Raoul's China Saloon (V5.0) Beta

The Bar Room => The Champagne Cabana => Topic started by: Escaped Lunatic on April 13, 2020, 04:39:47 PM

Title: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on April 13, 2020, 04:39:47 PM
(Note to Barflies - this is the downstairs edition and is open to everyone).

Operation Secret Mango Tree is back in business.

There's an empty planter where the village has it's 500+ year old mango trees behind the pond.  For several years now, I've tried to get a tree grown from one of the seeds of one of the ancient trees to grow there.

The results:

3 trees disappeared. llllllllll

A pair (decided to double my odds of a survivor) ripped out. asasasasas  I replanted them, but they died. ananananan

A new pair (thanks to a fellow village who jumped over the wall and climbed down into the mostly drained pond (major pond maintenance and redecoration is ongoing) to get a couple of seedings from beneath one of the overhanging trees.  Those were planted and were doing ok.

Then someone came through spraying herbicide.   aoaoaoaoao

One died,  The other lost all leaves, but its stalk remained green. agagagagag

Then they dug a trench right through the planter.  Missed the tree, but the dirt had it 2/3 buried.  I dug out the excess dirt.  Two days later, the deepened the trench  and I had to dig it out again. Thankfully, whoever refilled the trench got the hint that someone was protecting that tree.

A few days ago, it started to bud.  It looks like it will be getting new leaves in a few days. agagagagag agagagagag agagagagag


Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: AMonk on April 13, 2020, 09:01:08 PM
 agagagagag Mango agagagagag



My younger grandson  akakakakak now weighs 7 pounds 12 ounces. He's 21 days old.  He had to be delivered a month early  :wtf: The handsome little fellow arrived weighing 6 pounds 8 ounces

His 'big' brother  akakakakak  decided to trim his own hair ahahahahah Pretty neat job for a 5-year old bfbfbfbfbf
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: A-Train on April 17, 2020, 12:38:00 PM
No one has died (yet) from the in-person Wisconsin voting.  AND the liberal supreme court judge candidate beat the incumbent, ultra-conservative.  The GOP "Vote-and-you-die" campaign failed!!!
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Nolefan on May 01, 2020, 05:36:17 AM
from Monday, May 4th, we're allowed to go out for long walks and maybe even for a swim.

After 77 days of house-supermarket-house, this is a welcome change
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on May 01, 2020, 04:58:26 PM
 agagagagag  Glad you finally got unleashed!

Taking walks and exercising outdoors was permitted here during the restrictions.  Even so, a lot of people stayed in, so both inside and outside the village had very few others out walking while we were still restricted.  Now the numbers of people walking around is about 95% of normal.
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: AMonk on May 02, 2020, 06:17:13 AM
Very restricted easements starting 2 May  bfbfbfbfbf ... but TPTB are ready to slam us back into the box if some fools start to act the fool bibibibibi

Meanwhile we look forward to enjoying Phase I (out of 4 stages) of our "freedom" into  TheNewNormal situation agagagagag
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on May 05, 2020, 05:17:52 PM
 agagagagag
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on May 21, 2020, 08:29:04 PM
After getting caught in an endless loop one time, I tried via a link someone else sent me and now have my very own official "Mostly Harmless" green barcode to let me travel around inside of China.

Hopefully the dates for my charity to visit FengHuang get set soon.
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Nolefan on May 22, 2020, 08:16:47 AM
After getting caught in an endless loop one time, I tried via a link someone else sent me and now have my very own official "Mostly Harmless" green barcode to let me travel around inside of China.

Hopefully the dates for my charity to visit FengHuang get set soon.

careful with all that though.. there's many reports our of Beijing of said QR apps failing when you go outside your regular zone as a foreigner. Not to be over paranoid  aoaoaoaoao aoaoaoaoao bjbjbjbjbj
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on May 22, 2020, 05:20:32 PM
After getting caught in an endless loop one time, I tried via a link someone else sent me and now have my very own official "Mostly Harmless" green barcode to let me travel around inside of China.

Hopefully the dates for my charity to visit FengHuang get set soon.

careful with all that though.. there's many reports our of Beijing of said QR apps failing when you go outside your regular zone as a foreigner. Not to be over paranoid  aoaoaoaoao aoaoaoaoao bjbjbjbjbj

I've saved a copy of it as an image file.

Guess I'll bring some quarantine snacks along, just in case something goes wrong.  ahahahahah

The bigger worry than a barcode malfunction is that there could be a wild case at my destination while I'm there or else in DG while I'm away.  Either could result in road closures and trains not stopping.  I'd like to be in FengHuang for a week or so, not for month or two.

Once the dates are set, I'm already planning to have my wife call ahead to make 100% sure the hotel didn't suddenly develop a no-foreigners policy.  If it's the same place as last time, they already know I've got a green card.
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on May 27, 2020, 06:20:25 PM
Just got my USA stimulus check a couple days ago. agagagagag

Have to see how to get it deposited here.  The last time I had to deposit a check in China, it got a little complicated at the bank.  Hopefully this one will be easier.
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on June 23, 2020, 05:41:59 PM
Only a month late (and 3 or 4 C hotter ananananan), my expedition inland has been scheduled. agagagagag

Departure is Saturday morning.

I'm leeeeavin' on a Jet Train!  Don't know when I'll be back again.

Actually, that's true.  All I have is a departure date and time.  Return hasn't been set.

Not sure how many people from my charity will in along on this one.  My wife's staying at home, so I'm going to be relying in my modestly upgraded Chinese speaking abilities plus my translation app.

Happily, after 3 previous trips, I mostly know my way around FengHuang, so at least I'm unlikely to get too badly lost. ahahahahah

Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Granny Mae on June 23, 2020, 09:04:20 PM
EL, looking forward to hearing about your expedition. bfbfbfbfbf I'm into the 14th week of no Movie Theatres and no "Den of Iniquity". bibibibibi
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on July 01, 2020, 02:24:23 PM
So busy!  Got to see 5 of my students and visited a ton of schools.  Not getting enough sleep, but am having fun.
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Granny Mae on July 02, 2020, 06:55:43 PM
Sounds interesting EL! Can you tell us a bit more about the fun you are having? afafafafaf
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on July 03, 2020, 02:28:30 PM
PANDAS

PANDAS

PANDAS

PANDAS
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on July 06, 2020, 06:24:13 PM
Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday were spent running around the countryside to schools and students houses.  Some of them are a couple of hours outside of town.  I got to see 4 of my sponsored students  ajajajajaj ajajajajaj ajajajajaj ajajajajaj, the last one at a dinner at her high school - where I had to give an unplanned speech. aqaqaqaqaq

One small thing worth noting on Tuesday was that (just after passing it, so no pic llllllllll) the driver noted that a particular home belonged to someone quite special.  The charity's founder has sponsored 3 girls who went to nursing school.  Only one passed.  She later went to Hubei at the height of the outbreak to help in one of the cities there.  In the charity, we hope that the students grow up and do good things.  Heroism is a lot more than we expect.  She exceeded all expectations.  I asked if I could meet her.  A few phone calls later determined she was out of town. ananananan

Another bit of fun on Tuesday was a small . . .  civil disturbance at one school where I was mobbed by a few hundred students.  This happened at  different school last time.  That time, they wanted autographs and were all shoving pens at me.  This time I was prepared, with a self-inking chop, so I should have no problems.  ababababab  This time they didn't want autographs. kkkkkkkkkk

After a few minutes, I was dragged to the relative safety of one of the vehicles.  Then they all wanted to shake my hand.  It's a bit disturbing to extend a hand and have 5 different kids each grab a finger.  I counted twice to make sure I still had a full set. ahahahahah

Eventually the bell rang and most of them went back to class.  That let me come out and deal wih just the sponsored kids and do a quick visit to one classroom.

Let me elaborate a little on the Pandas. ahahahahah

PANDAS!!!! akakakakak akakakakak akakakakak

FengHuang has a new (actually, still under construction) panda facility, currently housing 8 pandas.  It's so new that some of my FengHuang friends didn't know about it.  I had no clue about this until one of the local charity members (sponsored when he was a student) shared a video.  I tried to see if anyone else who was free on Thursday could go.  No one was available, so I was 50 meters from entering Old Town when I got a voice chat call.  The charity's founder had arranged for one of his students (now enrolled in a university) to take me to visit the pandas.

A few of them were hidden away, but I got to see either 5 or 6.  My lovely tour guide and I weren't sure if one we saw walking into an outdoor enclosure was one of the same pandas we'd already seen inside or not.  Sadly, petting pandas wasn't on the agenda, but one got close enough for some good pics and videos.

I'm looking forward to returning when the weather is a bit cooler for a more extended visit.

In the meantime, all I can say is PANDAS!!!!!


Then there was The Southern Great Wall.  It's like the Northern one, only not so massive.  It's not as tall, not as thick, and is supposed to have been approximately 120 km long when completed.  I'm still trying to get more information about it, but there's very little information available about it in English.  Unlike on prior trips, I finally managed to tour the restored section.

Although visiting the Wall was on my agenda, my original plan for Wednesday was to visit some more schools with the group.  For some reason, the founder seemed like he didn't want me on the school trips that day.  My best guess was that he decided that one civil disturbance per charity trip is the the quota.  Then things got weird.  No one was responding to messages, and other than a couple of photos taken early in the morning, no one was posting anything in the WeChat group created just for the trip.  I finally had to resort to messaging my wife and having her contact a couple of people to make sure they were ok.  Finally someone sent me a message about where and when to meet everyone for dinner.  Even then, the WeChat group which was normally full of pics and comments was silent.

I got to dinner and only a few people were there, including a retired government official I'd met at dinner the previous evening.  Finally, everyone else showed up, along with an absolutely lovely girl I guessed was about 25 or so.  This was normal, since students and former students often join at various times during these events.  She wasn't just any former student.  She was THE nurse.

It turns out that wherever the group was that day, they were close enough to collect her and bring her along on school visits.  In order to make sure no one accidentally shared anything that might tip me off, they went silent on the group.  Only later did I see pics of her at several of the schools visited that day.

It's rare for me to meet one of my personal heroes, so I don't always know how to react.  I can say it took considerable willpower not to kowtow.  I got to sit next to her at dinner.  I had some help from a couple of people translating, but also made use of WeChat and translation apps.  Her personality was every bit as lovely as her face and her selfless actions fighting the virus.

akakakakak akakakakak akakakakak akakakakak akakakakak akakakakak


Lots more happened, but those are the main highlights.

Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: AMonk on July 06, 2020, 09:39:37 PM
 agagagagag akakakakak agagagagag akakakakak

Absolutely wonderful adventure.  Thank you for sharing.
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Granny Mae on July 07, 2020, 08:25:36 PM
EL, you are so fortunate to be having such great experiences. I really like hearing what you are doing. I think it will take me a while to come out of this lock down. bibibibibi
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on July 08, 2020, 05:17:39 PM
Hang in there GM.  It may look bad, but Austalia never really had it bad compared to a lot of other places.  These extra precautions aren't designed to control the disease.  They are designed to eradicate it.
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Granny Mae on July 09, 2020, 08:00:24 PM
EL, you are right! The only state that has had and is still having problems is Victoria. alalalalal I went to the "Den" today, so I hope nothing was floating in the air. I hope to go to the movies tomorrow. The first time in about 15 weeks. agagagagag
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on July 14, 2020, 08:51:47 PM
How was the movie? agagagagag
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Granny Mae on July 15, 2020, 01:16:48 PM
"The Personal History of David Copperfield"was the movie. It was not a bad start to my going to the movies again. I'm off  to the movies this morning to see "Love Sarah". bfbfbfbfbf
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on July 23, 2020, 09:40:40 PM
China's Mars probe successfully launched!  btbtbtbtbt akakakakak btbtbtbtbt akakakakak btbtbtbtbt

Everything's fine so far.  It's already in an Earth-Mars transfer orbit.  The mission - look for signs of life.  xxxxxxxxxx
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on December 06, 2020, 04:14:07 PM
Once, I got on an airplane.  It was a very long flight.  Then I got on a bus that took me to a place I fell in love with.

That place was Dongguan, China.  I arrived on December 6, 2006.  14 years ago today.

akakakakak btbtbtbtbt akakakakak btbtbtbtbt akakakakak btbtbtbtbt akakakakak btbtbtbtbt akakakakak btbtbtbtbt akakakakak
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: AMonk on December 06, 2020, 11:08:42 PM
agagagagag Happy (landing) Anniversary akakakakak cecececece
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on December 09, 2020, 06:41:13 PM
And today is the 14th anniversary of meeting the Cantonese twins.  They took me out for wonton soup after my first English Corner.

(http://escapedlunatic.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/CantoneseTwins.jpg)

Sadly, only one of them could make it to visit today, but the other one made it into town is here for lunch.
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on February 24, 2021, 08:16:15 PM
In my honeymoon blog (from 2011), there were some Gilligan's Island references.  Since my wife didn't understand them, I threatened to make her watch the whole series (for cultural education of course  ahahahahah ahahahahah), but didn't have a copy.  A few years ago, I got one.  I showed her the original pilot as well as episode 1, and she said it was too silly.

TOO SILLY!  There's no such thing as too silly! ahahahahah

Two days ago, I convinced her to watch one episode a day.  She's trying to resist, but I caught her laughing a few times.

She's already asked why everyone didn't just get together and murder Gilligan. ahahahahah
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: AMonk on February 25, 2021, 04:39:55 AM
 axaxaxaxax

It's because he's the star .... Gilligan's Island agagagagag
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on February 26, 2021, 03:46:58 PM
I also pointed out that killing Gilligan and getting rescued would have resulted in a much shorter and less amusing TV series.


And in other news, on this date in 2010, I crawled off an airplane in HK, got wedged into a van, and headed north with only one plan.  Staying forever.

btbtbtbtbt   :candyraver:  vvvvvvvvvv   :candyraver:  btbtbtbtbt
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on March 13, 2021, 08:13:17 PM
I've been busy on weekends preparing things for my birthday on the 26th.  I'd already made the homemade ricotta and was planning to shred the other cheeses and make the sauce this weekend.  Then next weekend I'd put everything together so I could enjoy my traditional birthday lasagna.

But I've I canceled my birthday plans.  No lasagna on the 26th.

Oh wait, that sounds like bad news.  amamamamam

Except that something better came up.

One of the girls I sponsored in FengHuang has a best friend who was sponsored by one of our friends in the charity.  The friend is getting married on March 26-27.  I have zero clue about why this will take 2 days, but I'm throwing my birthday plans out the window to find out.

Even better, the visit to schools in FengHuang is now scheduled for the 22-25th. ajajajajaj

Even better than better.  This won't be a typical wedding.  It's going to be a full-scale bury the bride under 5-10 kg of silver jewelry Miao ethnic wedding.  ajajajajaj ajajajajaj ajajajajaj

Even better than better than better.  There will be traditional Miao singing - real singing for fun and celebration, not a performance for tourists.  akakakakak akakakakak akakakakak akakakakak akakakakak akakakakak akakakakak

If I cancel my birthday, does this mean I don't get older? mmmmmmmmmm
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on March 16, 2021, 05:50:59 PM
Intriguing.........

I've seen pics and videos from a wedding my girl attended.  I was WeChatting with her friend, the bride-to-be, and found out something.

My girl's village goes for red outfits with massive amounts of silver.  Her friend indicated that her village didn't go all red.  Also, they often skip or minimalize the silver headdress.

I knew Miao outfits varied geographically, but didn't expect to find a variation this significant inside one county.  My planned book on Traditional Miao Weddings in FengHuang just got longer.  I'm going to need to attend a LOT more weddings to make sure I've got all the details.

Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: AMonk on March 16, 2021, 08:53:06 PM
I'm going to need to attend a LOT more weddings to make sure I've got all the details.


 agagagagag
Couldn't happen to a better person  akakakakak Make LOTS of notes and take TONS of photos (for your book) agagagagag
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on March 17, 2021, 04:32:05 PM
This one gets a special place in the book.  My first chance to see a traditional Miao wedding.

Now I just need enough free time to spend a few months attending weddings and asking thousand and thousands of silly questions in villages around FengHuang.
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on March 29, 2021, 05:35:40 PM
What a week it was.

More school visits than I can count.  Got to see 3 of my current sponsored students at their schools.

Then there was the wedding on Friday. akakakakak akakakakak akakakakak

It was AMAZING.  Every time the women wearing the silver moved, the jewelry made very pleasant sounds.  Quite a bit dangled, so it was lucky my cats weren't there.  They've have interpreted all the jewelry as cat toys. ahahahahah

I was slightly surprise the bride wasn't wearing silver jewelry, until the groom and his family and friends showed up.  They brought her jewelry with them on a large tray suspended beneath a bamboo pole.  (sadly, this wasn't put on until late in the evening, so I had to settle for pics and videos).  There were piles of other gifts, including a couple of thoroughly tied up geese also suspended from a bamboo pole.

My limited Mandarin was useless, since most of the talking, shouting, singing, etc. was in the local Miao dialect.  Songs were sung, questions were asked and answered, the groom and some of his friends had to try playing jump rope wearing their socks on a slightly spiky rubber mat.  Finally, after the groom and his friends had to down several rounds of alcohol, he got down on one knee.  It looked like the ceremony was going to end quickly.

Instead, the one of the bridesmaids shoved a phone in front of his face and demanded he start reading some lengthy text.  From context, it appeared to be a detailed and highly amusing set of wedding vows (there didn't appear to be any vows required from the bride).  He finally finished and tried to present flowers to the bride.  She pushed them back and extended one hand, with her ring finger slightly raised.  Once he gave her the ring, he was finally allowed to give her the flowers and complete the ceremony.

We all then wend around to the courtyard beside the house for the wedding feast.

I waited until the wedding feast was wrapping up and some people were leaving before sending a message to the bride and to the girl I sponsored (she's now graduated and is also the bride's best friend) thanking them for the most wonderful birthday present ever.  My girl was missing at this point and we were walking back to the cars.  She wrote back to ask what I meant.  I told her it was my birthday, and that I didn't say anything earlier since I didn't want to hijack a wedding.  She told me she was dropping her sister off and that she'd be back in 10 minutes.  Then the bride and groom showed up where we had the cars and also congratulated me.

My girl's skills are impressive.  Somehow, in a tiny little village that's in the middle of nowhere, she found a small birthday cake for me.  There wasn't time to eat it at that point.  We walked into a field across the road to take a few pics and 4 older Miao women from the groom's family decided this looked fun, so joined us.

In the evening, my charity group did the most unsubtle surprise party ever.  After we got back from the wedding, I went for a walk in "Old Town", which is the tourist area around the river.  One of the charity's office girls started texting me on WeChat wanting to know when I'd be back.  I didn't have a specific plan (other than relaxing and eating some VERY rare reduced-fat Cheez-Its while sitting somewhere with a nice view).  I told her I might stay another hour or so, unless there was some specific plan for the group to go do something.  She said there was no plan, but also kept saying I should come back ASAP.  I did stop to enjoy the view from one of the bridges while finishing my Cheez-Its and then started working my way out of the maze of streets in Old Town.  As I was coming back, she kept wanting to know how much longer I'd be.  I could have shared my GPS location, but by this point, I'd figured out what was up.  Instead of GPS, I  sent an occasional picture of the shops I was walking past (she was a sponsored girl from FengHuang before moving to Dongguan, so knows the area).

There was no chance to sneak into the hotel.  She was waiting in the doorway.  In the elevator, I told her I needed to run to my room to use the restroom.  Even before getting my door open, I could hear the crowd 2 doors down in the room the charity's founder was in.  Since it was a long walk in a drizzle, I took a moment to change my shirt, but not before sending a message saying "I think I'll take a shower, see you in 15 minutes" - just to hear the anguished reaction from down the hall. ahahahahah

As expected, there was a crowd wedged into the founder's room.  They also had a bigger cake.  After blowing out the candles, I ran back to my room to grab the cake my girl had given me.  I should have brought it with me when I first entered and said - "Does anyone want cake?" while walking in, but only thought of that later.
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: AMonk on March 29, 2021, 08:32:42 PM
 agagagagag agagagagag agagagagag akakakakak


 axaxaxaxax axaxaxaxax cecececece :respect:





Thank you for sharing
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on April 26, 2021, 06:02:26 PM
I have an appointment to be stabbed er, jabbed. 💉

Dose 1 is on Thursday.  Not yet sure if its Sinovac or Sinopharm.

Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Nolefan on April 28, 2021, 10:29:59 PM
congrats!!!  agagagagag agagagagag

here in the land of pasta and pizza, the missus and i might get our turn in september if we're lucky.
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on April 30, 2021, 04:14:20 PM
All jabbed with Sinovac.  agagagagag  Second dose is supposed to be taken in 4-8 weeks.

Citizens get it free.  Still waiting on my paperwork, so I had to pay the pretty nurse 100 RBM to stab me. ahahahahah

No sign of side effects.  She injected it VERY slowly and I don't even have a trace of a bruise or sore spot.


Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on July 16, 2021, 04:30:08 PM
I'm currently selling a piece of property back in the US.

All the initial docs, from the listing to counter-offers and final acceptance of an offer would previously have required physical signatures and initials.  As a side effect of Covid, all of that's done online.  I email back and forth with the realtor.  Once she's sure we agree, she send me a link.  The docs are there, along with "select your font" and buttons to put signatures and initials in all the right places.

I'm in the final phase and thought I'd need to have them mail the contract here for me to sign and send back, or else I could print one here and send it back.  The realtor wasn't sure, but the title company said I can just get on a video call and do a remote notarization.  No sending any actual paper that might get delayed and cause me to miss the closing date.

If nothing goes wrong (goes wrong, goes wrong, goes wrong, . . .) we may even be able to close the deal early. agagagagag
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: AMonk on August 06, 2021, 02:12:39 AM
 agagagagag agagagagag agagagagag
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on August 06, 2021, 07:36:06 PM
And I believe it's done.  For some reason, someone involved needed my driver's license (which I managed to find a few weeks back - lots of stuff is hiding after the move).

Now I just need to visit the US and get my online banking going as well as getting a new ATM card.  Not much point in having the cash if I can't spend it.  ahahahahah
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: AMonk on August 12, 2021, 01:00:11 AM
And I believe it's done.


 agagagagag agagagagag
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on August 16, 2021, 07:40:40 PM
Assuming the virus doesn't wreck things, my previously delayed trip to XinJiang is back in the agenda for September. agagagagag

Now comes the fun part.  Most of the charity group is planning to take trains there over a span of 2 days.  My job sort of needs me to have reliable internet access and I can't risk falling off the map for too long.  So, in the midst of travel sites that can't keep up with ever-changing flight schedules, I have to figure out how to get to the correct remote corner of the province.

Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on September 08, 2021, 05:08:19 PM
Bad news, good news.
The town in XJ is right on the border of Something-Or-Other-istan.  Evidently, it takes considerable time to get a proper permit to let a foreigner wander about there, and they didn't realize a foreigner was part of the group until too late.  ananananan

I've already let the coordinator of permit things know that I plan to go to that town in XJ sometime during the Spring semester, so there should be more than enough time to get all the paper work down for that trip.

In related news, those going to XJ will then move on to Qinghai.  I've already got flight booked for Friday morning and will get there before them.  That will give me time to play tourist for a day or two.  It's quite a mix of groups there - Hui, Tu, Tan, Mongol, and more minority groups.

And it looks like my Hunan trip got moved up to the end of September.  Things will be busy.
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on September 13, 2021, 07:52:54 PM
Well that sucked.

First, the area still is running on a long outdated rule about foreigners only being allowed to stay in 5 star hotels, and all the ones near where I needed to be were booked for some sort of local event.  Initially, this was supposed to be something very easy to override by the local government contacts there, but it appears that hotel managers view those rules as more important than low level government officials.  I got stuck somewhere around 100 km away.  I know this rule for where foreigners could be parked overnight used to exist, but I've stayed in smaller hotels in 5 provinces with no issues.  The actual current law seems to be something along the lines of hotels just needing to apply for permission.  But everyone I talked to in Qinghai seemed to think this law was some immutable nationwide rule that was deeply carved onto a stone monument somewhere in Beijing back in 1949.

This was annoying and inconvenient, but sadly, it was just a foreshadowing of what was to come.

Then the local officials decided that although I was free to wander around anywhere I liked in Qinghai, I wasn't authorized to do anything involving the charity or interact with the sponsored students.  I could, for example, accept an invitation to visit anyone's home (if such an invitation was offered), but was forbidden to visit the schools or homes of any of the students sponsored by the charity.

The visits start today.  I was there to see the students.  There was no point in remaining while I couldn't do what I was there for.  I flew back yesterday.

Sadly, this whole fiasco was quite avoidable.  The person in my charity group had been specifically asked to double-check if my lack of Chinese nationality would cause any possible issues.  He didn't seem to think there would be any issues, so he didn't bother to ask his contacts in Qinghai or to even mention that a foreigner would be part of the team planning to visit the schools and homes of the students.


The two charity members who went to XJ fared better.  Initially, the whole planeload of people was held in the capital for a few hours for additional Covid testing, but they still made it to the destination city in time to do all the planned visits.


In any event, I've got my wife checking to try to find the exact current and historical versions of the various rules about where foreigners can and can't legally stay. (She's just discovered that some hotels lack actual hotel licenses - instead they claim to be renting apartments on their official licenses and would have trouble registering a foreigner with the police for a typical hotel length of stay. This could be the source of some "hotels" rejecting foreigners.)  She's also going to figure out who can give an absolute crystal clear ruling on just what having a green card does to any default foreigner restrictions on lodging.

I'm also going to make 200% sure I've got whatever local permissions I need all lined up far in advance before for the next charity trips to XJ and QH.
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: AMonk on September 13, 2021, 11:52:43 PM
Sounds frustrating  bibibibibi

One thing's certain - you won't be asking / relying on that "certain committee member" for anything in the future   llllllllll
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on September 14, 2021, 06:10:35 PM
Yeah.  I'm not booking tickets to Qinghai again until I personally have a paper signed by the right person to prevent that from happening again.

But, back to good news.

Sometime next week, I'm going back to my favorite town in Hunan.  I've been on 5 charity trips there and also successfully checked into small hotels with no assistance from my group twice.  Just to make absolutely sure there would be no problems, the charity's founder asked a few people to be absolutely certain that there aren't any new rules for foreigners.  There aren't.  The only thing that can get in my way is a viral outbreak on either end, and that will apply to everyone equally.

I'm thinking of leaving a day or two before everyone else.  FengHuang is a lovely place and I'd like to just spend some time relaxing there.  The other option is to stay a few days extra at the end of the trip.  Either way, if I do this, I'll have to pay a little more than average for the room, due to the trip being bracketed by Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day.
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on September 16, 2021, 08:15:46 PM
Just to give me a heart attack, I was told I needed special approval to visit the schools in FengHuang. llllllllll

But, it only took them about 18 hours to go from "Tell us this info for the application" to "OK, we've got you approved.  Have a nice day."  I love FengHuang.  agagagagag

When I get there, I need to ask them more about this new approval thing so I can try to figure out how to get this taken care of in other provinces.

So I'm all set to go.  My train is on the 22nd.

Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: AMonk on September 16, 2021, 11:46:08 PM
 agagagagag

Safe Travels  :surfing:
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on September 30, 2021, 02:57:23 PM
I'm back!  Did you miss me?

It was a fun, but VERY busy trip.  I got to see 6 of my students and hundreds of others.

I got back late last night and am now desperately trying to catch up on work.
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on January 28, 2022, 04:04:45 PM
Got my Sinovac booster 2 days ago.  The paperwork was simpler than for the first or second doses.  This time the line was short, so the whole process only took a few minutes.
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Nolefan on May 21, 2022, 02:30:53 AM
i guess this should be "what's making me happy and exhausted"... I've been a bit awol folks but for a good reason: There's a baby Nolefan in the house.
Born April 27, he's been monopolizing all my time so far... and when not, you find me sliding off the barstool and hitting my head on the counter.

 bjbjbjbjbj agagagagag agagagagag :alcoholic: :alcoholic:
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: AMonk on May 21, 2022, 02:32:34 AM
 akakakakak akakakakak akakakakak agagagagag agagagagag akakakakak akakakakak akakakakak
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: El Macho on May 21, 2022, 07:23:23 PM
i guess this should be "what's making me happy and exhausted"... I've been a bit awol folks but for a good reason: There's a baby Nolefan in the house.
Born April 27, he's been monopolizing all my time so far... and when not, you find me sliding off the barstool and hitting my head on the counter.

 bjbjbjbjbj agagagagag agagagagag :alcoholic: :alcoholic:

Congratulations Noles!!! Having children is amazing and take it from me the lack of sleep won’t kill you. At least not much. Baby Noles  will start sleeping…in about a year. But they’re so cute it’s worth it. congratulations again!
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on May 23, 2022, 07:37:23 PM
CONGRATS!!!

Here, have a round of . . . something so strong the label burned off. agagagagag agagagagag agagagagag

Try to get in a few minutes of relaxation now.  You won't be getting any more for at least 18 years. ahahahahah
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: never2late on May 24, 2022, 02:54:24 PM
congratulations, Nolefan. Hope you and the Mrs are both coping OK. Have another glass of whatever EL is offering, and be glad you can't read the label.
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on May 30, 2022, 08:40:42 PM
The dragons slept through 2019 because the pond was drained for a massive overhaul.  2020 wasn't an option for waking up and a nearby outbreak was enough to keep the dragons tucked away in bed for 2021.

The dragons are stirring.  Unless something goes terribly wrong, they'll emerge on Friday.

It's been 4 years since I've held a paddle.  I'm not sure if my arms and shoulders are up for this, but I'll do my damnedest to try.
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: AMonk on May 31, 2022, 12:35:10 AM
 agagagagag  akakakakak

Sounds like FUN  axaxaxaxax
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on June 03, 2022, 04:57:33 PM
Got tested yesterday along with all the others who will be in the pond.  They also handed out uniforms.  My sector's uniforms are lime green (safety-vest lime green - a bit startling at first).  No clue what the other sectors got.

No waive offs yet, so it looks like we're a go.  Cast-off is supposed to be at about 1:30. agagagagag
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on June 07, 2022, 05:20:52 PM
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday all were great.  Monday was cut short by a thunderstorm, but we got one full speed run the length of the pond with the storm at its heaviest.  The captain slipped off the front deck on the way back to dock.  I don't think he was hurt too badly, but got some heavy bruises.  Maybe I'll have better odds of taking command if he takes a few days off. (So far, only got to command for less than 10 minutes.)
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on June 08, 2022, 04:46:04 PM
Tuesday's overboard Captain did show up on Wednesday, but stayed ashore.  Sadly, still too many captains and not enough boats.  Tomorrow is parade and race day, so today might be my last chance this year.

Oh, and stormed on again yesterday (but no one fell overboard).
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on June 09, 2022, 10:33:25 PM
TWO DAY EXTENSION!!!!  The race is now on Saturday.  I may still be able to seize command of a boat on Friday.
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on June 10, 2022, 04:26:26 PM
We had 2 parades.  One morning and one evening.  The unusual color of our uniforms made them look glow in the dark.  I guess if anyone fell off our boats, getting them out of the water would be simple.  The other teams' uniforms didn't have this effect, so they'd have had a harder time rescuing anyone who fell off.

Maybe I'll get lucky with a boat command this afternoon.  If not, I'll duct tape myself to the Captain's platform next year.
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: AMonk on June 11, 2022, 12:16:44 AM
 agagagagag axaxaxaxax agagagagag akakakakak
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on June 13, 2022, 06:00:39 PM
Sadly, Captain Lunatic remained confined to a single pond-length run this year. ananananan ananananan ananananan

Happily, my sector's long boat won! agagagagag

I'm not even sure if the short boat races were timed.  I saw some extra crew without paddles just enjoying the ride in some of the short boats.

At least we've got Dragon Boating back.  Maybe next year we can reclaim the traditional after-practice dinners in the sector dining hall.  In the meantime, I'll try to figure out how to grab command for at least a few more pond lengths next time.
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: AMonk on June 15, 2022, 02:55:46 AM
 agagagagag agagagagag akakakakak
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on March 01, 2023, 03:48:56 PM
Sunday was the 13th anniversary of me moving to China permanently.  I'm still here, so the plan worked. agagagagag
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: AMonk on March 02, 2023, 01:58:20 AM

 agagagagag agagagagag vvvvvvvvvv agagagagag agagagagag
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Nolefan on March 03, 2023, 03:58:39 PM
or did it?  bjbjbjbjbj :lickass:
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on March 06, 2023, 03:33:28 PM
or did it?  bjbjbjbjbj :lickass:


I've always got an emergency bottle of superglue handy.  If anyone ever tries to make me leave, I'll use it to make 100% sure I can stick around.
 axaxaxaxax
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on June 20, 2023, 03:26:54 PM
It's that time of year again.  We're starting late, on the 22nd.  Full dinners (and probably some jjjjjjjjjj aaaaaaaaaa) are part of the plan.  I collected my uniform yesterday afternoon.  This year, my sector is i blue - a lot nicer than the day-glow green we had last year. ahahahahah
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: AMonk on June 21, 2023, 12:06:07 PM
 agagagagag axaxaxaxax :surfing: :surfing: agagagagag
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on June 29, 2023, 04:23:22 PM
I'm tired, bruised, and battered, but it was great fun.

Now I just need to get all the photos and vids copied over to my laptop.
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: El Macho on July 08, 2023, 05:54:30 PM
Glad you’re back at it and in a more flattering color! Don’t envy you the baijiu though. Oy vey.
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on July 20, 2023, 07:45:10 AM
I've been going from place to place to place to place in the US.  Been here since July 4th.  Happily, today I fly back to HK.  Due to time travel issues, I arrive 2 days later (Friday) at 5 am.  That's annoying, but leaves me some time to check work and unload the suitcases before I pass out for the weekend.

I also have a painting packed.  My grandfather painted a beach cottage the family used to own.  There are two small boys (me and my brother) playing in the sand in front.  I had to get it out of the outer frame to get it to fit, but it's thoroughly secured so should be safe.
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on July 25, 2023, 02:10:14 PM
Got behind on sleep on the trip and now I'm waking up early while taking extended naps in the afternoon.  This may take some time to get sorted.

But the good news is that I'm home in DG.
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: AMonk on July 26, 2023, 11:50:49 PM
I've heard (read) that for every hour of time difference, it will take you a day to recover  :wtf:  So you should be "normal" in about 10 -14 days. agagagagag
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on September 13, 2023, 02:44:21 PM
And on Sunday, I'm Leaving on a Jet Train, don't know when I'll be back again.

Yet again, my charity group decided to put the FengHuang trip before a big holiday.  This is actually a good thing for the lovely ladies who handle all the office paperwork, since most of them are formerly sponsored students from FengHuang.  They can shift from the school visits directly over to spending the holidays with their families.

So, yet again, I'll be trying to get back to DG before the holiday crush arrives, meaning I'll only be competing with a billion or so people for train tickets.  ahahahahah

I was hoping this trip would align with the planned wedding of one of the students I sponsored, but she hasn't selected a date yet.  Looks like I'll be making another trip to FengHuang sometime in October, November, or December.  I guess the advantage is that I can just focus on wedding-related things without having to juggle school visits at the same time.

Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: AMonk on September 14, 2023, 04:01:10 AM
 agagagagag agagagagag akakakakak akakakakak agagagagag agagagagag
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on September 19, 2023, 04:25:53 AM
I lost count of how many schools I visited today.  I did see one of my kids.  Hopefully I can see a few more as things progress.  Some I won't get a chance to see, because they are off at college.
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on September 19, 2023, 10:15:03 PM
I saw 4 more of them today.  That leave's one high schooler and one student at a local university.  There are others who are in Universities farther away, and there are others at various levels of schooling in other towns.
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on September 22, 2023, 02:25:37 AM
Saw my final high schooler today.  Not sure if we'll hit that local university next week or not.
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on September 27, 2023, 01:26:48 AM
And done!  We split into 2 groups to cover more ground.  The good news is someone got me a photo of my local Uni student.

Tomorrow I have the day off to enjoy FengHuang.

Thursday, I head back to DG before FengHuang becomes packed with tourists.  I'll be back sometime later this year for that wedding.  I just don't know when it is yet.
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: AMonk on September 27, 2023, 05:30:30 AM
 agagagagag akakakakak agagagagag
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on October 18, 2023, 03:31:34 PM
Wedding date is still TBA, but I got confirmation that it won't be before November 13th.

So, I've signed up for a quick charity trip to a different town in Hunan next week.  I don't have any sponsored children there, but it will still be fun to go.
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: AMonk on October 19, 2023, 12:44:37 AM
...  I don't have any sponsored children there ...


YET  ahahahahah
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: kitano on October 19, 2023, 08:14:05 AM
Ode to EL
I have this image of you in my head which is probably totally wrong. you seem really American but found America in China or something haha. I'm sure I saw a picture of you as a guy with a big beard
But you live in the countryside and raise millions of kids?
I dunno, it makes me happy, it's so mad the whole thing lol. When I first moved here RenegadeDog (RIP) brought me here and it was still back when China actually was a developing country.
But there was this gang of people who all lived in Suzhou and went to that pub, I went to that pub and i can see why it would be fun, but you were out in Guangzhou by that point. It was not a hub. I did have some cool days in there but not nights
It's funny how China is, like the stereotype does have a truth to it how they are really conservative and because of history and everything the average Chinese person will only ever go to a Chinese mountain and maybe a Chinese beach it they are lucky
But then it's also such a land of everything,
 Anyway. It is mad eh? Your stuff which I can't relate to really is making me happy today
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: kitano on October 19, 2023, 08:20:18 AM
it turns out that the real treasure was the friends that we met along the way bibibibibi bibibibibi bibibibibi
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on October 19, 2023, 04:04:09 PM
...  I don't have any sponsored children there ...


YET  ahahahahah

Hee hee!  Just before getting on this trip, I did get a new one from another town in Hunan.  A lot of mine are various minority nationalities.  The new one is Yao.

I do need to pick one more soon.  One of mine recently "fired" me .  Her family's financial situation improved enough that she didn't need assistance anymore.  This is the second time that's happened.

Ode to EL
I have this image of you in my head which is probably totally wrong. you seem really American but found America in China or something haha. I'm sure I saw a picture of you as a guy with a big beard
But you live in the countryside and raise millions of kids?

I don't even have words for what I found in China.  I've written pages and pages.  I've written poems.  I can get pieces of it, but there's always so much more that I don't know how to express.  I just know I love it here.  ajajajajaj btbtbtbtbt ajajajajaj

Yep, I've still got the beard and long hair.  Sadly, the hair isn't quite as long and is getting thin.  Happily other than the beard, the greying is quite minimal.  The power of Just For Men Mustache and Beard dye really helps in dealing with the grey invasion of my beard. ahahahahah

I do live in a lovely little village, but it's part of a city of about 10 million people, so the countryside aspect is a little lacking in fields and forests.  I don't actually get to raise the kids (a couple dozen so far), but I have gotten to visit many of them (and some of them are waaaay out in the countryside).

Guangzhou???  I've been there (tourist stuff, consulate stuff, airport and train station), but I've always lived in Dongguan.  I started off in town during my teaching stint, but have been a villager ever since then.


There's an old African proverb that says "Only a fool tests the depth of the water with both feet."  That's why I always take a deep breath and dive in head first.  ahahahahah
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on October 24, 2023, 02:39:31 PM
I pack my bag last night preflight
Zero hour 9 AM (actually, I've got until 9:30 to get out the door and head to the train station - must run!)
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: AMonk on October 27, 2023, 02:29:41 AM
 agagagagag
Bon chance et Bon voyage  bebebebebe :surfing:
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on October 27, 2023, 10:06:38 PM
I got back in time for lunch.  XiangTan (yes, I finally got the name of the place) is only about 3 hours away by HSR.

The first evening, we were seeing a few sponsored students in one of the teachers office areas in a high school.  As we were leaving, I saw a few faces poking out a classroom door.  I stepped a little closer and waved.  The teacher didn't seem to object (and some helpful colleagues already had phones out to take pics and were shoving me forward), so I went in.

One girl had a full scale fan girl meltdown (in English!).  "Ican'tbelieveit'saforeigner!  I'veneverseenoneandhavealwayswantedtotalktoone!  Whatsyourname? CanIshakeyourhand?" and on and on.  I talked to her quite a bit, answered some questions, shook everyone's hand. (Except the teacher disappeared.  She probably decided this was a good time to grab a snack.)  Finally I escaped after giving about half a dozen autographs.

(Remind me to tell you about my "magic chop" next week. I just epent a few hours catching up on work and have a bunch of other things I need to do.)
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on November 28, 2023, 03:52:53 PM
About the magic chop.  My first full scale kid swarm had second graders shoving notebooks and pens at me wanting autographs.  Of course, the pens were point first, so not only did I get jabbed, but I also had ink marks all over my arms.

So, I arranged to get a self-inking chop made with my name (in English and Chinese) and a short line in Chinese telling them to study hard.

Every time I remembered to have it with me, NO ONE wanted an autograph.  But, when I didn't have it with me, I'd get at least one swarm coming in for autographs.

In Xiangtan, I forgot it on day 1, so had to sign by hand the first evening.  I put it in my pocket the next day.  Several autograph-free swarms happened and finally on the last day, I got to use the chop with some high school students.

So, for good or bad, the magic chop that prevents children from wanting autographs has lost its ability (or was just overrun by so many students).

Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on November 28, 2023, 04:10:44 PM
I'm doing a separate post for this.

While I was in Xiangtan, one of my favorite sponsored students FINALLY picked her wedding date.  The wedding party in her village was held on Sunday, November 26th.  My darling wife and I jumped on a train on Saturday to attend our dear niece's wedding.  By odd coincidence, it turned out that the groom is from Xiangtan.

The groom was Han, but he couldn't escape the challenges to pass the Miao red ribbon.  (Yes, there's a red ribbon between the bride and her family and the grooms family.)  He was allowed to ask his relatives to do some of the challenges, but had to do the pushups, some drinking, handing out bribes hong bao to the bridesmaids himself.  I think he borrowed one of the bride's relatives for one of the singing challenges, since she ended a song in a way I've only ever heard Miao do.  His first cousin impressed everyone by opening a beer bottle with her teeth and chugging the whole thing for one of the other challenges. 

The bulk of the women on both sides wore traditional Miao clothing (one of my niece's family had a pile of spare outfits that were made available).  Even Mrs. Lunatic dressed up.

The wedding meals (a late breakfast around 10 and a mid-afternoon meal) both featured beer and baijiu.  Those were held in another relative's courtyard.

There was another party at the groom's house on Monday, but sadly I was on a train getting back to DG.  I needed to get back to work today.  Also, His Imperial Majesty wasn't feeling well when we left and my daughter checked him into the vet's office on Saturday morning.  Happily, the vet was ready to give him back on Monday, so we grabbed him on the way back home.
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on December 06, 2023, 02:49:03 PM
I glanced at my watch this morning.  Something about the date caught my attention.  Could it really have been 17 whole years ago.

On December 6, 2006, I was on a one way flight to Hong Kong, followed by a bus ride to Dongguan China.  That was the first of 3 expeditions to China before I moved here permanently.

btbtbtbtbt btbtbtbtbt btbtbtbtbt btbtbtbtbt btbtbtbtbt btbtbtbtbt btbtbtbtbt btbtbtbtbt btbtbtbtbt btbtbtbtbt btbtbtbtbt btbtbtbtbt btbtbtbtbt btbtbtbtbt btbtbtbtbt btbtbtbtbt btbtbtbtbt
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: never2late on December 07, 2023, 03:40:52 AM
How time flies, my friend. Glad you're here. agagagagag
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on February 26, 2024, 04:21:31 PM
And today is my other Chinaversary.  I first arrived in 2006, but on February 26, 2010, I arrived with only one plan.  To stay in China forever.

akakakakak btbtbtbtbt akakakakak btbtbtbtbt akakakakak btbtbtbtbt akakakakak btbtbtbtbt akakakakak btbtbtbtbt akakakakak btbtbtbtbt akakakakak btbtbtbtbt akakakakak btbtbtbtbt
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: AMonk on February 28, 2024, 12:18:16 AM
 agagagagag agagagagag agagagagag akakakakak akakakakak bfbfbfbfbf
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on March 11, 2024, 04:35:21 PM
His Imperial Majesty, Stripy Emperor, has declared today to be a public holiday.

8 years ago today, His Majesty was ransomed from a very dishonest cat dealer.  He then quickly conquered his new "owners" and took his rightful place on the furry throne as Emperor of all Kitty Cats.
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: AMonk on March 12, 2024, 01:15:16 AM


cecececece agagagagag cecececece agagagagag cecececece agagagagag :respect: axaxaxaxax agagagagag cecececece agagagagag cecececece agagagagag cecececece
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: never2late on March 12, 2024, 05:36:38 PM
congratulations, Stripy Emperor! And felicitations to Mr and Mrs Lunatic for their years of service! May long your catnip grow!

We have our own 猫蛋, whose gracefully permits Mrs Late and myself to share his bed. (He usually tickles her nose with his tail, not mine)

(He tickles her nose, not mine with his tail. He doesn't tickle anyone, SFAIK, with mine)
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on March 13, 2024, 05:23:20 PM
Since Bronze Kitty got promoted from outside car/guardian of the front door to inside cat/guardian of all entrances and exits, there hasn't been an official guard downstairs.

Then an orange and white kitten showed up and started guarding not only my prior house's front door, but also the front door of my building and the building on the other side of my prior house.  Bronzy and Stripy agreed to let him have the job (official title is Guardian of the Front Doors), so he was taken to the vet and got "fixed", plus an ear trim.  Someone next door even put a box by the door for him to sleep in.  A few weeks later, he was looking slight ill and the next day he didn't have the energy to get out of his box.  He also had a younger kitten in the box with him suffering the same thing.  It turned out to be the dreaded cat plague/cat parvo, the same disease that almost got Stripy Emperor and that ended poor Penguin's chances of recovering from his injuries.

My decision making shifted from picking a name for the new cat to which internal organ will I sell to pay for this.  They both spent a couple of months in isolation at the vets.  Happily, both survived.  The vets sent multiple pics and videos every day.  Since the big one was orange, they sometimes referred to him as Mango.  The other is mostly white and was occasionally referred to as Pear. 

It was touch and go the first week and then a long slow recovery.  Sadly, both also have a lung infection that will give them congestion and sneezing any time their immune systems are over-challenged, and there's no cure.  So, as much as I'd love to have 2 more balls of fur inside, they are permanent outdoor kitties now. Finally, we brought them back and gave them a new box. I decided we'd just keep Mango and Pear as names (with approval from Stripy Emperor, of course).

And the very good news.  They've been happily living outside and spend a lot of time sitting in the box.  Both got their final does of cat-parvo vaccine on the weekend.  So, they may have cold-like symptoms from time to time, but they won't be able to catch or spread parvo any more.

Now we're waiting for Pear to get a little bigger before he goes to the vet for neutering and an ear trim.  Pear was also appointed as Assistant Guardian of the Front Doors.

Since resuming his post, Mango has been given 2 commendations for killing rats.  Rumors that he found them already dead and was just carrying the corpses around are just lies spread by one of the dogs in the neighborhood.

Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: El Macho on March 14, 2024, 07:20:39 PM
Thanks for the cat update!

I am both allergic and adverse to cats (itchy hives and having a cat climb up my face when I was 10) but I miss the kittens in our compound in Beijing. They were adorable and I could play with them without getting itchy or getting my face climbed.
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on March 18, 2024, 04:16:26 PM
A neighbor twice saw Mango with dead rats.  Either or both may be overlaps of the two prior confirmed kills, or they may be separate.  Street sweepers come by several times per day, so there may be additional kills that were not reported.

And Mango doesn't appear to be killing all by himself.  aoaoaoaoao

My lovely wife spotted Mango and Pear playing around her scooter and running under its cover and out again.  A bit later, we went out and there were fresh blood stains and a rat corpse next to the scooter.  Closer inspection revealed multiple blood stains inside the scooter's cover.  It looked like a scene from a Quentin Tarantino movie scaled down to rat size. ahahahahah

Rats are much more rare in the village as they were when I first moved in.  If these two little bundles of rodent-murding cuteness keep up their killing spree, my section of the village will run out of rats pretty soon.

Stripy Emperor and Bronze Cat spent some time consulting before giving Mango and Pear a commendation for their action and also granting them both the additional title of "Slayer of Rats."
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on March 24, 2024, 05:48:39 PM
I've Leavin' on a Jet Train
Goin' to Hunan again!

On Monday morning I go to Xiangtan, on the east side of the province.
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: never2late on March 25, 2024, 12:38:46 AM
I hope the thrill of traveling this land never deserts you, my friend. I hope the fan boy "Can I take a picture with you?" never gets stale.  agagagagag agagagagag akakakakak
Title: Re: What's Making Me Happy!
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on March 28, 2024, 10:47:15 PM
It was a charity trip visiting some schools.  My presence may have caused a few minor disruptions, but nothing too bad.

As always, I get a few tongue-tied students who obviously want to talk to me, but won't speak even if I turn on my translation app.  This time there was one teacher in the same state. Once I got her on WeChat, she sent me a pile of questions.  I'm still not done answering them all.