Sept 30 - 5am no pm wha?

talked to the wifey today, she told me that she slept a loonnnggg time, and woke up at 5. But because of the Chinese National Holiday it was 5pm and quiet, so she thought it was 5am initially.

My sister told me she's getting a kitten soon. Since I'm not with my wife...well...I hope it's ok....

120 days - Notice of Appeal to Canadian Immigration

According to my notice of appeal "The Minister's counsel must provide the appeal record to you or your counsel and to our office no later than 120 days after the Minister's Counsel received the notice to appeal from our office...." I'm supposed to get this blue book. 120 days from the notice date is tomorrow....

I wonder when they received it???

Update:
The Canadian Consulate in HK sent the records and file to Toronto on June 15. I didn't receive the record until early November.

Index of the record and more details is in my post Canadian Immigration Appeal Record details

Sept 29 - nothing to report

talked to the wifey briefly today, she was tired and wanted to shower. She's been working on things for her hùkǒu.

She's got tons of skin creams, it drives me nuts, you can't have a couple and then use them up???





I'm going to get this book and read it. Factory Girls: From Village to City in a Changing China

Sept 28 - some money stashed

Talked to the wifey for 3+ mins, then almost 30 mins. today at work. Rogers must love me.

I found out that her mother has given her money, so that assuming she gets to come here, if there are problems and she doesn't like it she can fly back. LOL. I've tried to explain to her that divorce laws are very generous, fair, whatever you want to call it, to the woman. The cold will make her want to leave first.

She wants to buy another condo for investment, since our 大哥 dà gē just bought a place in Shenzhen. I still keep harping on her to buy gold and silver bullion if she can find it. Maybe I'll try something different.

minimalism

This is a picture of Steve Jobs in his apartment when he was younger.

If you know me, and I told you I was thinking about getting rid of my couch, you would be taking me seriously. I think I'll ask the wife first what she thinks.

Cantonese

I like Mandarin way better. Hong Kongese is really annoying. Mainland Cantonese is not so bad.

Sept 26, 27 - niiiiiiiiigggaaa

- MSN'd with the wife Sat. morning, she pissed me off before MT.

- She keeps asking when I can come to China next. DFK. Don't F'in Know.

- Went out and came back with my friend. My wife was asking where he was going to sleep. I told her definitely not in my bed. She couldn't understand. She said in China when her friends stayed over they would sleep with her.....I tried to explain to her it's ok to us if girls sleep together LOL

My friend made the reference to the Russel Peter's joke "niiiiggga." I actually use that a lot, 那个, nèi gè. I don't think he liked it when we were in the Chinese grocery store and I pointed out how if I ever see black people in there they are going nuts over the cheap chicken. :)

- Sun. morning my wife was happy with her english when she told my friend "Good morning. Do you study English?"

Sept 25, 26(late) - I've got sunshine

talked to the wifey at work and just now. She's dropping her mother off at the bus station to return to Guizhou. I told her to watch for pick pockets. She said it was very sunny that day. I asked her if she's ok to be on her own, she says she's not strong enough to clean. She does spend 6 hours at a time cleaning the condo, I have no clue what she does to take up the time other than like to wash the floor by hand....

Musically She likes the Tempations - My Girl. First line "I've got sunshine"


I like the Subways - RocknRoll Queen. 1st line "You are the sun" I liked the movie too. Do you know what a RocknRolla is?

Sept 24 - you freak!!!

talked to the wifey today - she took my passport to the 'poee-leece 那'. When I called her the first time she was eating with her mother and sister so I called back. Then she was in the lobby of our condo and was using mostly English. I thought she was doing that to avoid people eavesdropping and understanding, so when I asked her she got angry and explained she wanted to practice English. "I and you different. You freak!!!" LOL

I'm trying to chill out and finally get around to listening to the F**k Buttons album. It's having the opposite effect, I think I want to poke my eyes out...err something...

MSN - need to learn more Hanzi

Steve says:
xuexi Tai Quan
Linda says:
wo zhi dao ,na ni yi ding hen li hai de gong fu le
ni shi yi zhi jian chi zai xue xi zhong wen ma ?
Steve says:
泰拳 dui. Wo hen duo de shi jian wu liao souyi wo qu
Linda says:
wo yi jing wang le geng duo de English
Steve says:
wo bu wang le, wo he tai tai shuo, souyi wo yong
Linda says:
wait
在听音乐吗？
yes
I can
Steve says:
http://www.be-at.tv/
wo xihuan Deadmau5, ye ta shi Jianada ren
Linda says:
ni xuan le zhong wen ge ting hao ma? you ni xi huan de ma ?
Steve says:
wo geng xihuan ting dj, disco
Linda says:
一首中文歌也没有喜欢的吗
我发中文字， 认识吗
Steve says:
you mafan :)

Sept 23 - got it

Talked to the wifey today - She went to Shenzhen for stuff, and was tired. She also got my passport, so she could use it to get her hùkǒu changed. I told her to get the police records of me being recorded.

Sept 22 - nǐ de diànhuà

"nǐ de diànhuà 是" bullsit tu!!



My wife tells me that my phone that I bought in HK is no good, because it drops a signal, and we're connecting long distance. I think it's because the signal in our condo is crap. She wants me to use her old Nokia when I'm there, I told her the phone is "bullsh!t". I love her accent when she swears, it makes me laugh.

No kids yet

Your girlfriend isn't the only one faking it

Take a closer look at the packaging next time you use a condom, as it may not be quite what you paid for- Recently an underground production line manufacturing fake brand-name condoms was uncovered in Shaoyang, Hunan Province. Among the counterfeit condoms were such recognizable brands as Love Card, NOX, and Durex.

A Shaoyang City Drug Administration search revealed more than 1,620,000 poor-quality condoms set to be packaged in imitation wrappers, according to a piece translated by China Hush. The production line was located in a residential area and spanned three buildings, making it the largest recorded case of manufacturing fraud in Hunan province.

It seems the production line was owned by Li Anping, a local farmer - and apparent entrepreneur. Li has been renting the buildings since March and hired migrant workers to operate the production and packaging of the counterfeit condoms.

According to Li's confession to a Food and Drug Administration official, he has already sold over 480,000 condoms, most of which were circulated in Hunan, Guangdong, Hubei and ‘other places’. Reports on how this will affect the Chinese birth rate will not be available for another nine months

Sept 21 - DeeVeeDee? Luis Vitton?

My wife wants to help her friend burn a DVD or something. Her sound was cut out, so I tried to explain to her to go to Baidu and look for some open source and instructions.



This picture for the upcoming 60th Anniversary Celebration in China reminds me of the part in the Century of Self where women are encouraged to smoke kill sticks.

Sept 20 - change

Talked to the wifey from "XXXXX de jia." We were watching Blood the Last Vampire after UFC. She's amazed at the size of his cats. Then we talked again in the morning from my place, she's really p!ssed I sent my huzhao regular mail. Couple that with increased inspections in Beijing for Oct. 1st and things could get slow. She says she gets preferential treatment at the police station when they find out her husband is Canadian. Her father gets treated like a p.o.s. peasant. It's no wonder why when there's unrest the farmers are so unruly.

Sept 19 - noon

My wife wants to ask my friend a question about his employment situation since he recently left his long term job. She was annoyed I had to cut out to go to Muay Thai as she says she has lots of 'questions.'

Apparently I look like Cro Cop. She doesn't think so.

Sept 19 - 3am Eternal :: Steppin' the the AM

Talked to the wifey at 3:30am, owing to my erratic sleeping pattern. Erratic...pattern...(?) My friend's gf got her a gift. She likes it very much. She wants to get her a gift in return.

It's loud at her place, they're doing reno's upstairs, the pounding was annoying to even me way over here.

At work I called her and we talked about use of the washroom in China. In China they will use it to smoke, and talk on the phone. Here that's just weird to talk on the phone, and smoking inside is not acceptable obviously. She also didn't know that green tea lowers your risk of cancer, as many Chinese men smoke but have low instances of cancer - doctors speculate this is from all the tea they drink.

It's True

Chinese wives like to squirrel away a little money

"Chen and his wife resigned from the opposition Democratic Progressive Party in August 2008, after he admitted failing to declare election-campaign funds, and that his wife had wired $21 million abroad without his knowledge."

And yes, I do like Asian girls. After all, I did marry one, thank God she's a good cook too.

Septt 17 - hěn fán

talked to the wifey today, learned some new Chinese, hěn fán 很烦. As in where tf is my passport? 是很烦! !



I got this link to this article from an author I like, The Veiled Value of Oopses. I'm hoping it'll help me with my oops from a few days ago.

I kind of like this song

But my wife likes these types of ballads, this is one of her ring tones.



I can't stand to watch the words across the screen, it makes me feel like I have to sing, oh gawd, the horror. (Apocalypse Now)

Choose a Chinese wife

ME: I chose not to choose life: I chose something else. A Chinese wife. And the reasons?



lager lager lager...I'm thirsty

Sept 16 - get bored

talked to the wifey today, then I lost the power on my phone. Called back later, we talked about the new air filter she picked up to use in her room when she's sleeping.

Sept 15 - preacherman

I remember when I was in co-op in Hamilton aeons ago, and when I was waiting for my ride I would watch this southern (white) preacher. He was interesting, talking about fire and demons and angels pitching them into the fire. Then one day, he talked about the differences between men and women.

And in his southern drawl he said "Men, there is only one way to remember your wife's birthday......Just forget it once...." That sumb!tch was right!! Because next year, if I forget, I've been told that I'm getting her a "L o V" bag. Louis Vuitton. f**k. And apparently since I'm such a "xiao qi tiao gong ji" there's no way I'll forget. Canada Post has a special reminder service I'm going to sign up for. < southern drawl > gawdamn < /southern drawl > I feel stupid.



Maybe I can entice her with some 筷子 kuàizi instead, but she'd probably want his and hers.

Black Swans

From Nassim Taleb

http://www.globeinvestor.com/servlet/story/GAM.20090914.RTALEB14ART1918/GIStory/


We here in Canada feel pretty good because our banks are in good shape and we've escaped relatively lightly. What's your take?

That's true. You guys are slightly more insulated than others. But there's no way you can escape the mistakes made by others. They'll just cost you somewhat less. But if we wind up with hyperinflation, Canada will be the best place in the world to be. You've got energy and minerals. You're not overspecialized. You're self-sufficient.

Up here our government is promising we can get rid of our deficit by 2015. Any views on that?

Governments never got projections right before, so why should they now?

So if everyone is still on the wrong track, what's the right track?

My whole idea is to lower risk in society by developing a system that can resist human error, rather than one where human error rules. The first step is to make sure that no financial institution is too big to fail. Next, make sure governments don't favour big companies. Governments should also decrease the role of economists - they're no more reliable than astrologers, and they do more damage.

Sept 14

Talked to the wifey today, when she answered the phone she tried to trick me into thinking she didn't know who it was. I guess it was a little funny, but she says she's bored.

There's a typhoon there today (tái fēng - big wind - 台风), she let me listen.

People still ask me about her status with immigration like I'm dealing with f**king Rogers and I can give weekly updates. It's annoying.

Sept 13 - late

My wife wants me to get a dog, since she thinks I have lots of spare time. I guess I do, but if I get a dog, she might not like it. Then I have to go pick another!!!

I taught her how to say "muffin" as I still have some that my grandmother made.

She can't believe there is a gay pride parade and Pride Week in Toronto.

some reading

In his illuminating new book, economist Brian Lee Crowley anticipates a historic restoration of the principles by which the country governed itself in the past - among them, the classically liberal principles of limited government and personal responsibility. Entitled Fearful Symmetry: The Fall and Rise of Canada's Founding Values, Mr. Crowley's contrarian assessment explains why, demographic step by demographic step.

The fading of Quebec nationalism will combine with an eroding population to reverse the dysfunctional trends of the past 50 years. Put simply, Canada will soon lack the workers necessary to fund Big Government. The only alternative will be less government and more personal responsibility.

Sept 11, 12, 13 - 银条

My wife's priorities assuming she gets over here
1. learn English really well
2. get a good job
3. buy a house (so we can have big 'paaarties' according to her)
4. kids

She is very adamant about buying a house. I'll wait until prices come down.

-Her mother is still with her as pictured.
-I'm trying to get her to buy silver bullion. Apparently it's available in China now but good luck finding some
-she's always cold, and then sweating through the shirts, she's using 3 shirts a day

Oh, she wants to change her hùkǒu so she can go to Hong Kong. But the main perk for her seems that she can meet me at the airport and not Huanggang (皇崗口岸), did you get that Gina Ponziani? Go take another valium.

Tom and Jerry - 老 鼠!!!

The wifey likes Tom and Jerry. When I was in the hospital I got some episodes for her to watch...which reminds me I gotta get some more

I remember one day in our condo a mouse showed up and ran around. I remember her screaming "lǎǎǎǎǎǎooooshǔǔǔǔǔǔǔǔ !!!!" LOL

Sept 10 - Wall E

We didn't talk much today, she was eating when I called. She likes to eat late so she isn't hungry early in the morning.

Assuming my wife finally gets clearance to come here I will eventually take her to the States. I honestly want to take her to Wal*Mart.

Sept 09

Talked to to the wifey today. She needs my passport again for her hukou. *sigh*

Sept 08 - sheng bing geng mao

My wife didn't want to talk much, she keeps getting sick. I told her it's from turning up the AC (tiao kong?) too high so the temp is too low.

Patrick Henry

The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government... lest it come to dominate our lives and interests. - Patrick Henry

Something to think about John Burroughs for the next time I 'insult' you.

Sept 07 - I'm in trooouuubllllle!! 你昨晚去偷猫？？

I got into trouble. :) Because today is a holiday and I didn't call her last night. But I watched District 9 and then made an unauthorized visit to the "deesco." 你昨晚去偷猫？？ [Was I out last night stealing cat?]> I think that's slang.

I took some pictures of the entrance (an alley), which in contrast with a Chinese "deesco" is completely different.

Sept 06

My wife likes the hoodie I'm wearing. My friend gave it to me as a gift.

China trip August 2009 pictures

Some pictures of Zhangmutou.






The view from our bedroom.





From the hospital








One of the factory bosses of my company's suppliers told me to take her to Shēnzhèn Běidà hospital, where expertise of the doctors is much higher.

深圳北大医院. 你老婆肯定知道这个医院的.

在莲花山西北角, 新洲路东侧. 深圳出租车都知道的. 从火车站出来打车35元左右就可以到达.

At her friend 'Ah-qing's' place of employment









At the jiu.ba with Hurricane Brandon,
notice how we are wearing matching Affliction t-shirts.