News and Notes

News and notes: My weight has stabilized at an even 75 kilograms. And even better, I think I have to eat more than I used to just to stay there. Of course, that’s not as exciting when you remember that the luxury of pigging out is limited by the available cuisine of treats like fish meatball and pork tongue. Tiffany has stayed her usual weight throughout. I am definitely the more erratic side of the couple (in more ways than one, she would add…) Work has been going pretty well for me; I’ve acquired new value in editing a lot of their investment reports. Even the most advanced, English-speaking Chinese can’t really write well when it comes to English business terminology. The best part is that they understand and agree with me when I explain it to them, so I come out looking like a genius! So, thanks Mom and Dad for sending me to Carden Redwood. All those elementary school years of grammar focus are finally paying off! The pictures attached are from two weekends ago, when Angela and Brian joined us on a day trip to Hang Zhou, a pretty little lake town about 2 ½ hours train ride from Shanghai. And when I say “little”, I mean to say that Hang Zhou’s metro area only has about 6 million people! But compared to Shanghai’s 17-18 million, it’s a rural countryside. As soon as we got there, I noted excitedly, “Listen, do you hear that? Nothing! Sweet silence!” No horns incessantly blaring, no mobs of people screaming (aka conversing), no expectorating nasal snorting. Just a beautiful fall day in a lakeside town. We strolled along the sunny banks, took an incredibly relaxing boat ride (after a 7am train from Shanghai, we all were nearly lulled to sleep out on the water), and explored some historic, and still active, Buddhist temples.






We also discovered the most interestingly decorated Starbucks that any of us had ever seen. Like an overgrown jungle, the coffee shop walls and ceilings were covered in heavy greenery. And with its waterside location, it created a most enjoyable atmosphere for coffee sipping.


We also met up with Sophia, a friend of a friend, for lunch. Sophia is one of those adorable, tiny people that you want to put in your bag and take with you, so when she explained that she lives and works as a plant manager in a Hang Zhou manufacturing plant, we were all taken aback. Then again, I have noticed some inverse relationship between height and backbone-fortified spunk.



The yellow off-road looking motorbike is actually the Chinese version of a handicap vehicle! Tiffany chased down this guy to catch this great shot. This is one of the nicer ones. Some are black, some are red, and most are much more beat up, like the next shot of this poor lady back in Shanghai. I think hers doesn't even have a motor, just some pedals. But hey, in the States all they give you is a lousy blue placard!





Oh, and I don't know who the other woman in the boat is. She just joined us for the boat ride, since it was 100 RMB for a boat ride, it would have been too expensive for her to rent it herself. Very nice, though. At one point the scenery must have inspired her, because she started humming Chinese songs. It fit the tranquility of the moment quite nicely! At least until Brian insisted she hum some Bruce Springsteen. Heated words were exchanged, culminating in a kung fu standoff! No, not really.




Tiffany’s friend Elizabeth (one of her bridesmaids) had a friend in town. Melissa works in Hong Kong and was here on business. Our first visitor!


Today we took our fabric market obsession one step further. We purchased our fabric separately and took it to a tailor that Vanessa introduced us to, and he took our measurements and will make our clothes himself. The benefit, I guess, is that there is less chance of miscommunicating measurements than at the fabric market, where they take our measurements and then tell another tailor how to make it. Anyway, in two weeks we should have another set of clothes to model!



We had our best massage yet at the local Chinese spot. 45 minutes for 35 RMB (about $4.50). Unbelievable.

Tiffany and I bought a rice cooker. A decent enough 10-cup steamer for $10…

I bought an entire roast duck for 34 RMB. Of course it tasted so good with the fresh steamed rice that it only lasted me three meals…

Tiffany may have picked out a new Chinese name for herself. Our Chinese teacher wrote out a few names that she thought were good for Tiffany. They both picked out the same one as their favorite! It’s le (4th tone) xin (1st tone, for all you studying Chinese out there!). Not sure if this will copy over clearly, but it looks like this 乐 欣. The first character, le, means “joy; happiness”, and the second character, xin, means “enjoy, appreciate”. I was appalled at her lack of hubris and pushed for characters like “mountain goddess”, or “destiny jade”, but she insisted.

And finally, a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my dad, who yesterday took one step closer to scoring early-bird dinner discounts and collecting Social Security! Happy birthday Dad!