Overdoing it?

In a day or so, I will be counting the hours till Jenny and Tony are back in Wuxi. I have talked to them on the phone everyday. Talking to me on the mobile, Tony can imitate the sound I make when I stroke my lips with my finger - that babbling gurgling noise.

In these days of freedom, I haven't gone to complete seed. Though I have been a couch potato watching DVDs (3 episodes to go of the fourth season of the Wire), the apartment is a lot neater than when Mister Tony prowls about. And I can proudly say that I haven't drunk any alcohol in the time the wife has been away. Old Andis is keeping a promise that Young Andis made to himself all those years ago.


There was a ground breaking ceremony for the planned construction of another commercial investment plaza in Wuxi. From the Wuxi news: The plaza, which has 68 levels and a total floor area of 320,000 sqm according to plan, has incorporated shopping mall, super-five-star hotel, high-end office area, high-class hotel apartment, large electric appliance store. The shopping center has an area of 100,000 sqm and occupies 8 floors. To me this is blatant over development on the part of somebody. On the way to Huishan New City, there is another large commercial plaza with giant Ferris Wheel, hotel, and shopping mall that hasn't been complete yet. The shopping areas I already see around Wuxi don't seem to be packed with shops and shoppers.


I was looking through my book collection today. And what a mighty fine book collection it is. It has to be the finest personal library of any Wuxi Expat. Within, you can find works of Plato, Mordecai Richler, Louis L'Amour, Evelyn Waugh, Florence King, and Elmore Leonard. And it contains very few works of science fiction - thank God! I forgot I had a copy of the Robertson Davies novel Bred to the Bone. Well, I am going to be reading that novel for the next few days.


I finished reading the Pierre Trudeau biography. Apparently, Malcom Muggeridge meet Trudeau and said our 1970s P.M. was all style and no substance. Style was the only constant with Trudeau whose flip-flopped on more issues than a fish out of water. As well, Trudeau only achievements didn't quite have the results he had been hoping for (e.g. constitution and official bilingualism).


Here are some more CWWF* match ups:

Matsui versus Wang
Yagoda and Ichiro versus Yang and Feng
Ito versus Yitao
Yokozuma versus Bei Ting
Traitor in Foreign Pay versus Bald head
Fat Lady versus Splendorous Sunshine Girl
Kong Yiji versus Ah Q (for the JUWW belt)

* Chinese Workers Wresting Federation