Morning Off.

I don't work till one PM today. But, doesn't mean I sleep in. No Siree. I can't do such things with a wife and child. Tony was up early which meant I couldn't sleep in if I wanted to.

I had also made the rash promise to my wife that I would take Tony for a walk in the morning if the weather was good. And since the weather wasn't bad, off we went.

Feeling weary from the heat which won't go away (An electronic message board on the train from Nanjing said the temperature in Wuxi was 36.6 degrees!), I wasn't feeling particularly adventurous. So, Tony and I did not stray from our apartment complex grounds to explore some other parts of the surrounding countryside. We went to the two playgrounds instead. The first had a lot of other kids and I find that I prefer my playgrounds devoid of other children. Children together can be dangerous to each other. Some children will take foolish risks that don't just endanger themselves. I also saw a women let her little son piss on the playground AstroTurf. The other playground which does not seem to be well known among the other parents satisfies my criteria of seemingly being always deserted. It also had a swing. Tony enjoys it when we sit on the swing, and go back and forth like people are wont to do on swings. This morning on the swing, he fell asleep on my arms which to those who have never been a parent is a wonderful feeling. Children when they are asleep are angels. And even those hard-headed atheisits among you like it when children are angel-like.


The locals will always yell "hello!" to me because I stand out like a sore thumb in a country will a homogenous population. Hopefully, these greetings are meant in a spirit of friendliness and I try to take it as so, but living here for four years I have become weary of it. Sometimes, I can't be bothered to respond or I simply ignore the "hello". One day last week, I was on my electric bike waiting at a light when a swarthy looking man yelled "hello!" to me. I tried to ignore him because I felt as if he was greeting me like he would greet a dog. It was a very rude and condescending manner in which to greet a stranger, I thought. But the man continued at me expectantly. And then suddenly he yelled "F*** Off!". There is hatred of foreigners in China.