sports, puppies and IKEA

sorry, we've been lagging on the blogging. it's been a fast couple of weeks and we suddenly realized we'd broken our post-even-if-random rule. i was in HK for work, D had a bigger lecture to give, and we just finished a few days of raucous birthday celebrating for D.

some randomness since our last post...

last sunday, on our way out in the morning, we realized it might take us a bit longer than usual. because the beijing marathon was going past our apartment. literally. here's a shot of the runners. there were a bunch of dudes doublefisting it with chinese flags. pretty impressive. we had to do some circuitous maneuvering with the scooter (over pedestrian bridges, etc.) to get to service on time...sort of.

we finally got our passports back, with residence permits, after six weeks. after all the drama and delays -- including multiple visits to the entry exit bureau and having to have our real marriage license fedexed from the states -- we just walked in, paid, and picked them up. we were very very very thankful. literally just in time, as i was going to HK in two days.

J&M beijingdou organized a bunch of us to go watch the China Open...they strategically bought Men's Quarterfinals tix and we ended up getting to watch Nadal play Safin!! whoohooooooo. it was really fun, especially the random tennis ball dude and guys on stilts. buy one get one papa john's pizza slices. oh and the chinese cheerleaders performing near the entrance (oh mickey you're so fine, you're so fine you blow my mind...)

been making friends with the old homeless man with the puppies. he told me their names are doudou. both of them. i asked him how he tells them apart and he said they don't mind being the same...or something like that, i wasn't totally sure. they're such good puppies...they just sit under a tree and chill with him all day. i wonder what will happen when they get bigger.

with the weather getting colder, we made a trip to the local IKEA to get a comforter and other assorted necessities. D hates IKEA...not even the ice cream and hot dog (that is strangely white and gross-looking) at the end make it better. i think it's partly because local people treat it like an amusement park ("what do you want to do this saturday? let's go to IKEA and get some foreign food and hang out!!") so it's always ridiculously crowded. here are some folks chilling in a living room display

miss you guys. more later...

weekly roundup: the good, the bad, the confusing

it's been a pretty good week -- most of the country is on vacation through tomorrow (have been since the big national day celebration last thursday). there are mooncakes everywhere for mid-autumn festival (more later) and most people are hanging out. D is actually at a rock music festival with a friend as i type. i've had to work which has tethered me a bit more, but it hasn't been super intense, so good amount of play too.

THE GOOD...

- scooter: we finally caved and got an electric scooter on saturday. i was totally against it when we first came, convinced it was an accident on wheels. until we realized how useful they are, because it's totally annoying to have to walk/take a taxi/bus everywhere, especially just to get to the subway. not to mention the fact that it really doesn't go much faster than a normal bike (M pointed this out early on and I think it swayed me). we debated the merits of getting two bikes vs. a scooter, and realized that it was far more likely for bruise-prone me to get into an accident on my own riding a bike, vs. riding on the back of a scooter that D is driving. so we went with the scooter. it's navy blue. it looks kind of small when D is riding.

gotta admit...the scooter formations we can now do with other scooter people are pretty fun

- dumplings: we went over to our chinese friends' house for dumplings on monday. D is not a picky eater at all, but for some reason dumplings have always made him want to gag. so we were slightly nervous, but didn't want to say anything because they were really excited about sharing culture with us by teaching us to make dumplings. D warned me before we left that i might have to eat more than my usual share. so what's the good in all this? turns out D doesn't hate all dumplings. he actually liked these guys -- the filling was milder than usual, and they cooked them really well. i never knew this trick (or maybe some aunt told me about it when i was little and i forgot), but apparently you're supposed to boil water, then throw the dumplings in and let them come to a boil, then add a cup of cold water and let it come to a boil, then repeat with 2 more cups of water. this way the skin's texture is really good and they don't break. anyways, we had a good time and D ate a lot of dumplings.

- lots of game nites / hanging out - we're really enjoying people here

THE BAD...

- sad scooter rabbit: a mere three days into owning our scooter, someone jacked up the rearview mirrors while it was parked. one is missing and the other is hanging like a sad rabbit ear now. oh well...

- dtrain: i had massive stummick issues again last week...didn't leave the house for 3 days, was pretty much tethered to the bathroom. still don't know what it was, but am slowly realizing it's par for the course with living here, even having always been immune before. go figure. (totally fine now)

THE CONFUSING...

- mooncakes up the wazoo: as far as i can tell, no one really likes EATING these, especially the kind they make here (super dense) yet they sell in huge boxes and we've been given about a bajillion of them from friends, the university, the voiceover people. we have no idea what to do with them...a few of them are particularly hard and dense. some potential solutions: (1) give them to the old homeless man with the two puppies...maybe puppies like them, (2) play jenga, (3) prop up something, (4) feed the chick and the duck

- the one-sided gate monster: we have a double door to our apartment...one regular door, and a metal gate. we discovered this week that if you lock the metal gate from the outside, you can't get out from inside, even if you have a key to it. what the...??

if you can explain this, i'll be really impressed.

Today's Forecast: Rockets and Blue Skies

Yesterday was National Day for China. Sort of like our 4th of July, they celebrate the founding of the CPC with a big parade and firework shows here in Beijing. Yesterday was also the most beautiful weather we've had. Pretty crazy since the days leading up to the celebration were miserable. There was even lightning the night before - the only time cc and I have experienced it here. But like I said, the day itself was gorgeous.

Why? Because they "seeded" the weather! Check out the following article: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/01/world/asia/01rain.html?scp=1&sq=weather%20Beijing&st=cse

Before the Olympics they seeded the clouds by shooting rockets.

This time around they used planes and lasers. They even had a contingency plan for fog.

I don't know what to make of it. :) Josh was telling me how Beijing had a 6-month drought following the Olympics.