Now this is a Christmas tree

Lobby at the Howard Johnson Hotel

On his last trip to Ning Hai Big Daddy took some books and movies for the guys at the tool shop. Their favorites were the movie 127 Days and a funny book on a guy's travel through China. I could not watch the movie and it gave BD nightmares. Nan had been looking for it for some time. He and Jason were fighting over who got to read the book first. Nan actually lived in Germany for a few years and Jason has traveled quite a bit, so they are both aware China is very odd to visitors.

Forgot to ask Punkin Head this morning if he got my email about a book I am looking for, These Entertaining People, it is from the 60's and written by Florence Pritchett Smith. She was the wife of the Ambassador to Cuba during the evacuation. Sounded very interesting in a review.

Funny of the day, I asked BD to bring home some shampoo as I had run out. He said he would call down to bring some up. Huh, BD's hair length is measured thousandths it is so short, what happened to the shampoo? He took a bubble bath with it. I gotta get him out of here.

The quest for coffee

Hello Kitty home appliances, Chinese love Hello Kitty

I have finally convinced Big Daddy we need a new coffee maker. He did take the hint and he took it apart and did something to the shut-off valve but it leaked a few days later. Finally I had to put my cute little foot down and just tell him, this is fucking ridiculous. These cheap piece of shit machines only last a year and that is the truth of it. My coffee maker at home cost around 400 dollars and it goes for maintenance once a year.

So last night we traipsed over to the local appliance store to look at coffeemakers, they had one. It was a regular, small, electric drip pot. Nope, I can do just as well with the French press models. Now we have to go to the big ball building, they are the other place that has electronics and appliances. It is a huge mall type place and I don't think we can get as good a deal there. Coffee makers are difficult to find here and why coffee is so expensive I believe, they don't drink it very often. Oh, Starbucks is packed but you can buy tea there and those coffee's are all flavored and fancied, not just good coffee.

The reason I let Big Daddy buy all the appliances, or let him think he does, is because he just adores the research and getting the best deal. That and the blue car. We were getting a new car one year and he came home and said it was all worked out, there were 2 cars available, pick which color I liked. One was black sapphire and one was dark auburn. Well, I hate blue. So you can guess which one I brought home. He was aghast! Didn't I look at the brochures he brought home? Well, yes I had and I thought that it was odd to bring them home. I guess I did not listen to how passionately he had described the black sapphire, however in the sunlight it was blue. I heard about that damn car for years. Until he brought me the 18 karat gold, handmade necklace from Italy set with sky blue topaz. Which I immediately loaned to my mother, who loves blue.

And I have rarely set foot on a car lot again. New rules, you buy the shit you want and I will use it, drive it or give it away if it is blue. It has worked out quite well.

O Tannenbaum

Thought I would cheer myself up so I went down to soak up the warmth and beauty of our lobby Christmas Tree. It has been up for a few weeks now. It is so much better than the raggedy ass piece of shit they had on the counter.

The Best Month Ever

Yes, it is indeed my copy of the The Help.

Thanksgiving dinner in front of the television.

When Big Daddy went out to do his shopping chores he found the movie, he is my hero.

We just could not do the phony Thanksgiving dinners, we got some foie gras last weekend, some fabulous cheese and just winged it. The foie gras will improve with experience in searing it but all in all, not bad. The trick is on how hot the pan must be-sear but not melt. The grilled fruit was great and the dinner was very satisfactory.

The movie was wonderful. I loved this book, and the movie did not veer too far off, the changes were fitting and I did not want to have her mama die again. The flavor and nuance of the south was huge, I felt like I used to walk those streets. I remember living in the south, near Memphis, when these things happened, it was truly a different world. We had a maid for little while, but I think she only came once in a while, and she babysat us. I remember how amazed she was that our poodle cost 100 dollars. And that dog was a bitch and the bane of my existence for years.

My mother refused to try to fit in with the ladies and it was always a trial, you can't be like them but must get along with them. My mother was from the north and took quite a different direction from "making your point" to just becoming scandalous, she made us swim in the public pool after it was integrated. We were the only white kids in the pool. And mother did not come with us, she was more of the make the shitball than throw the shitball person. She was too busy trying to save to world than to make our lives easy. Her world was a lady that did not know how to cook fish sticks. And mother never did convince her to use the stove.

Big Daddy is at his interview, for those keeping score he has turned down 2, one for less money than I used to make and one for location. It will happen when it happens.

A Question Answered, Part 2

I was just checking my stats, I am still convinced that is all bullshit, and one of my popular posts was Sept. 20 of 2009. I described why Chinese woman wear ugly ass short nylon socks with sandals. It is so they do not get headaches.

WTF, I do not need antibiotics for my sinus headache, I need socks. Ok, wearing socks tonight and if I wake up headache free, well there ya go. Also, these socks cure backaches, this could be a win, win.

Will let y'all know if this works.

Qipu (Cheap) Road Clothing Market

Well, we have directions to this shopping mecca corrected by a high level executive's personal driver. They were corrected as the admin asked him if the directions were good enough to get us to the area. Thank you to the admin, she has done a lot of extra work for Big Daddy. She is the same admin who got me out of the Overstay office and also got my fine covered by the company.

So the information on Cheapo Lu says it is the typical nasty, filthy and loud shopping experience in the Chinese areas of the city. For the best quality you need to shop on the 3rd to 5th floors. You should also be there at 3 to 4 in the morning as that is when all the private shop owners swoop in to get the best items. This explains where all these odd little stores get their stock, they go and get what they can find and afford at Cheapo Lu, mark it up and hope for the best. This also explains why they so frequently go out of business. Gotta have a plan and just a bunch of cheap shit is not a business plan.

I remember one odd little store that had shoes, great shoes, they were all womens size 40. Now I wear a European 38, I have one of the biggest pair of feet in China and this bastard (the owner) was yelling at me a price of almost 150 U.S. dollars. I guess he was stressed out and thought I was a stupid Laowai that would pay way too much money for shoes that were too big. Why would he buy all those shoes that maybe 3 people in China would want? He probably got them for a Cheapo Lu price at 3 in the morning.

So it looks like we are going to Cheapo Lu tomorrow. Not a 3 in the morning. And I think our next stop should be the fabric market, where the tailors are.

By the way, all better now except for a funky headache when I wake up. If that does not clear up soon I may have to dip into the antibiotics. It could just be a sinus irritation from the swell environment we live in. I could go to the doctor, but if that involves an X-ray for a sinus infection, I will take my chances with my own stash of medicine. Because that means another trip to the hospital. You cannot just call your doctor and get a script here, what a pain in the ass.

Feeling slightly human

This is one of the pretty white rugs I just had to have, I apologize for not making the bed.

I remember wanting a rug like this when I was a teenager, don't know much about it but I love it. I have 2, used to have 3 until Big Daddy ruined one. Don't ask because even I don't know. He somehow zero's in on certain things that will not survive and the rug I put in the guest room was a target.

When I first came to China our apartment was a sparse wasteland with no warmth. And no forks and spoons. BD got some cheap flatware and then we went to Ikea. I had never been to Ikea before, and have never been back. We got some throw things, throw pillows, rugs and blankets. Not full size blankets, those throw ones you keep on the end of the bed or the chair or the couch.

Well, not quite 2 years later you could see through the one throw blanket. Everything here is zone heating or cooling so you always need a throw. Guess I wore that one out. I wanted a nice silk one but they are extremely expensive and then I found out about a town a short train ride away where everyone buys their silk. I have not been there yet, but I cannot spend money on something in Shanghai that I know is overpriced.

Recently at the Howard Johnson in Ning Hai I could not regulate the heat/air and I was really in jet lag mode. The room finally got cold versus warm and clammy and I remembered a blanket in the closet. It was a huge down, fluffy, king size blanket. I snuggled in and had a great nap. That is when I remembered I still needed a great blanket for the apartment. The see-through blanket was not enough. I think it is a U.S. thing, you gotta have a great blanket.

Squishy blanket

So on my birthday weekend as we were wandering on (phonetic spelling) Wa Hi Lu I remembered the bedding store on Raijun Road that I had wanted to go into for 2 years. It was fascinating. It seems to be a medium to higher end Chinese store with limited stock. They tried like hell to help me find a blanket. It was hilarious, especially when they showed me the really big towels. I was pantomiming watching television with a blanket. So this is the blanket we ended up with, and I got to see all the prices on the other stuff. When I go back to the stall across the street with the rugs I can check out the blanket prices and quality now. Good deal.

The blanket cost as much as 2 rugs. I am not sure if I got ripped off or not, but I think so. But it was the only blanket I could find in Shanghai after 2 years that was not a piece of shit. I could have gone to Hermes and purchased a cashmere blanket, but you know, I would have to pay duty on that when I move home. And Hermes is cheaper in the U.S. And I don't care for Hermes.