Monday
[November 4]
[Home
Laptop]
Last
night, I went to the Blue Marlin, a western style chain restaurant.
When I have time during this week, I will provide you with my
commentary about it.
The
reason I went there was because the trainers at school were doing a
send-off for trainer Dennis Gorman. Dennis is some part of the U.K.,
probably Wales. He worked at the school for seven years.
I
got home from the Blue Marlin about 11:30 PM last night.
I
woke up, this morning, with an unbearable headache – a good
reminder of why I should spend all the time I can with my family and
eschew the pubs.
I
took the 635 bus to get downtown yesterday afternoon to get to the
Blue Marlin. I wanted to see where the 635 stopped before it got to
the stop I usually catch it at in the evening. Now that I have this
information, I will never have to worry about not having a seat on
the bus.
I
tried to find another Ultraman Egg toy for Tony when I did get
downtown but, alas, the particular model of the toy Jenny had bought
and I had lost for Tony was sold out. It wasn't to be found at the
toy store in the Hen Long Plaza or at the Ba Bai Ban toy store.
Walking
to the Blue Marlin, which is located in the Nanchang Temple Market
area behind the Nikko Hotel, I saw a tourist taking a photo of a
traditional Chinese looking structure on Zhongshan Road on a corner
across the street from Nanchang Temple. With disdain, I thought how
I should have told him that the building, which looked old, had been
built about three years ago.
Tony
threw up at school this morning. Jenny got the news from the
teacher. She has to go to school now and change his clothes.
[Later]
It
turned out that Tony didn't vomit. He had spitting problems.
Jenny
& I went to the Jinling Hotel for a lunch buffet. Feeling like
crap because of the beer drunk the night before, I had to abstain
from having beer.
Tuesday
[November 5]
[Home
Laptop]
At
suppertime yesterday, I still felt like crap. I had a sore throat
and felt pain when I tried to swallow. The big lunch I had was
getting back to me. With my plumbing being so uncertain these days,
I felt sharp pains in the right abdomen. I also had a headache.
Whatever bug or virus I had caught was causing me to feel congestion
and discomfort in my chest. All I wanted to do was go to sleep.
And
so from 6:30 to 8:30 PM I slept on the couch. Tony laid a blanket on
me which was very sweet of him. Jenny roused me from the couch, had
me take a shower, and I was in bed by 9:00 PM. I then awoke at 6:30
AM.
Up
this morning, I felt a little better, but symptoms of the bug I had
caught remained. I now have a slight headache, a sore throat, a
runny nose, congestion in the head and chest. I have taken a couple
tylenols and drunk a lot of water.
I
was going to say some more about the Wuxi Blue Marlin. I was
unimpressed. While its décor was very nice and plush, its menu was
nothing special – it was basically pub grub that was so
dime-a-dozenish back in Canada. Chinese are right to scoff at the
lack of variety in Western style restaurants.
Creature
comforts. Living in China for nine years on a low salary and having
a child, I have had to give up a lot of creature comforts like going
to pubs like the Blue Marlin. I see now that I haven't been missing
much. That evening at the Blue Marlin put me out of commission for a
day – it wasn't worth it except to reconfirm that I was not missing
much.
I
downloaded and then watched an old Dean Martin Roast video yesterday.
The man being honored was Bob Hope who was roasted by the likes of
Don Rickles, Milton Berle, Jimmy Stewart, John Wayne, Nipsy Russel,
Billy Graham, Ronald Reagan, Omar Bradley, Neil Armstrong, Phyllis
Diller, Jack Benny and Flip Wilson. A few of the celebrities who
were just there and didn't get to say anything, or perhaps they
didn't make the final edit, were Ginger Rodgers, Johnny Bench, Mark
Spitz and Sugar Ray Robinson. The list of celebrities at this roast,
truly, was much better than the jokes. Not to say that I didn't
laugh.
[School
Laptop]
I
am school. Last night, I was feeling like I wouldn't be up to being
here. After a good sleep, it doesn't seem so torturous but...
I
took the 610 bus and transferred to the 85 bus to get to school.
I
don't know if I will have much else to say today because I feel like
I am busy.
Wednesday
[November 6]
[School
Laptop]
Someone
broke into the school last night, and rummaged through some of the
offices, stealing a large amount of cash from the pay office.
The
thief came into my office and broke into the locked drawers of my
desk. He grabbed a hold of the can of change I had in my drawer
(Tony's toy fund) but didn't decided not to take it. My laptop
wasn't damaged. The Lipton tea can is currently in police custody
for finger printing.
Funny
how the break-in occurred just days before I was going to move out of
the office anyway.
And
I was also intending today to clean up the office for my move.
So
other than a broken lock on a desk drawer, I don't appear to have
lost anything.
I
learned about the break-in by phone. They wanted to know if I had
anything valuable in the desk that the thief might have wanted.
When
I came to school, I was of course curious to see the damage. In my
office, the top drawer of my desk, where I had the can of change, was
on the floor. In the office across the hall from mine, the contents
of desk drawers were still on the floor waiting for one of our female
staff to clean them up on their arrival.
The
thief appeared to be looking for big money and panties.
The
theft was caught on video. The thief was a male and very skinny.
He
broke into the school through its front entrance which has been
secured very crudely with nothing but a bicycle lock holding the
handles of the pair of doors together. Being very thin, all he had
to do was open the double doors enough so he shimmy his way through.
From
my office, he was able to get on a chair and hop into the next door
cash office. From there, he opened the cash office window and was
able walk on a ledge to get into other offices down the hallway.
From
the video, it was learned that the thief entered the school about
four AM and left at about six.
I
took the 602支 bus and
then the 81 bus to school.
I
just got the can back from the police. All the paper money that I
had been saving for Tony's Christmas present was taken. The coins
are still there. So I did lose something after all.
The
students, in my English corner, told me that I have a lovely nose.
But, I learned later, that they say that about all foreigners.
Thursday
[November 7]
[School
Laptop]
I
work 10:00 to 21:00 today. It is my long day of the week, or rather
the day of the week when I spend the longest time away from Casa
Kaulins.
I
am settled in the big office with the other foreign trainers. Last
evening at suppertime, the move was effected. I now sit in one
corner of the office across from Vaughan (from South Africa) and next
to Zach (from Chicago Land).
This
morning, I saw a bunch of fancy-uniformed traffic cops at the 101
Hospital (the military hospital in Wuxi). I took a photo which you
can see at AKIC Wordpress. The entry is entitled By the 101
Hospital.
I
then saw about fifty security guards standing at attention at the
gate by the Chongan Market which is near Wall Street English. I took
photos of the guards in formation being harangued by a man with a
loudhailer, but the photos weren't worth publishing.
Friday
[November 8]
[School
Laptop]
I
work 11:00 to 21:00.
Last
night, I was attempting to cross a street near Baoli so I could get
to the bus stop to catch the 635 and go home. I waited and then
proceeded on the green pedestrian signal. I took two steps and was
swiped by an e-bike that was attempting to go through a red light.
The e-bike, with a young male driver and young female passenger, came
to a temporary halt and then continued on its way, running the red
light. I wasn't hurt, but by the time I was aware of what had
happened (I was listening to an absorbing podcast on my Ipod), the
e-bike had gone through the red light and there was nothing I could
do but watch it ride off into the distance. I could only rue not
having been able to have had the presence of mind to have throttled
the driver. It would have been lovely to have given his head a
corner of my elbow.
I
then arrived home and was told by Jenny that Tony is having trouble
at school. He is falling behind in his pinyin studies and the
teachers are putting pressure on Jenny to get Tony to improve. (In
Wuxi, parents are expected to help their children do their homework.)
The teachers are also telling Jenny that Tony is being a disturbance
in class – punching the other children and so on. Apparently, as
well, Tony has no male friends among the classmates and plays with
the girls. Jenny is thinking of pulling him out of school by the
next term, and having him go back to school to restart grade one next
fall.
Jenny
is coming around to my point that Tony will always have problems in
school because he is the youngest in his class, having been born on
August 23 which is but one week from the September 1 cutoff date
which determines which grades a student can go into.
That,
and the fact that Tony is a mixed blood baby subject to the racism of
the Chinese and also subject to resentment of his supposed privilege
because of his foreign status, and I can see why the teachers don't
seem to like him and why Jenny is having a horrible time with Tony at
a Chinese public school.
I
saw two army trucks drive down a road near Casa Kaulins. Maybe the
soldiers are staying the Hui Shan Ramada Plaza.
This
morning, as I was riding on the bus going down Zhongshan Road, I saw
a large crowd outside the Far Eastern Department Store. What they
were there for I had no idea. But as the bus went down the street,
the next building was an empty department store. One has to wonder
if the Far Eastern can survive with the openings of the two mega
malls in Downtown Wuxi.
What
to read now? I have finished the three books that I had been reading
the past week, so as I type this now, I can start any book I want...
It's a difficult decision.
I
may read Gulag by Anne Applebaum or The Rise of Modern China by
Immanuel C Y HSU, or a book on SJAM (Sir John A MacDonald), or
something else that I have, in what is an extensive library, on my
Ipad.
Saturday
[November 9]
[School
Laptop]
I
work 10:00 to 18:00.
The
cold ,I currently have, displayed it worst manifestations yesterday
as I was hacking the whole day through.
Last
night was the last time I would be able to sit beside the girl who I
had labeled my 635 Bus companion. Sophia in fact is/was a study
adviser at Web, a school whose name I really shouldn't mention since
they are evil competition to my school. Sophia has resigned from the
school and her last day is tomorrow (Sunday). The school wanted her
to work both days on the weekend which was not kosher since her
fiancee was working Monday to Friday.
Once
she is finished at Web, Sophia plans to take a month off and explore
the touristy spots near Wuxi like Shanghai and Hangzhou before she
looks for another job. Since coming from Shandong to Wuxi, her work
schedule hasn't permitted her to go anyway and see anything – Web
had her working six days a week. She plans to find work in another
industry, vowing never to work again as an English teacher. She will
be getting married next year and I will be invited to her Wuxi
wedding party. (I have posted one of her wedding photos on AKIC
wordpress.)
I
saw a tiger this morning! I really did! The tiger was in a cage
outside the Wuxi Hui Shan Wanda Plaza.
Seeing
the Tiger was almost exciting as the time I saw a camel on the way to
work. That humped creature was sitting on a roadside near a bus
stop. It was traveling with a gypsy like circus troupe.
As
soon as I arrived home last night, Tony wanted my Ipad mini. He
looked at the new cars I had purchased on the Real Racing App. He
then raced. I asked him how he did and if he had won the race. He
responded saying “No! I was number five!” The first time he had
ever used a number in an ordinal sense with me.
[Home
Laptop]
Lasagna
for supper! I love my Jenny!
At
school, I gulped down some cola rather too quickly and damn near
choked myself.
Saturday
night and Jenny is torturing Tony by making him do his homework.
Poor fellow.
Sunday
[November 10]
Today
is a day off for me.
Lest
I forget, tomorrow is Remembrance Day in Canada. I had a poppy,
brought from Canada, to wear for the day but I misplaced it or lost
it. I do make a point of observing the day by displaying a poppy on
my websites. Tomorrow, I will mark the day on the We Chat app for
the edification of my Chinese contacts.
China
has a military day on July 1, I believe. But I have never witnessed
anything done to observe the day. China does have fallen soldiers
that are worthy of honor – the ones that fought against the
Japanese in WW2. Unfortunately, as a foreigner and an
anti-Communist, I would feel very uncomfortable honoring the fallen
soldiers of China in any way that would have a connection with the
PLA. In fact, the PLA has been a force for expanding the Chinese
Empire, the army of Chinese Imperialism.
It
is cold and damp outside but I won't complain. I understand it is
far colder in Canada these days.
Tony
has my Ipad and is watching train videos on Youku. He had been doing
homework, for two hours with Jenny.
I
have been playing on the computer the whole day. I still haven't
recuperated from my cold though the fact that it is a day off makes
me feel one hundred percent better.
Yesterday,
I did talk to a woman who had a son in grade one of primary school.
I had to ask her about his birthday. Her son was born in January
2007 (Tony was born in August 2007). The woman said that January was
the ideal month for a primary school student to be born. Telling her
about Tony's birth month, she commented that he was probably too
young to be in grade one.
I
am watching Peeping Tom, a British film made in the 1960s about a
man who likes to film his victims as he kills them. I am halfway
through the film and find it excruciating to watch.
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