In my first post that has nothing to do with China, I am sad to report that my family's (but really my mom's) black lab Finn died yesterday.  Funny that I just included him in my post.  He had Lyme disease and anaplasmosis, which when combined can be easily fatal.  … Read full post »

So my last week in Beijing is upon me.  And having survived trains, planes, buses, and various humanity-packed public places for the last 12+ weeks (and two bouts of a cold virus that attacked Laura) I find myself, on the eve of my triumphant return, coming down with a cold.  That… Read full post »

One of the big stories about last year's Olympics here in Beijing was the effect pollution would or would not have 0n the athletes.  And then when some members of the US team (cycling, I think) showed up at the airport with masks over their faces, it caused quite a stir… Read full post »

In case you haven't noticed, I have totally dropped the pretense of being able to update the blog twice each week.  Alas, I started a new project for UNDP and I haven't had as many awesome/funny/head-scratching things happen to me the past couple of weeks.  I did have the opportunity to… Read full post »

"Be born in Suzhou, live in Hangzhou, eat in Guangzhou, die in Liuzhou."

So goes a famous Chinese saying. Basically, Suzhou is known for an educated populace, Hangzhou has beautiful surroundings, Guangzhou has great good, and Liuzhou is famous for well-crafted coffins (yikes!). I haven… Read full post »

...[and once our Beijing cabbie got us home through the snowstorm alive] I feel fine."

That's right, another Beijing snowstorm greeted us on our way back from the airport last night. We left Hangzhou 5 hours late due to torrential rain and thunderstorms, which began ominously as we sipped coffee… Read full post »

It figures that immediately after I promise to try harder and update this blog more frequently, I then lapse into nearly a two week time when I don't update it at all.  Wouldn't you know it?  As my brother threatened me, "if you don't update it frequently enough, I'll stop reading."… Read full post »

I suppose I could have also entitled this post, "On independent variables" because this week I have dedicated myself to keeping a headache journal in order to figure out exactly why I still get chronic headaches.  They're not mind-bendingly painful -- although they have woken me up in the past -… Read full post »

Yea, let it be written:

On the seventh day, God did not rest:  he went to China and taught them how to make the best breakfast food ever, the jianbing. Once they had the secrets of God's greatest gift to mankind, they immediately became Godless communists.  

I took a… Read full post »

I guess I first have to issue an apology to all my "loyal readers" (if there even are loyal readers outside my immediate family). When your parents -- even those as technologically-capable as mine -- complain that you haven't been updating your blog frequently enough, you know that you've gotta get… Read full post »

"But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a might stream."

Don't worry, I haven't been converted to some kind of crazy Christianity. That's just Amos' motto. In case you haven't met yet, Amos is my newest friend:

That stuff about judgment and righteousness is th… Read full post »

In order to avoid the ridiculous security crackdown that our benevolent authoritarian overlords laid down over China's 60th anniversary -- seriously, no kite-flying?? -- we had booked tickets to check out Hong Kong. We took the entire week, so that's why you've all been waiting with baited breat… Read full post »

We had some grand plans for the weekend, but unfortunately Mother Nature did not cooperate.  It was drizzly yesterday, and it's drizzly today, and my e-bike battery is looking very sad, all by itself, plugged into the wall and waiting for better weather.  I had hoped to make a trip back… Read full post »

We made a weekend trip to the coastal city of Dalian, about 150 miles to the northeast of Beijing.  It's a city of about 3 million (so I guess that makes it "small" by Chinese standards?) and serves as a sort of beach getaway for Beijingers who can afford that sort of… Read full post »

The immersion begins.  It started with my first Mandarin lesson, from which this blog's tagline was taken:  "I go to the bar and drink beer."  It's my favorite sentence so far.  The school is near the apt complex and hopefully the classes will lead to some new friends; my first cl… Read full post »

Landed in Beijing.  Safe and sound.  Spent the first day getting acclimated, and of course visiting the most touristy part of the city, Tianamen Square and The Forbidden City.

 This blog will hopefully remain open and viewable to friends and family at home.  We'll se… Read full post »