The Two Month Update

It has been two months for me in the big SH. Final answer- donkey.

Just kiddin. It's ok.

Sarah's been super busy at work...but she starts traveling next week. That usually slows things down some I think. She is going to Beijing and Tianjin next week- then the following week she'll be in Guanzhou and some other city with a name I can't spell.

I know I've said it before- but this really trips me out. Have you ever heard of Tianjin? I hadn't either- and it has a population of 13 million. 13 million people that to you and I have never known to exist. Here is the really mind blowing deal- check out the picture below...it has a list of cities that you've probably never heard of- all with millions and millions of people in them!

Ok, moving on, we are 99% done with our Christmas shopping! Thank you amazon.com.

I have been running and working out extra because, according to Sarah, I got fat. I've been doing double days for the last week- not including tennis. As a result, my body hurts.....so I went to get a massage. Here is the review on the $10 Chinese massage:

It's ok.

Well I guess that wraps up the two month review. Things are clipping along like a ding dong. We are looking forward to our next trip home!

P.S.- the other photo is of a cake box I saw at the grocery store today. I'd smurf that cake!

P.P.S- I'm looking for used tapes. If anyone has any of their old ones they no longer want, please send them my way. Here are a few I know are floating out there and I'm gonna call you on the carpet for them:
Eric- Jethro Tull- any, Madona- any

Dade- Steve Winwood "Back in the Highlife" (but only if side two with "Higher Love" works)

Mom- Pow Wow Nation, Pow Wow Nation II, Pow Wow Nation Part III- Return of the Pow Wow.

Thanks!

Portable Stereo

Check it- I got this new stereo today....

Sanyo M990

It plugs into the wall, but check it- you can put three D batteries in the back and its totally portable!  That means you can walk up and down the street with this thing on your shoulder and take your music with you wherever you go!

It has many dials and buttons-

• On
• Off
• FM
• SW1 (Short wave 1)
• SW2 (Short wave 2)
• Play
• Record
• Rewind
• Fast forward

And a ton more.....I'll try to come up with a few more pics. 

I was also able to pick up some blank tapes too.  Now I can put my iphone up to the "condenser microphone" and record any song I have in my itunes to tape.  Think about it.....I won't ever have to carry my phone around again when I want to listen to music!

Blank tapes run about $.50 each if they are new.  They had some used that you could record over that were cheaper, but I'm looking for clean lo-fi beats here.

It only weighs about 11 pounds which makes it super easy to carry to say the corner store, the park, or maybe your friend is having a birthday party at Skateworld....doesn't matter, this hottie is ready for some loud action.

Another cool thing is that the blank tapes come with a sleeve in the case that allows you to write the song names that you record.  This way you don't have to waste too much time rewinding and fast forwarding looking for your favorite tune.  Also, if you're going to make a mix for that special someone in your life- they can see what you're giving them right away....no need to have to listen to the whole thing!

For all you old people out there, say over 42, there is a "phono" port on the side of the unit that even has a screw for the ground wire.  Cassette tapes aren't the only order for the day.

Like I said before, it weighs about 11 pounds, so I can bring one at a time back to the US.....so first come, first serve.

Thanksgiving....on a Sunday? March 24th 1984

Sarah and I celebrated Thanksgiving today....on a Sunday!?!? Seems so anti-American!

We had a good time though. We went to Sarah's co-workers house and there were about 8 people there (and some kids). I'll copy and paste the letter I wrote about it (and them) so you can read all about it:

Dear Mr. Vernon,
We accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Sunday at Thanksgiving for whatever it was we did wrong. What we did WAS wrong, but we think you're crazy to make us write an essay telling you who we think we spent Thanksgiving with. You see us as you want to see us....In the simplest terms and the most convenient definitions. But we found out that each one of us is....a brian, and an athlete, and a basket case....a princess, and a criminal.
Does that answer your question?

Sincerely yours,

The Breakfast Club

What Would You Do?

I want you to think about something....and I'll ask this question without the expectation of an answer because I know it's deeply personal.

If you had only $10 to spend on iTunes, what would you buy?

I for one know that 20% of my $10 would go to A Tribe Called Quest...."Push It Along" and "Ham N Eggs".

Share if you dare....

A Must Have

My friends, I'm here today to tell you about something I keep very close to my heart. Something that has changed my life- and I want to share it with you so it can change your life too.

I introduce- Styleyfone!

This, my friends, is the least donkey iPhone app made to date....and is many minutes of fun!

Wether you're an 8-bit kind of dude, or a true 80's Axel F, this is the app for you.

Styleyfone lets YOU be the digital master.....and now you can re-create all your old favorites!

Don't think that old songs are all the Styleyfone can handle, new songs can be played too. Current hits like "Where have all the cowboys gone" and "My heart will go on".

Ok, enough about the songs- lets get down to business. How much would you pay for an app that can do everything? $100? $200?

Well if you buy it right now at the app store....you're not going to believe it. You're not going to pay $100 today. Not even $75. Now if you go, right now, to the app store- the Styleyphone can be yours for just one payment of $.99!

That's right folks, one payment of $.99....and wait- it doesn't end there. Be one of the first 100 people to download and we'll give you a second Styleyfone app for free! Two Styleyfones for just $.99!

Thanks, but did we mention that Styleyfone can be played while you are listening to music on your phone? Now you can make your favorite songs even better! Order today....

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is here! We are wishing everyone back home a happy Thanksgiving, and asking you all to eat way too much for us!

Thursday will be pretty regular here in SH. Only Americans celebrate, and they do it on Sunday. We'll be going to Sarah's coworker's house.

In the meantime, here are the things we are thankful for here in China:

10. Food delivery
9. Being only slightly below average height now
8. Heated floors
7. The word "NOT" when used sarcastically, like in the early 90's
6. Cleaning lady
5. The new dumpling restaurant
4. People who cut in line
3. No rain
2. Filtered water, and super cheap bottled water

And the big number 1 is.....this picture! It's Kelly, Steve, Brandon, and the rest of the gang:

Photo Blog Part 1

As promised....

Rainy Day

Hate to let everyone down, but I didn't get my "real Shanghai" photos for the photo blog. Maybe over the weekend.

It was raining today, and just didn't seem like a good day to be trouncing around taking pictures.

I did get out for a stroll. I intended to just go for a Ethernet cable at Media Mart but ended up walking all the way to Sarah's work to meet for lunch.

On my way, I found a lo-fi stereo store! They had Walkmans, ghetto boasters, and even some old-school record players. No idea who buys this stuff, but I thought hard about one of the ghetto boasters....and I may still snag it if I can find some blank tapes. It plays FM and you can record songs from the radio just like back in the day!

A Day In Shanghai

Today Sarah and I took a stroll through Shanghai.  It was sunny and warm~ not a cloud in the sky.

We got up at 10am and went to the local coffee shop and had some coffee and listened to the birds sing.  The warm sun on our faces, we were able to catch up on some much needed relaxation time.

After our massages we walked some more and found a great little authentic Italian restaurant and had some lunch.  It was quaint and the live violinist was a very nice touch.  Probably the best Italian food I've ever had.

We called David to pick us up, and he took us back to our apartment so we could take a nap.

Once our nap was through, Sarah put on a dress and I found my favorite dress shirt, we were ready for a night on the town.  We had an excellent dinner on our own private balcony looking over the Shanghai skyline, and had some vintage wine. 

We made it home around 11pm and fell fast asleep.

OR

I woke up this morning at 4am, as usual, way too early....still not used to the time difference and lacking some serious sleep-in time.

Sarah took off for work, but not before I opened the bathroom door and hit her foot....stubbing her toe I made a run for it cause I knew she was going to come at me swinging that blow dryer.  You try to run full speed at a moments notice at 6am in the morning holding a cup of coffee.

Coffee all over my shirt, we made plans to meet up for lunch.  As soon as we decided where to go and when to meet, I remembered that I have to be at home for 6 hours today while some people come and replace the filters in the HVAC system....Sarah leaves for work.

9am rolls around and no HVAC guy.  10am, nothing.  I call Sarah and let her know that I'm not waiting around for them and we can do lunch.  Doorbell rings.

An hour late, the guy says a bunch of stuff to me in Chinese before I can tell him that I don't know what he's saying.  He stops talking and starts working.  After about 2 hours he stops and makes a phone call, talks to someone for about 5 minutes, then hands me the phone.  The guy on the other end tells me (in English) that homeboy doesn't have what he needs and will have to come again next week. 

I call Sarah, but no answer.  No matter, David is here and we are going to pick up the sidehack!  With this in mind, ain't nothing gonna break my stride.  Ain't nothing gonna slow me down, oh-no.  I've got to keep on moving.

Now the raddest part of this whole Shanghai shenanigans.  We get to the bike shop, mentally prepared for the 20 mile ride back to my apartment.  We walk in and I could tell something was wrong right out of the gates.  The looks on their faces reflected that of bad news, and the trembling in their voices, which I couldn't understand told me one thing- no sidehack.

David and the shop owner went back and forth for a long time before David turned to me and gave me the bad news I already knew.  Apparently the factory "forgot" to make it...and it won't be ready until the end of December! 

There are a bunch of holes in the story, and I won't go into details....but long story short, I walked out with a regular bike that is supposed to replace the sidehack until it comes.

All good though.  I was starting to second guess my color scheme, and this gives me the opportunity to rethink how I'm going to design the coolest BMX in China.

Well, you can't win them all....hopefully you win more than you lose. 

Tomorrow I'm gonna put some miles on this bike, and hopefully not get ran over in the process.  Stay tuned for some "real China" photos for tomorrow's blog!

Not a sidehack....but it does have two wheels

This guy and I are having the same kind of day.  He has some of the coolest colors I've ever seen on a cat- and he was way mellow. 

Z for bike chain.

Spent the day in this alley waiting for the bike shop to slap together some piecer for me....

Sea Bass

Finally got out to do some Shanghai fishing today. 

David and I dropped Sarah off at work this morning at 7:45am and headed for the coast.  The drive took about 45 minutes without much traffic....that includes a stop to pick up David's friend Mao.

There were two other friends of David's and Mao's waiting for us when we got there....Leoyee and Yeting- none of which spoke a lick of english.

I knew right away that the fly fishing scene was not going to produce, and luckily I brought along a spinning rod.  There was one spot where everyone was fishing- and that seemed to be the productive area.  It was shoulder to shoulder at the area where there was a pump station which fresh (non-salt) water was being pumped out of a reservoir- and all the fish, and people were stacked up.  I would have taken some photos- but the water and shoreline were loaded with garbage....not worth seeing in my mind.  It was pretty bad- but on the other side of the road was the reservoir and that was way worse!

We eeked out a few fish between the 5 of us, the biggest being about 4lbs.  We fished from about 8:45-12:00 then packed up and went to find some lunch.  I was sick of fishing after about an hour....shoulder to shoulder with a bunch of guys who smoke isn't my idea of fun fishing....and I was glad when everyone else got sick of it too.  David said it was especially busy because the fish are beginning to stage to get into the fresh water.  I don't know if that is true or not- but judging by all the trash around, I'd have to guess that the area is heavily used and normally busy.

The drive from Sarah's work to the fishing spot, which was essentially the ocean, is all city.  It goes from downtown to suburbs to factories to ocean.  At the ocean it is still Shanghai- but these guys kept calling it "small town"....and it did have that feeling.  The streets were quiet, and there was very little traffic.  The people were mellow and slow paced.  There were a bunch of really big apartment complexes that were completely vacant.  I've heard of this before about China, these kind of "ghost towns" that were built in anticipation of an influx of people....never to actualize.  Well, now I've seen it.  It is sort of eery- big, wide streets with no cars or people, blocks of stores that have shut down (or maybe never opened), and blocks and blocks of houses with no people.  It makes you wonder- how did they miss on their expectation so greatly?

We found a restaurant in the "small town" that I could tell right away was going to make me sick.  I did my best to eat some so as to not offend anyone....but kept it to a minimum.  I paid for lunch- as a way to say thanks for taking me fishing.  All told lunch was just under $20 for the 5 of us- including beer.

I've recently discovered this thing called instagram- you probably haven't heard of it....I'm way ahead of the curve....but here are some photos I took today- and instagram has made them a little better than my usual garbage photos.



David, Mao, and Leoyee fishing





Sea Bass!!




Lunch- Mushroom noodles, Bone-in duck, tofu, and the sea bass we caught




Clockwise- Yeting, David, Mao, Leoyee




The restaurant let Mao take the fish we caught and cut it up to eat....note that no one cooked it- just ate it raw.




The leftovers from the fish were made into a soup.  It had tofu in it too.....lots of tofu in China.




A dog in the restaurant was the lest of my worries from a sanitary standpoint.




This was hanging in front of the restaurant.  Whole chicken, some pork, chicken feet, and lots of flies.



Day Two....

Day two with no phone.  The walls are closing in.  Who can I talk to?  And who will listen?  How can I get my gossip?  And who can I gossip to?

I began the day determined to find the answers to these questions.  Chatted online with Ooma, our phone provider...they told me that big brother blocked the port that Ooma uses to run voice over Internet phone.  Their suggestion was for me to contact my Internet company and tell them to open this port-

UDP 53, UDP 123, UDP 514, UDP 1194, UDP 3480, UDP 1000-2000, TCP 110, TCP 53 and TCP 443

Uh, what?

• One, no one knows what any of this crap means in English. 
• Two, even if I did know what these people were talking about, how am I supposed to call a Chinese Internet provider and convey this message? 
•  Three, and probably most ridiculous, WHY would they ever listen to me?

Good job Ooma support department....and good job me figuring out how to use bullet points.

However, I can't expect Ooma to control the world....and they did say that after next week they will likely open the ports again, once the transition is over.



CHAPTER 2- Sidehack

My bike is supposed to be ready today.  I won't be surprised if it isn't- and don't want to get my hopes up.  If it does come today though I'll be tearing up the streets of SH like a 12 year old kid! 

Unfortunately no one thought about how the bike is going to get from the bike shop to our house.  That was something I was sort of expecting Sarah to have figured out....but I guess I do everything else around here anyway- why stop now.

I know what you're going to say- "ride it home".  Well, I learned my lesson from the time I bought that motorcycle from the guy in Sherwood....a 45 minute ride home in the dark after having not been on a motorcycle with a clutch in 20 years, with a 6V lighting system, on a road I didn't know taught me this- I'm going to be riding my bike home probably.  It's like 20 miles.

Well rest assured IF it all works out today I'll be posting many pics.  Until then, here is a sneak peek at what I used for design inspiration....very complicated stuff....

CHAPTER 3- Sarah and the Super Bowl

Sarah is not using her US phone at all really here in China.  So here is her China number in case you don't have it....this is the one to use for whatsapp: 86-156-1805-6109.

I didn't sleep at all on the plane from Portland to Tokyo this last time.  It was 10 hours of horrible....save this:

I was able to pick up a used Gameboy in Portland before I left- and they had Tecmo Bowl!  I was the Chicago Bears for my Super Bowl run.....and what a run it was!  I was able to eliminate some great teams....

• Dan Marino and the Miami Dolphins
• Dorsett and Elway of the Broncos
• #80 Steve Largent with Seattle
• 49ers Walter Craig and Joe Montana

....and many more. 

It came down to the Los Angeles Raiders and I in the Super Bowl.  Probably a worst-case scenario in Tecmo Bowl.  Who can stop the split back set with Marcus Allen AND Bo Jackson?

Well, Mike Singletary and the 1988 Chicago Bears defense- that's who.  Combine that with Walter Payton's powerful running game and you can eek out a win!

It was close up to the 3rd quarter, and I had a scare when my thumb cramped, but we pulled it out....no thanks to the flight attendant who kept bothering me, seemingly at the most critical junctures in every game.

You can see the play by play updates if you follow me on twitter @ #caleestecmobowlrun.

Technical Difficulties

China is having technical difficulties today.

Many of the expat sites are exploding with complaints- google issues, gmail issues, basic internet connection issues....it's down, it's all down.

For me this means two things- uno, no home phone....something about the port being blocked. Two, very spotty VPN. That means no internet with no VPN! We may as well be in the 14th century here.

The reason....well most here agree that big brother is blocking as much as possible ahead of the leadership transition here (new President). Why, I don't know. They are taking extra steps to block google, gmail, and some routes to servers in the US and elsewhere.

The solution....well 3G on my phone works, and I can run VPN through it....but it's slow and inconsistent. So, today I'm going to let it all go. No internet, no phone, just me and Mother Earth. David asked me to give him a casting lesson today since we are going sea bass fishing on Wednesday...and he really wants to try to fly fish when we go. I brought him over a Lamiglas spinning rod, think he should stick to that....but he's excited and I think he'll be a good student of the sport, so who am I to tell him what to do?

Sarah has to go to work today (sucker), and I think she is traveling to Beijing later in the week...maybe that's next week....at any rate I think I'll be tagging along as a few people have asked me to scout out the scene there before they come visit.

I'm hoping we can take the train over. It's about a 5 hour ride- and it rips at 240MPH! I was looking at the schedule and rates....they run like 50 SH to BE trips a day! There are 5 classes of seats that range from real cheap to about $300 each way. A basic seat is about $20, then there is hard sleeper, soft sleeper, 3rd class, 2nd class, 1st class, and business class. Gong du!

Go Beavers?

Don't ask me....but the Beavers game is on TV even in Shanghai!

This is the first time the team has been aired on anything other than Fox Sports NW since 1962.

Welcome Beaver fans to something other than a losing season!

Thank you!

Sarah and I would like to thank everyone for hosting us while we were at home.
We got to see pretty much everyone- be it brief.
Here are some takeaways from our visit:

- Jen, in Shanghai, people who drive you around also open the door for you.

- Lindsay, maybe next time you could have some coffee ready at the airport.

- Kris, that wasn't enough beer in the fridge for the two of us for a week....please remember for next time.

- Dade, breakfast was nice....but that 5 minute wait could have been avoided if you would have gone early to save a table.

- Mr and Mrs Jones, is arriving at the Sub Station a little early to decorate for the game too much to ask?

- Chad, thanks for the tickets to the game. Hopefully next time you can provide a more competitive scenario.

- Eric, thanks for the birthday gift....would have been nice to have mike sign the card....

- Humphries, next time we call an hour before we ask to stay at your house maybe don't let the phone ring more than twice.

- Chris and Steve, thank you for everything! However, Sarah and I sort of expected our car to be washed at some point during our stay- and you have that big driveway and all....

- Mom, HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Glad you got to see us.

- Chae, if you're going to send me an emoticon text, it should include a donkey. You know the drill and I shouldn't have to say this.

- Molly Abdu, Sarah and I appreciate your nice comments about our blog. Money speaks louder than words.

Well I guess that's all from us. We brought the rain with us to Shanghai, hopefully that means its sunny for you....

Check out this logo I found...