Chinese people regularly disappoint me. They do it by forgetting to do simple, but important tasks.
More than a week ago, we needed to update rpgreseller to a new web host. It is getting too much traffic. The domain name need to have a simple adjustment, the IP address. It takes about five minutes, and it's not very technical.
This was never done. That means that the sever has been down all this time. If we were making $1,000 every day from it, then one person's negligence would have cost us a lot of money.
Last year, someone's negligence cost the company $14,000.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
My work today
When you want to make a video for youtube, you need to get the size right when you record it.
Else, the quality will be bad and it will look blurry.
Tonight, I made a visual guide in 'What you see is what you get' style because Youtube's own documentation is pretty bad.
View image in full size by clicking it.
Else, the quality will be bad and it will look blurry.
Tonight, I made a visual guide in 'What you see is what you get' style because Youtube's own documentation is pretty bad.
View image in full size by clicking it.
I miss my server
Rpgreseller was too big, and getting too many visitors and kept overloading the SQL server with queries that took too much processing time to complete... so I needed to find a new host. Our lead tech offered his VPS server. It's having some issues due to only having 16gb hdd, and the DNS repoint is taking forever.
I could potentially delete all the old posts, but that's what brings the traffic.
Dilemma. Might need to use paid hosting instead.
The road to hell and hardship is paved with good intentions.
Yeah, I'm a geek. I talk about stuff that most people wouldn't really have a clue what I'm saying.
If you read this far, congratulations.
It's three days in now. And I can't post anything. I can't share the benefits of my work and knowledge with the world. Stuff is backing up in my inbox as I send reminders of business guides, presentations, etc., that I want to share. That's what I really wanted to post about, but there's technical reasons and I hate it when people ask for the reasons because they usually don't understand, but here it is anyway. Now you know the technical stuff that didn't even interest you in the first place. Next time, don't ask. Just listen, then I can skip to the meaningful part: I can't share anything right now and it's bugging me.
So tonight, I think I'll try using my blog.
I could potentially delete all the old posts, but that's what brings the traffic.
Dilemma. Might need to use paid hosting instead.
The road to hell and hardship is paved with good intentions.
Yeah, I'm a geek. I talk about stuff that most people wouldn't really have a clue what I'm saying.
If you read this far, congratulations.
It's three days in now. And I can't post anything. I can't share the benefits of my work and knowledge with the world. Stuff is backing up in my inbox as I send reminders of business guides, presentations, etc., that I want to share. That's what I really wanted to post about, but there's technical reasons and I hate it when people ask for the reasons because they usually don't understand, but here it is anyway. Now you know the technical stuff that didn't even interest you in the first place. Next time, don't ask. Just listen, then I can skip to the meaningful part: I can't share anything right now and it's bugging me.
So tonight, I think I'll try using my blog.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
A chat with my buddy - taobao (EVERYTHING online)
Taobao.com is like China's ebay. Remember that Chinese people don't need big markups to do good business, so imagine all the 'made in china' products, nearly all of them, at your fingertips.
Stefano 11:59:50 AM
i have been thinking of buying everything on taobao lately
Stefano 12:00:03 PM
i almost do not understand why some people visit shops anymore
Stefano 12:00:52 PM
you go there, try to buy something, its out of stock or not right or whatever. ask the store owner to restock so you can come back. store owner opens taobao in your facem buys it there adds 100 yuan and asks you to come back on friday. what the f. lol.
klancy 12:01:16 PM
whoa, did that actually happen?
Stefano 12:01:22 PM
yes.
Stefano 11:59:50 AM
i have been thinking of buying everything on taobao lately
Stefano 12:00:03 PM
i almost do not understand why some people visit shops anymore
Stefano 12:00:52 PM
you go there, try to buy something, its out of stock or not right or whatever. ask the store owner to restock so you can come back. store owner opens taobao in your facem buys it there adds 100 yuan and asks you to come back on friday. what the f. lol.
klancy 12:01:16 PM
whoa, did that actually happen?
Stefano 12:01:22 PM
yes.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
China: You need a wife. Here, have my sister!
Westerners don't do this to others, and they usually don't appreciate it being done to them.
Do not tell us what we NEED.
We do not NEED a wife. We do not NEED a girlfriend.
If we are lonely, we know what to do. It is easy to make friends.
It is very awkward (even rude) for someone to suggest another person for dating or for marriage.
Think about it:
If we say no, then you get offended, right? But another person is not yours to GIVE. You do not own your sisters or your friends, right? So why do you try to give them to other people?
If we say "yes" to be nice, then we say "no" later on, you may assume that something is wrong with your sister or your friend.
If we say "yes" and date for a while, both your sister and myself and going to know that you will bother us for updates about every single date that we have. You will want to know the personal details of our life. You will even want to manage things by saying that we should be closer or we should not be so close, and what we should be allowed to do.
Even if things go very well and a marriage results, then what? You will tell us to make babies.
It is ok to introduce people and say, "I know of someone that you might like to become friends with, you have something in common."
It is NOT ok to say, "You NEED a girlfriend. Here, you should date my sister/cousin/friend now!"
If you say something like that, people know what to expect, and they know what kind of person you are.
Yup, you've just been judged in less than five seconds because you did something that is NOT acceptable in a different culture. Best advice: don't do it!
Do not tell us what we NEED.
We do not NEED a wife. We do not NEED a girlfriend.
If we are lonely, we know what to do. It is easy to make friends.
It is very awkward (even rude) for someone to suggest another person for dating or for marriage.
Think about it:
If we say no, then you get offended, right? But another person is not yours to GIVE. You do not own your sisters or your friends, right? So why do you try to give them to other people?
If we say "yes" to be nice, then we say "no" later on, you may assume that something is wrong with your sister or your friend.
If we say "yes" and date for a while, both your sister and myself and going to know that you will bother us for updates about every single date that we have. You will want to know the personal details of our life. You will even want to manage things by saying that we should be closer or we should not be so close, and what we should be allowed to do.
Even if things go very well and a marriage results, then what? You will tell us to make babies.
It is ok to introduce people and say, "I know of someone that you might like to become friends with, you have something in common."
It is NOT ok to say, "You NEED a girlfriend. Here, you should date my sister/cousin/friend now!"
If you say something like that, people know what to expect, and they know what kind of person you are.
Yup, you've just been judged in less than five seconds because you did something that is NOT acceptable in a different culture. Best advice: don't do it!
Spring Festival
Every year, my friends ask me what I plan on doing for Spring Festival, a lot of strangers also ask me.
Chinese go to see families or old friends, and usually travel a lot in the process.
For an expat, it is different.
Expats don't have friends here from their childhood or in different parts of China.
Expats don't have family that they can travel for a day or two and then visit for a week.
Westerners are also different about what they think is fun. If you ask them to visit your Aunt who lives up in the mountains so that you can have a week full of food and interesting conversations... you already forgot the first rule of expats. They generally don't speak Chinese. That means that a week in the mountains with complete strangers that they can't even talk to... does not sound like fun or happiness to them.
They will be lost, they will be unable to do anything that they like to do. Expats have very few things that they like to do with them which are available. You might find a few things they like in their apartment. It is hard for us to plan a Spring Festival because we can not read Chinese and can not speak it either. That means that we can not find out what to do.
Normally, we stay home, with the things that we like. Maybe we have books, a computer, a television. If we want to go out, we will find other expats and go to a party. It is not common that we will want to travel for three days to spend a week isolated from everything that makes us comfortable or happy to be surrounded by things that make you comfortable or happy, but which we can't understand or appreciate due to the language or culture barrier.
We also like sleeping in our own beds. Our beds are comfortable, and we usually have some kind of heat in the room. Your aunt might not have heat, might not have warm blankets, might not have a soft mattress that is clean.
Now you can understand some of the reasons about why foreigners decide to spend their Spring Festival at home, or with other foreigners. For us, our conditions are very different. If we understood language, we might actually enjoy a weekend away from the few comforts and the few things we have that make us happy.
Chinese go to see families or old friends, and usually travel a lot in the process.
For an expat, it is different.
Expats don't have friends here from their childhood or in different parts of China.
Expats don't have family that they can travel for a day or two and then visit for a week.
Westerners are also different about what they think is fun. If you ask them to visit your Aunt who lives up in the mountains so that you can have a week full of food and interesting conversations... you already forgot the first rule of expats. They generally don't speak Chinese. That means that a week in the mountains with complete strangers that they can't even talk to... does not sound like fun or happiness to them.
They will be lost, they will be unable to do anything that they like to do. Expats have very few things that they like to do with them which are available. You might find a few things they like in their apartment. It is hard for us to plan a Spring Festival because we can not read Chinese and can not speak it either. That means that we can not find out what to do.
Normally, we stay home, with the things that we like. Maybe we have books, a computer, a television. If we want to go out, we will find other expats and go to a party. It is not common that we will want to travel for three days to spend a week isolated from everything that makes us comfortable or happy to be surrounded by things that make you comfortable or happy, but which we can't understand or appreciate due to the language or culture barrier.
We also like sleeping in our own beds. Our beds are comfortable, and we usually have some kind of heat in the room. Your aunt might not have heat, might not have warm blankets, might not have a soft mattress that is clean.
Now you can understand some of the reasons about why foreigners decide to spend their Spring Festival at home, or with other foreigners. For us, our conditions are very different. If we understood language, we might actually enjoy a weekend away from the few comforts and the few things we have that make us happy.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
My Spring Festival
Start on Feb 2.
End on Feb 9.
It will be big. I will edit this post with details when things happen.
End on Feb 9.
It will be big. I will edit this post with details when things happen.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Snow
It snowed in Nanjing.
It snowed because it is cold.
How cold? Zero degrees celcius.
In the great words of Pastor Billsbury "Cold as a witches tit!"
When I turn on the AC, it never stops running. But that's because Chinese windows are single pane, and the wonders of insulation never really caught on here. There's this modern caveman thing where all the walls are made of concrete.
When I turn on the television, even the newscaster in the TV station looks cold. Hehe, I just said that after the witches tit comment. I'm going to hell where it will be warmer.
Concrete walls: If you ever visit China, don't touch the walls. Half the time that's only a base coat, and when you lift your hand, it will be covered in white. And of course, never lean all over a wall and rub your butt on it like I did. You'll come out looking like the Pillsbury Doughboy.
WARM!: In China, AC isn't used much. "Put on a sweater" is how most people deal with the cold.
Well, I'll have you know that I wear thermal pajamas, a sweater, a sweat shirt, and a coat (and a Tshirt beneath to absorb any sweat). I wear so much that if I put on any more clothes, it will damage or distort the fabric.
Aparently it snowed EVERYWHERE in China at once. I've got reports from friends in Shanghai, Changsha, and of course I complete the triangle in Nanjing. That is a BIG triangle.
To answer everybody's question. Nope... I do not really like the snow.
I loved it as a kid and even went snow boarding once.. But that was the USA.
It snowed because it is cold.
How cold? Zero degrees celcius.
In the great words of Pastor Billsbury "Cold as a witches tit!"
When I turn on the AC, it never stops running. But that's because Chinese windows are single pane, and the wonders of insulation never really caught on here. There's this modern caveman thing where all the walls are made of concrete.
When I turn on the television, even the newscaster in the TV station looks cold. Hehe, I just said that after the witches tit comment. I'm going to hell where it will be warmer.
Concrete walls: If you ever visit China, don't touch the walls. Half the time that's only a base coat, and when you lift your hand, it will be covered in white. And of course, never lean all over a wall and rub your butt on it like I did. You'll come out looking like the Pillsbury Doughboy.
WARM!: In China, AC isn't used much. "Put on a sweater" is how most people deal with the cold.
Well, I'll have you know that I wear thermal pajamas, a sweater, a sweat shirt, and a coat (and a Tshirt beneath to absorb any sweat). I wear so much that if I put on any more clothes, it will damage or distort the fabric.
Aparently it snowed EVERYWHERE in China at once. I've got reports from friends in Shanghai, Changsha, and of course I complete the triangle in Nanjing. That is a BIG triangle.
To answer everybody's question. Nope... I do not really like the snow.
I loved it as a kid and even went snow boarding once.. But that was the USA.
"Bunaglow"
Bungalow, I haven't heard that word in years. It's like one of those strange words that an author would dig up out of a dictionary because they're just weird like that, and they like their readers to have to do the same **** thing in order to know what on earth this highly sophisticated author is writing about. (All people that use big words are smart and sexy. Someone that used a lot of big words told me that.)
One of my dear friends lives in a bungalow. Without googling the word, I see a tiny house that Paddington Bear might have once lived in.
In order to keep his bunaglow clean, Paddington always ate his noon day sandwich on the lawn, unless it was raining. It also kinda looks like he was extra careful to make sure he never missed recycling one awry drop of his secret sauce.
Go go google awry. HA! Authorman.
One of my dear friends lives in a bungalow. Without googling the word, I see a tiny house that Paddington Bear might have once lived in.
In order to keep his bunaglow clean, Paddington always ate his noon day sandwich on the lawn, unless it was raining. It also kinda looks like he was extra careful to make sure he never missed recycling one awry drop of his secret sauce.
Go go google awry. HA! Authorman.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Flat mates
Still looking for flat mates. Everybody tells me they will be looking immediately after Spring Festival.
That is when everybody in China eats and drinks so much that they can't move for the next week so they just say, "Eh screw it!" and they have a collective mass vacation.
Many stores shut down. Services shut down (do NOT get a clogged toilet this week). And wise mothers buy lots of groceries in advance.
The lines to buy a railway ticket run just as long as the railways themselves.
You gotta buy ten days in advance, and if you're smart, you'll bring a tiny fold out chair with you.
Or maybe a 'hoppity-hop' would be nice.
If you want to see where the line ends, you might need a pogo stick.
And just to get through it unharmed, might I suggest a billy club?
Spring Festival is also when millions of people decide that they will light fireworks 24x7. Seriously, 24x7. You are NOT getting any sleep. Period.
Think you're safe at 4AM? Nope, that's the perfect time to send up more mortars.
Yes, mortars.
Think it's cool living ten floors up? MORTARS!
Well, let me tell you. After you've fished out anything that you nearly chocked on due to shell shock, you will be able to look out your window and see massive pyrotechnic amazement much closer than you'll ever see it again for the rest of your life. Oh yeah, keep your windows shut. Seriously!
After the massive Spring Festival vacation, drones of hammered people return to work ten pounds heavier. And that's when every single one of them will be looking for a new apartment. Until then, it's pretty quiet.
One of my old business partners is interested in coming over to China. I'm thinking of giving him a room. We've loosely talked for a few years, and I've helped him with some things. Now we'll do some biz together and see what happens. Running a forum has paid off. People recognize my knowledge base with ecommerce of digital goods.
That is when everybody in China eats and drinks so much that they can't move for the next week so they just say, "Eh screw it!" and they have a collective mass vacation.
Many stores shut down. Services shut down (do NOT get a clogged toilet this week). And wise mothers buy lots of groceries in advance.
The lines to buy a railway ticket run just as long as the railways themselves.
You gotta buy ten days in advance, and if you're smart, you'll bring a tiny fold out chair with you.
Or maybe a 'hoppity-hop' would be nice.
If you want to see where the line ends, you might need a pogo stick.
And just to get through it unharmed, might I suggest a billy club?
Spring Festival is also when millions of people decide that they will light fireworks 24x7. Seriously, 24x7. You are NOT getting any sleep. Period.
Think you're safe at 4AM? Nope, that's the perfect time to send up more mortars.
Yes, mortars.
Think it's cool living ten floors up? MORTARS!
Well, let me tell you. After you've fished out anything that you nearly chocked on due to shell shock, you will be able to look out your window and see massive pyrotechnic amazement much closer than you'll ever see it again for the rest of your life. Oh yeah, keep your windows shut. Seriously!
After the massive Spring Festival vacation, drones of hammered people return to work ten pounds heavier. And that's when every single one of them will be looking for a new apartment. Until then, it's pretty quiet.
One of my old business partners is interested in coming over to China. I'm thinking of giving him a room. We've loosely talked for a few years, and I've helped him with some things. Now we'll do some biz together and see what happens. Running a forum has paid off. People recognize my knowledge base with ecommerce of digital goods.
Cooking!!!!!!!!!
I got the kitchen all geared up and cleaned up.
Woks, frying pans, magic hot plate, cutting boards, garlic press, plates, bowls.... it looks like a family lives there and the kitchen has the finesse of a woman's touch along with the industrial power of a man. (Metal shelving units stacked up to the ceiling, steel S hooks everywhere, wall hooks mounted in every direction.)
Tonight, I went with a friend and we cooked together.
He knew a recipe for what I can only describe as a zuchinni hamburger.
My words do it no justice. How can anyone but a famous poet describe a famous painting?
The taste was legendary, but it was so simple too. I WILL be making this again!
My kitchen is serious, you know it the moment you walk in and see TWO rice cookers and TWO crock pots.
Yesterday, I started a crock pot soup. Here you can get duck leg for 8.50 RMB for 500g.
(That's like $1.20 per pound-ish) Cilantro, carrots, leafy greens.. But what really makes it good is this little packet of flavoring that is labeled 'DELICIOUS SOUP" - that's the only English part on the package, and when I saw that in the store, I thought "Well, that's exactly what I want!"
So I said, "Get IN to my basket! I am taking you home."
I had a taste. As my grandpa would compliment any fine dish, "It's good enough to eat!"
HA! My mom hated it when he said that. "What do you think of my wonderful dinner that I spent 3 hours preparing and only used the finest spices and this secret recipe book to make?"
"Hmm" (sip) "It's good enough to EAT!"
I'm very happy to be cooking again. This means that I'll be eating a little healthier.
Chinese food (most common complaint among foreigners) is TOO OILY!
Unlike most foreigners, I love Chinese food. It's good stuff. It's good enough to eat!
However, I also miss things that taste like America.
People sometimes ask me to define American food. I can't. America is a melting pot. I crave burritos that originated in Mexico. I miss pasta that came from Italy. I miss breads from France. I miss Mediterranean dishes. It's all fusion food, really.
American food is apple pie, hot dogs, tacos, burritos, CHEESE (anything with cheese), hamburgers, nachos, enchiladas, black bean soup, ham omelets, bacon, cream, sour cream, milk, chili...
I can't really cook many things, but I can run a mean crock pot! Throw meat and veggies in a pot, plug it in, add some 'DELICIOUS SOUP" mix, and BAM! I have delicious soup!
I'm going to be eating a lot of soup.
Woks, frying pans, magic hot plate, cutting boards, garlic press, plates, bowls.... it looks like a family lives there and the kitchen has the finesse of a woman's touch along with the industrial power of a man. (Metal shelving units stacked up to the ceiling, steel S hooks everywhere, wall hooks mounted in every direction.)
Tonight, I went with a friend and we cooked together.
He knew a recipe for what I can only describe as a zuchinni hamburger.
My words do it no justice. How can anyone but a famous poet describe a famous painting?
The taste was legendary, but it was so simple too. I WILL be making this again!
My kitchen is serious, you know it the moment you walk in and see TWO rice cookers and TWO crock pots.
Yesterday, I started a crock pot soup. Here you can get duck leg for 8.50 RMB for 500g.
(That's like $1.20 per pound-ish) Cilantro, carrots, leafy greens.. But what really makes it good is this little packet of flavoring that is labeled 'DELICIOUS SOUP" - that's the only English part on the package, and when I saw that in the store, I thought "Well, that's exactly what I want!"
So I said, "Get IN to my basket! I am taking you home."
I had a taste. As my grandpa would compliment any fine dish, "It's good enough to eat!"
HA! My mom hated it when he said that. "What do you think of my wonderful dinner that I spent 3 hours preparing and only used the finest spices and this secret recipe book to make?"
"Hmm" (sip) "It's good enough to EAT!"
I'm very happy to be cooking again. This means that I'll be eating a little healthier.
Chinese food (most common complaint among foreigners) is TOO OILY!
Unlike most foreigners, I love Chinese food. It's good stuff. It's good enough to eat!
However, I also miss things that taste like America.
People sometimes ask me to define American food. I can't. America is a melting pot. I crave burritos that originated in Mexico. I miss pasta that came from Italy. I miss breads from France. I miss Mediterranean dishes. It's all fusion food, really.
American food is apple pie, hot dogs, tacos, burritos, CHEESE (anything with cheese), hamburgers, nachos, enchiladas, black bean soup, ham omelets, bacon, cream, sour cream, milk, chili...
I can't really cook many things, but I can run a mean crock pot! Throw meat and veggies in a pot, plug it in, add some 'DELICIOUS SOUP" mix, and BAM! I have delicious soup!
I'm going to be eating a lot of soup.
Bike
I go to work in the morning, and stay late because it's the only place with an internet connected computer that's hooked up to what I like. At home, there's a television that doesn't speak my language. Not much to go home to.
I stay up late at work, just relaxing with a game or some media, but I'd rather be home.
Go home to early = bored.
Stay late = no bus, half hour walk in the cold to get home.
So I often stay the night at the office.
One of my coworkers generously took me out to get a bike.
He paid for the taxi ride.
He took an hour out of his day.
The bike was too big in the van when driving home, so he paid for a second taxi to go to his own destination afterward.
I have wanted a bike for months. I'm really happy to finally take care of this.
I stay up late at work, just relaxing with a game or some media, but I'd rather be home.
Go home to early = bored.
Stay late = no bus, half hour walk in the cold to get home.
So I often stay the night at the office.
One of my coworkers generously took me out to get a bike.
He paid for the taxi ride.
He took an hour out of his day.
The bike was too big in the van when driving home, so he paid for a second taxi to go to his own destination afterward.
I have wanted a bike for months. I'm really happy to finally take care of this.
Monday, January 3, 2011
Isolated
Every night, I go home to a concrete floor in an empty living room with no heat. It has been this way for a little over a month now.
There is a bed and some blankets, but this is still uncomfortable. There is no heat because only one room in the apartment has heat (the room where I paid to have heat installed before I left Nanjing last year). I have returned now. The room with heat belongs to someone else now.
Chinese people do not always use heat. I do not understand this.
Two of the three Winters I have had in Nanjing have been the worst single Nanjing Winter in the last 50 years of history.
I have experienced sleeping with a coat, long sleeve shirt, 3 sweaters, 3 pair of pants, and blankets... but it is still so cold that you shiver uncontrollably. If there is a draft, it can be so cold that you can only sleep for 3 hours in a night.
When you dress this way during the day, your armpits will sweat and you may begin to stink. But the rest of you stays cold. If you go to work and there is no heat at work (very common), then your fingers may hurt.
Sometimes I do not take showers because it is so cold. Sometimes I do not go home. I stay in the office because it is too cold to sleep. At about 3 or 4 AM, I will finally be so tired that I can sleep even if I am cold. This makes me late for work the next day, however.
I tried sleeping in the office. This made someone upset.
Right now, I have clothes on the clothesline that have frozen solid. It is cold.
I have paid money and rented an apartment that will belong to me for six months.
This apartment has heat, but is is empty.
I have had the apartment for a week now, and it will stay empty. I can not live there right now.
I need to move things to the new apartment, but I do not speak Chinese.
At work, I have an assistant. But when I asked for her to help me find an apartment, someone else got upset because they had given the assignment of that to someone else that does not speak my language. The other person was not doing a very good job and we could not talk to each other about getting an apartment.
I would like to have my assistant help me to move things out of the apartment.
I am worried that people will complain or get upset because they do not think she should not do things like that.
I am now looking for a stranger that I can pay money. They will help me to move my things.
I had planned that I would do the move during work time. I thought that others might understand that this is about life. If I do not have a good place to sleep, then how will I work well? I am not so sure that they will understand now.
For the Chinese people. They can go home to warmth, they can sleep comfortably. They do not feel pain because of Winter. I am different. I can not speak Chinese.
This is not the first time that I have had a terrible experience when I tried to get help from a Chinese employer when I needed basic survival things like warmth or shelter.
Anyone that goes to China should make friends quickly, get phone numbers. When work fails, your friends can help you survive and help you take care of your comfort.
There is a bed and some blankets, but this is still uncomfortable. There is no heat because only one room in the apartment has heat (the room where I paid to have heat installed before I left Nanjing last year). I have returned now. The room with heat belongs to someone else now.
Chinese people do not always use heat. I do not understand this.
Two of the three Winters I have had in Nanjing have been the worst single Nanjing Winter in the last 50 years of history.
I have experienced sleeping with a coat, long sleeve shirt, 3 sweaters, 3 pair of pants, and blankets... but it is still so cold that you shiver uncontrollably. If there is a draft, it can be so cold that you can only sleep for 3 hours in a night.
When you dress this way during the day, your armpits will sweat and you may begin to stink. But the rest of you stays cold. If you go to work and there is no heat at work (very common), then your fingers may hurt.
Sometimes I do not take showers because it is so cold. Sometimes I do not go home. I stay in the office because it is too cold to sleep. At about 3 or 4 AM, I will finally be so tired that I can sleep even if I am cold. This makes me late for work the next day, however.
I tried sleeping in the office. This made someone upset.
Right now, I have clothes on the clothesline that have frozen solid. It is cold.
I have paid money and rented an apartment that will belong to me for six months.
This apartment has heat, but is is empty.
I have had the apartment for a week now, and it will stay empty. I can not live there right now.
I need to move things to the new apartment, but I do not speak Chinese.
At work, I have an assistant. But when I asked for her to help me find an apartment, someone else got upset because they had given the assignment of that to someone else that does not speak my language. The other person was not doing a very good job and we could not talk to each other about getting an apartment.
I would like to have my assistant help me to move things out of the apartment.
I am worried that people will complain or get upset because they do not think she should not do things like that.
I am now looking for a stranger that I can pay money. They will help me to move my things.
I had planned that I would do the move during work time. I thought that others might understand that this is about life. If I do not have a good place to sleep, then how will I work well? I am not so sure that they will understand now.
For the Chinese people. They can go home to warmth, they can sleep comfortably. They do not feel pain because of Winter. I am different. I can not speak Chinese.
This is not the first time that I have had a terrible experience when I tried to get help from a Chinese employer when I needed basic survival things like warmth or shelter.
Anyone that goes to China should make friends quickly, get phone numbers. When work fails, your friends can help you survive and help you take care of your comfort.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
And.... ACTION!
I am going to help someone to make a pilot episode for a local television series here in Nanjing.
Part of the script is here. I'll help with writing and will probably be acting in it as well.
I think this will be fun, I'll meet people, and of course it'll look great on my resume.
http://www.hellonanjing.net/forum/6-general-classifieds/16268-recruiting-actorsaactresses-for-independent-movie
Part of the script is here. I'll help with writing and will probably be acting in it as well.
I think this will be fun, I'll meet people, and of course it'll look great on my resume.
http://www.hellonanjing.net/forum/6-general-classifieds/16268-recruiting-actorsaactresses-for-independent-movie
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