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.

This one is for Punkin Head

Punkin Head Skyped me, he was worried about us. I hadn't Blogged in a few days.

Well, one reason is we are depressed. Big Daddy's boss has become a huge asshole, and when you are a short timer that is hard to take.

The weather has been abysmal and when it gets dark at 4:30 in the afternoon, that sucks too.

Sunday morning we went to the doctor for prescription refills. That took forever as these are the most incompetent people in the world. The doctor took about 7 minutes for us both, we went in together, and then we had to go to the in-house pharmacy. Then paying. These people print more paper for bullshit than can be believed.

Next we went to Starbucks so I could get some coffee to use for my cookbook experiments. No de-caf. So we meandered downstairs to the city shop for odds and ends and got coffee there. But it is the same Lille coffee and the City Shop ground it and I do not think it is right.

Now we were off to the hospital for our flu shots. You cannot get those at the doctor's office, you have to go to the hospital. And fill out all the forms again and get more paper printouts.

After dinner last night I was freezing, shivering cold. But it was 74 degrees in the apartment. Yep, I got the throwback flu from the shot. Ran a fever all night, tossed and turned, nightmares and a huge headache. Just before I went to bed I somehow found the LSU/Ole Miss game on the sports channel. LSU took Ole Miss to the cleaners, it was embarrassing to watch, I think the final score was 52-3. So I had football nightmares all night.

I am hopeful this week will be better. Big Daddy is in Ning Hai and returns tomorrow evening. He has Thursday and Friday off so we can pretend to have Thanksgiving. And Friday is no longer an all fun day as he has a job interview at Pudong Airport at 1PM. It is a good thing he put in for vacation those 2 days.

I did get the latest Vanity Fair at the City Shop and the movie sellers are now saying they think they can get The Help in early December. As I never heard from Ron Howard on getting an advanced copy, this could be the plan.

Gotta take some more Advil and go back to bed. Oh, I forgot to tell you about my new blanket, maybe tomorrow if I feel like a human.

Herding Cats, or Why My Wife is Not Crazy

For a week or so I have been hiding, complaining, and acting bizarre. I have been hearing cats. Meow, meow. I have been shutting the kitchen door at night as if this was going to keep the legion of cats from attacking me. 

It seems this was a good idea.

There was a massive herd of cats loosed into our buildings. Into the stairwells. They were monitored, by the government.

Their job, to catch the mice and rats.

They were government cats. They were highly trained cats. They were sent on their cat missions by uniformed government officials. No shit, I can't make this shit up. Hang on, this gets really better.

They found the enemy. The cats, found the enemy. Not in my building thank goodness. It is about 100 yards from my building. That would be about 91 and 1 half meters for the non Americans. Or as Big Daddy says half a furlong.

When we lived in Grosse Pointe one day on his way home one day BD witnessed the Titty bar on Michigan Avenue knocked down by bulldozers. There where thousands of rats escaping across the street. He said it was the most bizarre sight he has ever seen, rats, rats, everywhere and not a cat in sight. He said they covered a half a furlong in thirty seconds. In heavy traffic.

So I am quite sure the rats will not reach my apartment.  Because the government sent in fighter cats. Chinese fighting cats. Each government person carried in a fighter cat in each arm. These are not the discovery cats, they are the fighter cats.

 They also put out notices that no one should allow their children to play in the stairways as Ratazide has been applied.


So, the next time I tell someone I hear or see weird shit, I don't think anyone should just poo poo what I say.

Hey, hey, LBJ, how many kids did you kill today

Now that was a chant meant to get some attention. That was a purist protest by people that actually had some skin in the game.

I remember reading years later how LBJ's daughter went to sleep listening to that chant.

That is getting your message across. On TV every night protesting a war that sent boys required to register for the draft to go to some far a way place and do your duty. Or whatever the corrupt military, at that time, commanded you to do. I don't know how bad the corruption was,  I was not there. But I have talked to too many people that were there, that shit really makes some of the movies seem tame.

Then we had Kent State. That turned out really badly. I actually wrote a letter to President Nixon and I got a response. Yes, it was in crayon as I am still quite young, and yes the response was boilerplate. But I complained to the President and I got a response. Funny thing, not one person in my family noticed, questioned or asked to look a letter from the president, but that is another story.

So I am befuddled about the Occupy protests. What is the purpose? I get they are pissed about the Wall Streeters not suffering during the recession. How is sleeping in a tent making the Wall Streeters uncomfortable in their 1500 thread count linens on their excellent mattresses?

But sleeping in a tent with your generator is not making me feel the desperation of your message. What are these people trying to present to us all that will cause some sort of change? How can they justify the damage to the environment with the generators? How can they explain how they can afford the generators and the fuel? What exactly is it that they want?

The 60 and early 70's

People ignored the sit-ins, not a real message. People took notice of the Black Panthers, they had a huge and visible message. You may not have liked it, but you could not ignore it. UAW riots, decades earlier, those sent a message. Marching in the south for Civil Rights, message sent. Opponents sent some messages back on that one, but the point is, we all knew the message.

Occupy Whatever, not getting a clear message.

Now if the complaint is about how law and policy caused you to suffer, there is a remedy for that. It requires gathering signitures to  recall your legislators, sitting in their offices until they respond to your questions. And maybe if we want to just take a little bit of history and make it work in today, get tough with the lobbyists. The lobbyists do not sleep in the park.

Nixon resigned, LBJ declined to run for another term and someone decided to get rid of the draft. I do not think all those protests were worthless. I do think all of us had a mission. Change.

Unpainted Toenails

There will be no picture as I view unpainted toenails unacceptable for public viewing.

I considered drawing a picture but as Leonardo and I seem to have more than 6 degrees of separation that could take weeks.

Shit, first we need to get the latest The Help update out of the way. Punkin Head actually went looking and The Lady inquired for me, I believe a at Barnes & Noble. Nope, it is definitely December for release. As much as I have bitched about this I think Opie should just send me the movie in honor of his daughter, one of the stars of the film. Yea, like that is gonna happen. I would even donate money to his cause, whatever that is, just to get the damn movie.

I have also solved part one of the getting a job mission. I really am wishing I can find something not in automotive. That is a crazy world and I do not think I can do that again, and for probably a lot less money than they used to pay. I am used to sleeping all night and not talking to asshats at 11 PM. Also, since the government gave them some of my tax dollars I feel I have a right to tell them when they are out of line.

So to address part one, I am writing a cookbook. Just because I hate cooking and kitchens and preparing food is not a good reason not to write a book about cooking. I took over Big Daddy's Blog, previously called "Big Daddy Can Cook" now called, The Best Cookbook ever for Really Stupid People. I think it will be a success. I left his old recipes on it, there were only 2, they were good (stolen other people's recipes) and I may want to try them someday. I am currently working on a recipe for making coffee. If you check it out I must say Susan Spicer's recipe for Garlic Soup is the best.

Now, let us address unpainted toenails. These are usually toenails that have rarely if ever been seen by a professional. I do admit I have an odd fascination with toenails. Can't explain that, just do. Toenails should never be shown in public without polish. Professional type polishing. No one wants to look at nasty, dirty, jagged toenails with unkempt cuticles. Cuticle care is as important to pretty feet as perfect polish. Gleaming soft skin, silken cuticles and shiny perfect polished nails, that makes a foot worthy of being seen. Anything less is an affront to good manners. Anyone with a whit of sense can learn to do a proper pedicure, there is no excuse for bare toenails in public.

People without the good sense to polish their toes can wear oxfords and boots. Which of course means men should never be seen with visible toenails unless they are standing in sand. Period. Maybe on a boat, if they learned to properly care for their feet. Or they get regular pedicures, with buffing.

Alice Waters is on CNN preaching about organic farming

Smack me in the head. She thinks that putting buffalo shit on vegetables in China is something that is world shattering?

These are the people that just decided, yes my source is once again The China Daily, there are not enough peasants to pick cotton by hand. They are going to invent a cotton picking machine. Yep, you heard me, they are gonna automate. Cotton Picking.

International Harvester needs to re-think their name.

Blog Protocol

999 roses

First let us just get the daily The Help update out of the way. It comes out on DVD at Amazon on December 6. It is around 30 US dollars. Now if I order this I will have to have Punkin Head overnight the movie to me and we all know it will become available in China the day after he ships it out. GRR. And we somehow are out of sync with books. Every book is on pre-order, I am sure because they are salivating over Christmas sales since they must not make shit on the electronic books. Just a little tear running down my cheek, I really miss bookstores with books in English. Although I am sure there are other Americans missing that also, no doubt the former Borders employees.

So on to this Blogging protocol question. And yes, I have way to much time on my hands.

People put shit out on the Internet for whatever reason and people read it for whatever reason. I get that part. Some people live really interesting lives or are really good at fabricating one. Some people are funny, some are good writers, and some share a common interest. I love the crossword puzzle Blogs.

But there are some people that put themselves out there as "look at me" aren't I doing a marvelous thing? This is mostly, but not entirely,  the fashion and cooking Blogs. This is my new outfit, this is how I cooked a roast, could any number of strangers please tell me how to purchase a car, underpants and mascara type people.

When you read the comments on these Blogs, everyone always tells the writer how wonderful they look, how fabulous they are, how they wished they could own those shoes. What the fuck is up with that? Then they beg on their sites that you send them more readers. Huh.

So my question is, would it be so horrible to tell some of these people the truth? If you are going to post outfits posing for pictures,  maybe you should iron the clothes first. If your gums are the first thing people see, change your lipstick or take a page from Victoria Beckham and quit smiling. If your recipe is stolen from a movie that made the cake a parody, do not fucking post it as this is a great cake. And I do not even want to discuss unpainted toenails today, it is too large of a subject.

I only post a comment when I have something to say, which is not all time. But I never criticize other people. I also do not blow smoke up their ass.

I guess I just answered my own question. These people really do believe they are doing something great and really do not want constructive criticism. They do not understand why they do not have enough followers or clicks for whatever monetary goal they have set for themselves. It is all about the money and they are not willing to invest a bit of money to make the money they think they deserve. Bingo.

Tomorrow, either unpainted toenails, a search for a job, or whatever other stupid shit pops into my head.

Turkey Day

Big Daddy spilled his guts and informed me he has 7 vacation days left. Wow, of course that is because he just found out this year the lying and thieving Chinese forgot to tell him he had 2 work days when he got home leave. They pay for your tickets, so they have to say 2 days of your trip are work related.

Anyhoo, he is taking off Thanksgiving like a real white person. That is what the Chinese call us, white people, when they are being kind. So we are investigating where to go for Thanksgiving dinner. The prices are totally outrageous and all include what I am pretty sure is a glass of crappy wine.

The cheapest so far seems to be The Roosevelt which is supposed to be the most beautiful and expensive place to get a steak. As dried out turkey and cheap wine is probably served everywhere, I think the most beautiful and historic place is the right way to go. But we are not sure where it is.

First off, even China admits the maps are not the most accurate. And since mostly no one can read a map it is not really a priority to fix this problem. I was pretty sure I knew where it was, and then BD finds this map on the Internet that shows somewhere completely different. And the website is so out of date, well who knows where the fuck this place is. And, blast it all, it is not shown on my scarf.

Investigation is in order here, but first I have to go see if anyone has The Help.

Just an aside, as I regularly rip any movie I see, watched Midnight in Paris with Owen Wilson and it was not bad. It actually had a plot I have not seen before.

Why does evil exist

Because we all allow it.

I have a personal investment in the recent stories of people that were beaten by belts and taken advantage of when they should have been in a safe place and ignored by the people that should have taken care of these issues. Yes, I have had a welt or two. And I have been made to touch a penis that should not have been bandied about.

It is very easy to ignore these stories, it is even easier to pretend it is not your own story. When it was important I believed someone who told me I would be ostracized if I told the truth. Guess what, I kept the secret and I am still ostracized. When the abuser has control, well what did you think the outcome would be?

What is more horrible to deal with, this mess in your own family, it is to deny that this ever happens in good and decent families. Everyone wants to believe they have a normal and decent family.

Every time I see and hear this on television I am forced to remember things I would really prefer to forget.  I was told in so many words and many ways  that I was never not allowed to talk about this. I had to keep the biggest secret. That is a very hard secret to keep.

I wondered why I was supposed to pretend this never happened. And now I wonder why all the others that this happened to are now expected to stand up and say yes, this is what that bad person did to me.

When no one ever stood up for them.

Okay, maybe in the past those adults did not have the tools, or the guts, or the common sense to stand up and say, no. Still does not make it right.

Adults are not supposed to use children as toys, they are also not supposed to use them as objects of anger, and adults are also not supposed to cover up the terror and horror that children experience at the hands of monsters. Sorry to say, it is true, these people are monsters, been there, seen it, first hand.

Every person that covers up and ignores this type of abuse has more to answer for than mere mortals can ask of them.  God Bless all our souls.

A Warning to Humankind

I am fairly certain, almost positive, that women continue to have PMS after menopause. As a quality professional I have looked at the data:

*The need to smack the shit out of random strangers continues to manifest itself.
*The need to smack the living shit out of people you kinda know continues to manifest itself.
*The desire to throw random shit off the balcony in a rage, rears it's ugly head off and on.

The only thing missing is the intense desire for very good chocolate. I know this because I have very good chocolate in the cupboard and have no desire to consume it with a very good red wine. Although I must admit I do not have a very good red wine on hand.

So here is the deal. I cannot watch my television shows on my computer. Maybe this is because China is pissed off that the Wee Wee fella is getting donations to pay off his tax bill. Maybe this is because everything in China occasionally sucks. Maybe this is because all the fucking money that I pay to make sure I can watch the television is a waste of money. Whatever. It pisses me off.

So then, this morning the Ayi's of the day come to clean/make the apartment more dirty this morning, late as usual, and they piss me off. There was a breaking bulletin on CNN on the Penn State situation and these bints (new Australian word of the day) are hollering at each other. In my fucking apartment. I did contain myself for the moment.

Now I cannot get the computer television to work properly and I am mad I did not beat the shit out of the Ayis earlier for pissing me off. That is how PMS really works. It does not make sense, it just is. Wow, maybe this is really a Public Service Announcement.

Big Daddy flew out this morning to Shenzhen, but he went to the wrong city. He was supposed to go to the one next door that starts with a G and ends with a zhou. So everyone is in a tizzy on how to get him where he is supposed to be. (I would have just kicked someone) Well, BD refused to take the bus and the supplier figured it all out. They found a driver and the dude would meet him at the airport with a sign with his picture on it. Huh, where the fuck would they have gotten this picture?

Skype. They took his picture off Skype. No one in the entire world except me and Punkin Head could identify that picture. But there it was for BD to look for and find his way to the bowels of hell.

Too many J's

Just fucked up.

Michael Jackson's lawyer is guilty of manslaughter, well you could kinda figure this one out. You don't put people out, aka, for surgery type shit, in their bedroom.  For big money I guess some people would. But come on, for minimum wage couldn't you have hired a nurses aide to holler at you when he quit breathing? Just cheap.

Joe Frazier died. Just sad. A legend, smokin Joe.

Joe Paterno is in some deep shit. You know this shit started when he was rumored to be pushing his son for his spot. Why did not someone step in and say, Joe, if your son is that good he will get his time in the sun. Just stupid.

Just throw shit until it sticks, Herman Cain. Who knows what really happened? But if it takes finding a pretty blond to go on TV and say he put his hand up her dress, well how hard is that.

Cain just seems to be the next in a long line of not gonna make it Republicans. Michelle, I am just an idiot. Perry, I just can't act like a normal person.  Romney, I am just a person who wants to be the President really, really bad. Newt, just can't go there. Ron Paul, just can't get any respect.

Just so we are straight, the smartest thing Obama ever did was make Hillary his Sec of State, not that she is great at that, just because she can't run against him now.

Eight years of Hillary would be better than four years of Obama, just sayin.

One of the best birthdays ever.

Silk Scarf , map of Shanghai

I made Big Daddy soup on Friday so he was Mr. Happy all weekend. That man loves his soup.

I will start with the most exciting and finish with the WTF.

Punkin Head called and wished me a happy day. That boy makes me happy. Last year he sent a card but we never gave him the new address when we moved.

Big Daddy gave me a beautiful hand made shawl with 999 roses sewn on, this signifies everlasting and enduring love and devotion. The color of the roses means his only love forever. So if I die he cannot give it to wife number 2. And because it was my birthday and we have spent a bunch of money there the shawl store gave me a silk scarf with a map of Shanghai on it.

Amay gave me a beautiful silk scarf in my favorite colors, purple and green.

After a nice walk I got a taxi and surprised BD by going to Kapps for dinner. He loves that place and we both had excellent steaks. First steaks since we have been back in China.

Sunday we went for a walk and ended up grabbing a taxi to the Italian restaurant on Maoming. BD has wanted to go there for awhile and have pizza. Their pizza is just like the ones he had in Torino, and last night the special was truffle pizza. He was over the moon.

When I got my hair done Saturday Anna gave me a free deep conditioner for my birthday. It is the one where they wrap up your head and put under a bonnet that ties you down and then a bunch of steam comes off your head for 20 minutes. Gotta say my hair looked great.

Oh yes, others remembered my special day too, Sephora sent me an email with a free gift (did not open the email yet) Delta Airlines sent me a Birthday Greeting and a discount code just in case I want to spend a bunch of money with them before December 31, and my old radio station in Detroit emailed me a have a happy day. Wow.

Seriously, I had a great weekend, drama free. Except for one little thing. We stopped at the video store and no they do not have The Help movie. They tried to show BD the new movies and he told them is not buying anything until they get The Help. They were sad, we do spend some kwai with them. Then we were walking past Mr. Woody's and what do see, a poster for The Help. Mr. Woody does not have the movie The Help, he has the poster. Yes, yes, we have the poster now. WTF. BD went on the Internet looking for movie here in Shanghai, they sent him to my blog.

Just a taste of the Good Wishes I received

Email sent from the crew at the Ning Hai Howard Johnson.

Gotta love your fans.

I am 50% on Birthday presents

Hand carved plaque I bought in Qiantong, fish and flowers, I am water in Feng Shui talk and need wood in my surroundings. Seemed a perfect match to me.

Birthdays are very emotional for me, we don't need to get into that hot mess, but they seem to go really well or really badly. My countdown started early this year as my birthday is the 5th.

First gift received this week was a lovely bottle of wine from the Howard Johnson in Ning Hai. Of course they did hedge a bit and said it was also to make up for the fact that they woke Big Daddy up at 2AM and tried to get him to change rooms. So, the wine is 50% mine. My second gift was refused. Not by me, but as I received 1 of 2 still at 50% but now the math is getting harder and I have never been good at math.

Big Daddy has been telling his supplier he is very sad for over a week. This is because it is the only way to communicate to them that they are the worst piece of shit ever. He then draws tears on his face and refuses to go to dinner with them. Entertaining really escalates when the job is in the squat toilet.

When Big Daddy left Ning Hai yesterday the supplier tried to give him a bottle of wine for my birthday. Unfortunately the wine was accompanied by hand rolled cigars for BD. So yep, he turned them down. I told him I admired his integrity and they probably gave the loot to the Frenchy. Frenchy called today and said that he had heard how sad BD was and whatever he did worked because the tool shop was busting ass.

Funny of the day: At the train station BD heard someone calling his name. He said it was a little Chinese lady, very young. She told him she worked at the Howard Johnson and was very excited that she could tell everyone at work that she had seen him at the train station. I guess we are popular.

We are all good now

I fixed the "Did It Work" post and you can now click on the link and go right to the album and the captions show up. I fear in the future some will grumble "I wish she never figured that Picasa out". Don't worry, it was dumb luck and I doubt I will be inundating the Internet with enough photos to choke anyone. That is not a bad way to post photos, I think when I started using Picasa the Internet was on the fritz here and I could not stay connected long enough to stay interested. Thank you Badger for the reminders.

I found out some curious information today regarding my quest for the movie, The Help. Big Daddy found some magazine and brought it home from Ning Hai. The magazine had an article on how often you should clean your nose. I have a weak stomach and cannot discuss the nose cleaning nor BD's fascination with the Chinese ability to perform miracle mucus discharge and phlegm feats, however I found an article on new shit happening in Shanghai and there it was, a description of the movie, The Help. This is when I checked the date of the magazine and discovered it was 2 months old. I also discovered we missed the stage play "Kiss Me Kate". I am thinking that might have been a Chinese sanctioned movie and actually sold here at retail, which would explain why no pirates have it. Bad news, we don't know of any retail DVD establishments in Shanghai. I might have to order this one from Amazon. And find a current magazine, I have never seen this one before.

As the fall brings a new crop of expats, we have at least one here at the Hotel, BD called for flowers Monday and when he went down to the lobby there was a laowai trying to steal our flowers. Offering huge sums of money for our Bird of Paradise flowers. The flower lady held firm to her refusal and Bd was the good guy and told him the arrangement on how to get flowers. I swear, there are days that the flowers are the only thing that make my life a happy one.

Did it work, NO, it seems I mucked it up pretty badly.

I think I need help here. If you click on the pictures it seems you can do the slide show. This is not what I wanted. Sorry. Guess Picasa and I are not real friendly at this moment.

Just click on one of the pics.

Did it work?

Not sure about this, think this is a test blog.

Does anyone see pictures?

https://picasaweb.google.com/102634027060747838635/Qiantong