏｔ　ｓｗａｌｌｏｗｅｄ　ｕｐ　ｂｙ　ｔｈｅ　ＡＴＭ．

Ｔｈｅｎ，　ｓｏｍｅｏｎｅ　Ｉ　ｗｅｎｔ　ｔｏ　ｇｒａｄ　ｓｃｈｏｏｌ　ｗｉｔｈ　ｌｏｓｔ　ｔｈｅｉｒ　ｄａｕｇｈｔｅｒ　ｔｏｄａｙ．

Ａｎｄ　ｗｈｉｌｅ　ｉｔ　ｗａｓｎ＇ｔ　ｒａｉｎｉｎｇ　ｅａｒｌｉｅｒ，　Ｉ　ｗｅｎｔ　ｆｏｒ　ａｎｏｔｈｅｒ　ｗａｌｋ　ａｆｔｅｒ　Ｉ　ｇｏｔ　ｈｏｍｅ，　ａｎｄ　ｉｔ　ｓｔａｒｔｅｄ　ｔｏ　ｒａｉｎ．

Bitching about “Old” Again

On WeChat today, someone tickled me and then apologized. They explained they were carrying on two chats at a ttime and they sent the tickle to the wrong chat. “Sorry, I’m old,” they said. I said, “I bet not as old as I am.” The coward didn’t respond with his age.

Yeah, Millennials, tell me how OLD you are while hardly knowing anything about the world. Keep thinking history started in 1993, when you were born. Oh, you’re 40 now. Good God, better start saving up for that casket!

Fuck off. Seriously, just fuck off.

But…

Seems like a lot of YOUNGER people, like those in their 30s, seem to be kicking off. So I guess it makes sense to call 50 something OLD, since those people will never make it. Maybe that’s why they consider 49 “old”.

And since people can’t fucking take care of themselves, it’s no wonder living to say age 58, like me, seems like a herculean feat. When you get type 2 and stage 4 at 36, living past 40 is no longer a guarantee.

But yeah, I’ll continue walking an hour a day, 6-7 times a week, because I actually have the time to. A whole HOUR??? Yes. Sometimes I’ll walk home from the bank after I do a wire transfer home, especially if the weather is nice.

So shut up, Millennials, about all this “old” talk. It makes you look even stupider and annoying.