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April 30, 2006
Fiesta Texas, not the real fiesta that day
Posted by rxu at 11:15 PM | Comments (0)
Pfun
Posted by rxu at 10:54 PM | Comments (0)
I Miss Americanized "Ethnic" Food
Posted by rxu at 10:31 PM | Comments (0)
Remember the Omni!
On Friday, I engaged in a DemiDec-sponsored secret mission and flew out to San Antonio, where I currently remain for the 2006 Academic Decathlon Nationals competition. Taft High School from California won last night. More on this later...
Posted by rxu at 09:00 AM | Comments (0)
PEK->ICN->LAX
Posted by rxu at 05:59 AM | Comments (0)
April 27, 2006
Personal Chef
The original plan to have me "meet up with" the chef's friend (who I chatted up at my party - red shirt) failed and I ended up "complimenting" the chef instead.
Beijing is ridiculous.
Dinner
Posted by rxu at 11:35 PM | Comments (0)
April 23, 2006
Julie's Mosuo Exhibit and AmbresArab
Posted by rxu at 06:27 AM | Comments (0)
Mah First Pahty
A small spontaneous (Nestor raised the possibility in the afternoon) get together at my place.
Posted by rxu at 06:00 AM | Comments (0)
Spring Fling in the 'Jing
Posted by rxu at 05:55 AM | Comments (0)
Singing Lawyers
A Herbert Smith LLP contigent and random hangerson... at PartyWorld KTV.
Posted by rxu at 05:53 AM | Comments (0)
April 20, 2006
Diplomatic Intrigue
Posted by rxu at 05:56 AM | Comments (0)
Stop action whhhaaattt?
Posted by rxu at 05:09 AM | Comments (0)
The People's Dish
Our weekly jaunt to the Hunan restaurant where we partake of "Chairman Mao's Red Cooked Meat" (Mao hails from Hunan Province)
Posted by rxu at 04:05 AM | Comments (0)
The apocalypse comes to my office for reals
China Using Artificial Rain to Clear Dust
By JOE McDONALD
The Associated Press
Tuesday, April 18, 2006; 3:17 PM
BEIJING -- Beijing will use artificial rainmaking to clear the air after a choking dust storm coated China's capital and beyond with yellow grit, prompting a health warning to keep children indoors, state media said Tuesday.
The huge storm blew dust far beyond China's borders, blanketing South Korea and reaching Tokyo.
Posted by rxu at 03:19 AM | Comments (0)
April 19, 2006
Easter 2006
Posted by rxu at 02:39 AM | Comments (0)
April 18, 2006
Tell it like the French...
There's a French term: nadir - the lowest point, the minima, the trough. I'm at a current nadir right now after having spoken with the phone to a relatively new friend about, among many other things, a comparatively old friend.
I will largely recover from this nadir in short order. Beijing is getting to be too exciting right now. But I fear part of that nadir will always dampen everything I do for the rest of my life.
There's a certain comfort in this you know - perhaps I'm finally free of fearing my life. Come what may. Come what may.
Posted by rxu at 12:28 PM | Comments (0)
A great life until something goes wrong...
My co-worker in jest: Randy, you made a mistake in your report.
Me: Oh, what was it?
Co-worker: A political mistake. You wrote that one of China's foreign policy goals is to "marginalize Taiwan" which is incorrect. The Chinese People's Central Government has no wish to harm the Taiwan people. They only wish to marginalize a few rouge separatist elements in the "province of Taiwan."
Me: Oh, I have to write a self-criticism right?
Co-worker: Yup.
Me: Since my Chinese, I assume one will be written for me and I'll just sign right?
Ah... it's good to be in China when you're educated, young and professional. It's a new China. Where there's good food, women throwing themselves at you, abundant liquor, freedom of association and movement. Where it's ok to joke about politics as long as you don't challenge the government.
It's always good to be in China unless 1) you're poor or 2) something bad happens (e.g., a legal dispute, a car accident, disease, etc).
... perhaps the distinguishing characteristic of a civilized culture is its ability to mitigate the effects of that something bad?
Posted by rxu at 04:53 AM | Comments (0)
April 16, 2006
Beer Pong at the Ambassador's Residence
2 decades ago, when I was a small child growing up in booney-town China, I never imagined one day I'd be running around the US Ambassador's residence trying to find alcohol and prophalactics.
and 2 days ago, I never imagined I'd be able to come up with one good reason I'd want Bush to remain in office...
Posted by rxu at 05:12 PM | Comments (0)
April 14, 2006
The Middle Class
I just realized I'm a part of something rather new in the Chinese experience - a young middle class, floating free from a system that has decided that it needs us.
Posted by rxu at 12:52 PM | Comments (0)
Bill and Randy's Excellent Adventures
At the Annie's near Lido.
Posted by rxu at 12:42 PM | Comments (0)
April 09, 2006
Good quality chairs for a fat-ass country
We're all waiting for the Chinese yuan to drop to 6, so we can buy some real American office chairs. Or at least the ones they sell in the US...
Posted by rxu at 11:03 PM | Comments (0)
Mantou vs Mifan
"She's from the south, he's from the north. It just wouldn't work out. He eats mantou, she eats mifan. They'd be fighting all the time." -Wadams
Posted by rxu at 08:17 PM | Comments (0)
Hutong Highrise
http://www.hutongtohighrise.com/
Posted by rxu at 11:01 AM | Comments (0)
Harvard Alumni "Dinner"
Posted by rxu at 10:57 AM | Comments (0)
Fun Bunch Brunch
Posted by rxu at 10:54 AM | Comments (0)
Eating at Pete's
Posted by rxu at 10:52 AM | Comments (0)
Really Underground
Posted by rxu at 10:51 AM | Comments (0)
April 07, 2006
The apocalypse comes to my office
Posted by rxu at 05:19 AM | Comments (0)
Go Blue
Posted by rxu at 04:25 AM | Comments (0)
April 05, 2006
Trivial BJ
Posted by rxu at 12:54 PM | Comments (0)
Mah Biz Kahd
Posted by rxu at 06:12 AM | Comments (0)
April 02, 2006
Salud...
Beijing is one of those cities where going out for a jog actually makes you worse off...
Posted by rxu at 08:27 AM | Comments (0)
Charlie and the Chocolate Birthday Cake
Small world - Charlie's father (his family moved to Beijing a year and a half ago, before he did) used to work at a radio station in Simi Valley. We had a radio station?
Posted by rxu at 08:24 AM | Comments (0)