Muslim Quarters, Xian City

A must-see section of Xian City. Our Xmas Eve dinner was bread bits soaked in mutton soup, a traditional and popular dish in Xian.

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Merry Xmas and Happy New Year!

For those of us who are seeking any and every excuse to have a drink or two extra this festive season, do remember this:

Alcohol does not make you FAT!

In fact, in sufficient quantities, alcohol can make you LEAN.

Yes, LEAN!!!!!

Lean against walls, car door, telephone booth, and even floors (any floor), but most significantly,

Alcohol makes you lean against beautiful people, who at first may look truly and genuinely ugly!

Enjoy but be safe!

kk

New Hair salon

A new hair salon has just started up in our neighbourhood. You can tell by the name on the signboards the competion in this profession is indeed getting fiercier and more specialised.

If ever you need to engage their specialised services, do make sure you drop in to say hello and share a coffee after you are done.

JT, Add this to your Chinglish list.

Shoes

A pair of Crocodile walking shoes that has been loyally travelling with me to many places from Tokyo to Malaysia and Melbourne, that has been unselfishly protecting my feet from pain and dirt, has finally being taken away from me.

Someone swtiched my shoes, right outside my very own home, one night 2 weeks ago, leaving behind a pair of really stinky runners about 2 sizes bigger. For months, we had no problems with leaving our shoes outside our front door. Then I sent my shoes to a neighbourhood cobbler for 'servicing' about 2 months ago. It looked new. I believe my Crocks did put up big fights against that night stalker. No self-respecting shoes will ever put up with feet that stink so bad!

Last Sunday, Grace took me to roam a mall near Fu Li Cheng where Kristine and Kimberley spent the afternoon at their friend's. A pair of Hush Puppies suedes was reduced 50%, and another 2.5% on top. The final price was still Y499.

I miss Woodbury Commons of our White Plains days!
Remembering those HushPuppies, Merrell shoes at 50-70% off on top of clearance.

110 (Beijing Emergency Number)

After Kristine's stationery shopping at 东郊市场, we decided to walk home instead of the two stops bus ride. As we approach home, we caught up with a slow-walking old man with deeply stooped back in front of us. He wore a brown fisherman winter hat, dark colour jacket (as per top of a suit), white colour wrap-around apron, and soft fabric domestic slippers.

Kristine asked me why that man walked the way he did, with his back stooped low. No sooner after her question, the man fell forward, with his knees curled up and forehead on the ground. Grace and I froze for a few seconds as the man stayed stationary on the ground. No passers by stopped to take a look. This is a busy road under the mid-section of East 4th Ring Road. I went over, knelt down and looked at him. His face was dark tanned and heavily wrinkled. He was still breathing. Sigh of relief. I then asked "Whats wrong?" (你怎么啦？). After a few heavy breath, he spoke out. I could manage just two msgs:

1. I am ill
2. They (presumably his relatives or caretakers) don't care anymore
3. gibberish and gibberish that I could not decipher.

I then ask him if I should call the police over to help him. He replied very clearly agreeing to call the local police for help. I was half expecting him to say he was hungry and homeless and asked me for money. He didn't.

Grace then call 110. Call was swiftly connected. Grace was asked about the problem and the location. The operator was very familiar with the location vicinity. Either the operator was nearby in the same locale, or she could track the mobile phone call location on her Beijing map. She told Grace the local police will be contacted to pick up the old man. Roughly 10 minutes later, a police officer called Grace's mobile to verify the situation and location. Another 9 minutes later, 3 police in a patrol car came. The lead officer asked Grace if she was the one who called. After a brief Q&A, they picked the old man up and drove off.

19 minutes from time of lodging an emergency call to arrival of emergency personnel. I thought that was rather fast. I once had to call for an ambulance for a friend in Melbourne. I recall it took about the same time for the ambulance to arrive.

No camera, thus no photos attached.

Wall Painting

When both Kristine and Kimberley were both grounded at home early November for high fever. I tried several options to keep them away from excessive TV and computer games each day , but there weren't many choices during winter.

I finally settled on repainting the apartment afresh, with two 'helpers', actually creating more hassles for me than helping, but they were eager 'helpers'.

Painting itself was fast, but to air each room after painting took several days. The place now looks like new!

Homework

Add Chinese writing and simple mathematics to Kimberley's kindergarten homewrok now.

She is better with single digit addition than subtraction. When it comes to subtraction questions, she just add a vertical stroke to turn the subtraction sign to addtion sign and answer the questions as additon questions.

The pencils in photos are her calculation aid. Kristine is often her tutor, correcting her homework, with frequent scolding towards Kimmie;s mistakes.

Flu Vaccine

Kimberley joined a few of previous kinder-mates yesterday to a local hospital for their flu shots. 15 kids cramped into a small passenger van.

She promised she wouldnt cry, and she didnt.

When one of her ex- female classmates starting crying before taking the shot, Kimmie started to feel nervous and refused to take her jacket and cardigan off. She fought tooth and nail, but eventually losing to the stornger father's arms. As she struggled within my locking embrace, she insisted on looking the needle poking into her left arm, contrary to advice given. BUT SHE DID NOT CRY!

A Mini Mouse chocolate bar as reward, imported by Xiaogugu from Tokyo.
We walked 1.5km home, instead of taking the kindergarten van with the other kids.

Attached photo taken with Kimmie's previous kinder teacher Ms Liu.

More Snow Photos

Photo taken after heavy snow last week. Jason asked if the snow was 'artificial'. Kristine's Japanese tutor mentioned her lecturer told her it was artificial induced, but I could not find any report in Beijing Meteorological Bureau website. They declared that after the heavy snow fall in february 2009, stating it was needed for winter crops to germinate. Not this time.

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New Kinder

Kimmie bid farewell to Hui Jia Kids Kinder last week and joins Little Squirts. Hui Jia is an excellent kinder with qualified staff but it was too big for Kimmie to take advantage of.

Her new kinder is operated by a Canadian guy and her Chinese wife, assisted by a full time Chinese teacher and a part time Filipina (English) teacher. Maximum class size is limited to 12 but it currently has just 8 kids of various ages.

Maybe it is still fresh but Kimmie is eager to goto kinder early each morning. However, she still clings to a teacher during playtime outdoor. We shall see if the small class size will make Kimmie more relaxed and outgoing. Morgan managed to squeeze a loud answer from Kimmie yesterday duing playtime. That is a good start.

We can see Little Squirts play, twice a day, in the open from our windows. Two days ago, while Kimmie stayed detached watching other kids play, she slolwly walked towards our apartment entry hallway (I wanted to go home!). The Chinese assistant ran to grab her back.

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Flu Injection Ineffective against Swine Flu

Kristine had her flu injection on Wednesday, her first day of school after 7-day home (and super happy) quanrantine due to a mild fever.

These are our conversation after school on Wednesday:
"Did nurses come to your school (to adminster the injections)?"
"No, that was done in a hospital."
"How did you goto the hospital?"
"In the same school bus that took me to school."
"Whats the name of the hospital?"
"I dont know. It looked old and '烂' (decrepit)."
"Did any of classmates cry?"
"4 cried before the injection because they were nervous, but nobody cried after that".
"Did you distribute your chocolate bars to your friends who didnt cry?"
"Yes. None of them cry."

This article came from Bloomberg today:

"Seasonal flu shots didn't protect against the new swine flu strain that's now responsible for 99.6 percent of U.S. infections, according to a federal study".

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601124&sid=a.HdTk60eNz0

For Kristine (and soon Kimberley as well), her next flu reaction should not be ordinary seasonal flu.

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H1N1

The bad cold and nasty coughs I got from last Sunday's heavy snow made its round within the house to Kristine and Kimberley. Kristine's reaction was not as bad as mine, and Kimberley's was even milder.

Nevertheless, because Kristine's temp went to 37.5degC (up to 38 the next day), she had to take the mandatory '8-count' and stayed home for 7 days (Cut off is 37.3degC for all school kids). Both are now back to normal. They will return to school and kinder on Wednesday.

Both have registered for flu shots at schools. Kristine will get hers on Wednesday, and Kimberley a few days later. Both have stuffed their school bags with candies and chocs for classmates who are brave for the injections. I suspect they will have the lion shares of the goodies, even before the injection just to calm their own nerves.

Since mid October, after returning from the week long National Day holidays, Kimberley's class was closed for two weeks, and a class in Kristine;s grade was closed for a week.

More face masks are now spotted in public. The flu season is kicking into high gear. Flu vaccine manufacturers listed on local stock exchanges went up some 30-50% last week.

1st Snow of the Season

The heavy snow early Sunday (Nov1) was a surprise. It was a bit too early for snow yet. Central heating is still a few days away, but a cold front brought temp plunging below freezing overnight. Expecting just a small flurry, I must be at my wit's end to venture out to the vegie market. It was just a small flurry as I departed. On way home, it got heavy, backpack full of fresh vegetables and head full of snow!!!!

Pandas @ Beijing Zoo

Saying hellos to Pandas at Beijing Zoo, adjacent to the Planetarium which the kids visited the week before.

Kimmie is still very devoted to animal watching but Kristine is pass that age.

Kimmie's Sports Day

Last friday morning was Kimmie's kinder sports day for K4 classes.
Kimmie was the ONLY one not wearing kinder uniform (she refused), and Kimmie was the ONLY one not taking any part in the ceremonial or competitive activities, choosing to stick around us, claiming she was shy. Despite coaxing and persuasion by grace and myself, and all her kinder teachers, nurses and nannies, she refused to join in.

Kimmie's class, having being barred from kinder last two weeks to prevent spread of foot and mouth, and not having much practice, came in last of three classes, a distant last....

H1N1

Kimberley returned to kinder after 2 weeks segragation due to a classmate contracting 'foot and mouth'.

Parents are still not allowed into the kinder. The front gate acts as the natural barrier. The gate and the fence have a fresh layer of paint so at least they look cleaner.

Attached a WHO chart comparing fatality rate of various contagious deseases. While H1N1 is 5 times more potent than seasonal flus, SARS is 19 times more deadly than H1N1, and Bird Flu is 120 times above.

Hot Water Supply

Utility supplies in Beijing, at least in our apartment have been good (consistent). There was never a power trip or any supply interuption, until yesterday.

As Kristine went to take a shower yesterday evening, she screamed out there was no hot water supply. She then tried to wash her hair with cold water in the basin which I told her not to and then I rushed down to the management office to recharge our hot water supply card.

Gas, electricity, hot water, and recycled water for toilets are prepaid onto smart cards, to be loaded into utility meters at home. When the prepayment runs out, the meters stop the flow. Twice we ran out of recycled water, and once we ran out of electricity. Hot and Recycled Water credits are purchased from our local property mgt office, cold water is billed monthly by local water board, electricty can be purchased from our local milkbar or banks, but gas can only be purchased from Bank of Beijing. Sounds fun? It is!

Upon reaching the property management office, the guy at front desk asked if it was hot water I came for. I replied yes but how do you know? He said the entire complex is affected due to major hot water piping repair, not because our meter has ran out of credit. It would last three days.

So until tomorrow, our usual hot showers come from boiling water in soup pots on stove and then mix with cold in big bucket. Though a bit inconvenient, I think we use less water this way.....

Kristine's View of MuTianYu Great Wall

When Adele visited beijing last week and went to the Great wall, kristine and Kimberley skipped schools to tag along.

Attached a photo of the Great Wall sandwiched by autumn foliage taken by Kristine.

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Kristine's 1st Earning

Kristine earned RMb100 today for a 6-min recording of English reading to form a part of English teaching material for local students.

She was selected by her English teacher as 1 of 4 students from her school for the task. The recording was done at Beijing Foreign Studies University.

After lunch near the Uni, the kids got a treat to the Beijing Planetarium. The show we chose was a documentary on how the Sun will eventually 'die'. I fell asleep in my reclining seat.

Kristine School

On way to her school bus pick up point this morning, I asked Kristine what she got to do for those 30 minutes between her arrival at school and class begins. She said the students all have to stay inside their classes in their seats. They can leave their classrooms only to toilets, or to the drinking water fountain.

They dont get to play in the compaound. The teachers do not want them to run around. It sounds so regimented compared to her Melbourne school, where school is FUN!!!! I asked her if she liked her Beijing school. To my surprise, she said yes. I asked her why. She said she gets to learn different things.

Thats the spirit!

Back to School

The National Day break of 8 days ended on October 9, but not for Kimberley.
Kristine did a mandatory 7 count of home quarantine after returning from MDJ. She stayed home until October 12. Kimberley should have started her kinder on the same day. Her kinder teacher called on October 9 saying two of Kimberley's classmates have contracted 'Mouth and Foot' desease and her class has been closed for 2 weeks.

Her days with me at home vacillates from LeapPad to computer games (www.51mole.com is her fav now) to drawing to Cartoon Network. Early on she would go with me to pick Kristine from her school bus stop and proceeeded to piano practice. The latter part of the week she decided to just stay at home by herself. Her first!

Siberian Tigers

Greetings from North East China.

On day of arrival in Mudanjiang, Kristine scared us with a 37.4degC temp. She is now back to her bubbly self so we took her, Kimmie and their cousin to visit a Siberian Tiger sanctuary in Heng Dao He Zi (横道河子)，about 44km from Mudanjiang toward Haerbin direction.

The Sanctuary is the largest of its kind with about 100 Siberian Tigers for public viewing, and another 300 behind the scene.
Basic daily sustenance for each tiger costs Y200, consisting of 8.5kg of beef and a duck, plus whatever they get from tourists feeding them through fences (duck fillets for Y10), or in open safari (live ducks for Y40, or live cows for Y1500). Kristine, Kimmie and their cousin each fed a tiger a piece of duck fillet held on a bamboo stick. We saw a pack of tigers chasing after two ducks in the safari. Rather cruel, but how else to maintain their hunting instinct in captivity. The option of releasing them into the 'wild' will just hasten their extinction, just like the more affadable pandas.

Autumn foliage along the way is beautiful, rivalling the New England states in the US.

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Train Station Mad Rush

On the day of departure by train to MDJ to visit the grandparents, both Kristine and Kimberley insisted on attending schools for just 2 hours. Tight schedule to meet for train departing at 1138am.

The scheduled timeline for the morning was

0950am Pick Kimberley from kinder
(1000am actual)
1000am taxi to Kristine school
(1025am actual (no taxi outside main gate)
1025am arrive Kristine school,
(1048am actual)
1030am head for train station
(1055am actual)

Taxi driver did an Indy500 race from Kristine school to train station, dropping us just outside train station to save us some long walk from the normal dropoff point across a busy road linked by a long pedestrian overpass.

25mins to train departure time. 100m walk to the main entrance. We should be able to make it. Not wanting to miss the train after all the trouble HT went through to get us those precious tickets.

10 steps off the taxi, stopped by armed police by roadside, wanting to check ID. Off came my backpack onto ground, unzip back pocket, took out folder, unzip folder to retrive 4 passports. Passport photos, other ID fell off folder.

Armed police saw the passport covers, and waved us on.

5 more quickened steps and another armed police stopped me, wanting to check my backpack.

Found my fruit knife on side pocket. Armed police was beaming with delight. He had picked the right target for further search. He tried explain why that knife couldnt be brought onto train. I cut him short and replied 'keep it!' and we rushed off.

A rush to the main entrance. What else to expect other than a long queue in front of security xrays. Luckily the line moved well, and we were lucky not to have our bags searched again.

Reached waiting hall inside at 1118am. Gambled I could afford 5 minutes to get two McDonalds Happy Meals. No hassle there. I returned with the treasured lunch at 1123am. Just 15 minutes to spare. Hopefully our train car is not far off the ticket checkpoint. Still no call for boarding.

Then we saw the MDJ train sign saying departure at 1238am. Grace thought was train was delayed. That would be a first. Service attitude on train is bad compared to airplanes, but train service is not known for delays.

Looked at the tickets again.

Deprature time printed 1238am........................

Kristine and Kimberley had time for their HAPPY MEALS!!!!!!

China National Day

Other than the traffic chaos during the weekly rehearsals, the preparation for the 60th National Day is reaching a crescendo this week, with real reheasals at real time.

Scarlet had to present herself for her rehearsals at 9pm, on her birthday, for rehearsal that lasted until 1am.

The airforce also had their rehearsal, with flight paths directly above our home, Kristine's school and Grace's office. Quite a spectacle, especially a refueling plane followed by two fighter jets in refueling formation at low level. I didnt get to watch the fighter jets with tailing colourful smokes but they did that for Kristine and Grace.

We went to Chang An Street last Friday to help Grace prepare her office for the National Day closure. Every street corner was manned by several police. All decorative fixtures on the street were cordoned off and guarded by police.

All offices facing Chang An Street where the parade will pass through will be closed/sealed. All office doors must be left opened, as with all drawers, and cabinets, including safes. All liquid of any form must be placed on desks. The offices will inspected and sealed by 12noon on Sept 30, and nobody can enter the rpemsie again until the police remove the seals at 2am on October 2. The hotels on Chang An Street will be, must be, closed for business those two days too.

If this is the scale for 60th, I cannot wait for the Centennial in 2049!!!!!

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Flu Shot

After registering Kimberley to have flu shot at her kinder, despite all the signatures and waiver declarations (who says China is not getting legalistic?), and payment of Y69.50, the inhouse nurse told us Kimberley must goto a designated hospital for her flu shot. The kinder cannot administer flu shot for Kimmie because she being a foreigner 'does not have the Beijing health record book'.

Kimmie's kinder fee is 50% higher than her local kinder mates. The flu shot episode does categorise her differently. Maybe that is the priviledge of paying a higher fee. This 'higher fees for foreigners' is not a standard for kindergartens in Beijing. The kinder we visited in Fu Li Cheng, when we almost moved to last month, charges the same fees for all kids.
China has come a long way since the days when airfares for foreigners were twice as much as for locals, but some hard habits still exist deep down.

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Fresh Milk

The supply and demand of fresh milk delivered daily to our doorstep is finely balanced. There is always a need for a carton from supermarket about once a week to supplement our delivered milk.

Last week when Grace was away for 4 days on business, I felt it was a good idea to freeze 4 bottles of excess milk for later use. About 4 hrs later when I opened the freezer to get something else, I noticed the frozen milk had expanded and popped the covers off the bottles. Out they came from the freezer and back to the fridge.

Next morning, as I grabbed a bottle to warm up for Kristine, the while bottom fell off, the round glass base and all of semi-frozen milk, shaped as the glass bottle. Glass splinters and milk all over the kitchen floor.

The frozen milk cracked the bottle, neatly around the base. 2 out of 4 were therefore rendered undrinkable.

Not intended that way but our milk inventory balance was restored!

They have found me!

I received a recorded message this morning, purportedly from China Telecom (中国电讯) saying I owe them Y3816 and thus our phone service was about to be terminated.

After repeating the msg, I pressed '9' which turned my incoming call into an outgoing call, apparently to China Telecom. The lady asked for my name, which I gave, not suspecting anything yet. After confirming my Chinese name, she put me on hold. I could hear she was just covering her mouthpiece and mumbled something to someone else before she came back saying my Beijing telephone was up to date with payments but several months ago I went to their Wuhan office to open a new line (027-53302021) with bills attached to this Beijing number. Now I owe them Y3816. She asked could it be that that amount was expensed by my business office in Wuhan.

That throw me off quite a bit.

She then said I went there (to open that account) using my identity card (身份证).

I DONT OWN ONE!!!!!!

By now, I was suspicious, so I ask her for her number so I could check and then call her back. Her tel is 10000. Her tag number is 0127. She said she was calling from Bai Yu Shan (白玉山) near Wuhan, with very deep southern accent.....

I am now convinced if I were to call back, she will ask me to deposit Y3816 into a specific account somewhere.

Postal Envelop

In the last year, I have visited our local post office 5 times. Once to collect a parcel of dried mushrooms from a Dongbei friend. Today is the 4th time I went to post a letter oversea.

Collecting a parcel was easy. Just bring an ID (local identity card, or passport) of the recipient and anyone can collect the parcel on behalf.

Sending a letter is also easy. Just show the postal lady the letter and she will inform the postage needed after weighing the letter, except if it is a registered letter. The first time I went to post a letter oversea, I was told the envelop I used was not acceptable, that I had to buy an envelop from another counter, which I did, for just RMB0.10. It was the same size as my envelop, except it was thicker in brown colour. Tore off the envelop from home and rewrite address on new envelop and off it went.

The same happened on my second visit to post another letter oversea, so on my third visit I decided to bring just the letter without envelop, bought the brown envelop upon reaching the post office before fronting the postage lady. On way out, I decided to buy 5 envelops for future use.

Today I thought my letter was perfect when I presented the brown envelop to the postage lady. She said my envelop was not acceptable to send as a registered letter (but thats the envelop you guys wanted me to buy to send my 1st, 2nd, and 3rd registered letters!!!!). She wanted me to buy another envelop from another counter with "AIR MAIL" printed, but the brown envelop was okay to be sent as 'ordinary' letter.
'Ordinary as in Air Mail?' (普通是空邮吗？）
'Yes'.
'Okay, send it as ordinary letter' （那就寄普通信）
'okay. RMB7.00'
'Thank you very much'
'You are welcomed'

H1N1 Update

Measures taken to 'control' H1N1 in Beijing during the upcoming flu (winter) season are much stricter than the last school year.

Kristine and Kimberley both have to report their daily body temperature each day, even weekends by SMS to Kristine's home class teacher. I received a call from her on Sunday checking if Kristine was having a fever because the sms Kristine sent her stated 37.9degC (it should have been 37.0).

She called during the week (apparently to each parent, one after another), explaining the severity of H1N1 in China this season, and why we should keep Kristine home for observation if her temp is above 37.1. That is a 0.2degC lower than stipulated 37.3degC that is considered fever threshhold. We parents have to sign an acknowledgement of our duties at home, in reporting any fever, maintain clean habits at home, and to stay home if body temp is high.

While the schools are taking stronger tracking measures, I dont see as many face masks publicly these days compared to last year.

Kimmie's Kinder Homework

I still cannot get over Kimmie now having to bring exercises back from kinder as homework! Homework at that young age! Photo attached shows how Kristine is coaching Kimmie on writing her first homework page, repetitive writing of alphabetical vowels and numbers.

Kimmie was good for this inaugural homework, obeying Kirstine's coaching well. Yesterday at Yamaha, Kimmie steadfastly refused to heed advice on her piano practice by Kristine, and ended up getting a big scolding from me right there, making a scene at Yamaha lobby and down the elevator packed with piano aspirant mothers.

Combat Saturday

Kristine's first combat game with Grace and friends on a cool overcast Saturday out in MiYun, some 90mins drive away. A 39seater bus was hired for the day, but several participants decided it was a nice day for a drive and 4 cars followed the bus to Miyun.

Lunch was at one of those farmers restaurants in Miyun, serving exotic wild vegies and a fish which I didnt even like the look of, much less digging through the numerous bones to get to the meat. The vegies were nice and lunch was enjoyable.
It was then 4 hrs of combat games between the green and blue teams. Weapons were laser beam guided. Each combatant wore a suit with several laser beam receptor targets on the vest, 4 on helmet and 2 on front vest and 2 more on back vest. Once a laser beam from enemy (or friendly idiots) lined up with the receptors, it is considered a 'kill' and an electronic pouch behind the vest will shake to register the kill.

Kristine was more conservative and liked to hide deep while Grace liked to charge (and got killed early)

The bus dropped us along 3rd Ring Road near the embassies. We walked all the way south to BaiJiaZhuang to have dinner at JingDingXuan. That was an enjoyable meal for the evening. Each main dish is around Y30-40, while the Dianxin dishes were around Y6-10. The small serves fit our family size adequately. Nice quality food too. Worth revisitng.

New School Year

Kristine is now in Yr 3 and Kimmie is in K4. It was Kimmie's wish to stat piano lesson at Yamaha. Same teacher but different time slot to Kristine's.

Both are now more active with extracurricular activities. Kristine is doing caligraphy, badminton and table tennis, while kimmie is doing painting. Maybe it is still early but they seem to be enjoying their extra classes after school.

Kristine is also improving on her ability to wake up early at 630am to catch her school bus at 706am. Much easier for her now than last school year.

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A Nanny: Real or Fake

We have a new cleaning lady who came to clean the public areas in our apartment block. One morning, to strike up a conversation beyong the usual morning pleasantries, she said to me,
"Mummy is off to work early this morning so it is your turn to send the kids to schools.（今天妈妈早上班。你送孩子。）"

"yes" I replied.

"You dont go to work today(你今天不上班）?" she probed further.

"No, I am a full time nanny (我是全职保姆）"。

She stared at me for like 5 seconds. I thought she was going to throw me a question like 'You are joking!' or 'You dont look like a fulltime nanny', but not to be the case.

"How much（多少钱）?" she wanted to know.

Kristine's Weekly Essay 2009.8.30

Yesterday, I learnt how to play badminton. Today in the morning I practaced with my Mom, and kimmy went too! first, it feels very hard. Then it feels better. 3rd, now I can play it very well. Well not very well, but good.

then when I came back, Daddy told me that Jessie called me. Then I called her back.

after that kimmy went to the tolet and then mummy went in, she saw kimmy and trying to roll up the tolet paper! (Kimmy claimed the toilet roll was 'huaihuai' (naughty) because it just rolled out by itself. So Mommy had to help her roll the paper back)

Kristine's Weekly Essay 2009.8.27

The day before yesterday was: kimmy's birthday!
we ate chips, yellow rice (Malaytian),chicken wings and birthday cake! Today we went to Ito yokado to see some pesents, kimmy wanted a hello Kitty supermarket toy.

Kristine's Weekly Eassay 2009.8.22

My dream was:
That we were back at Australia and a Egept coffin was on our table!! Then we just egnored it. After a while, the Mummy came to LIFE,I pointed at it then the whole family started to fight it. Kimmy bit it, I punched it and Daddy held him/her.

Then i just opened my eyes......

and relaxed.!.

Kristine's weekly essay 2009.07.24

昨天我上钢琴课时（4：00）就天一下子很'an'（暗）。爸爸刚刚下楼的时后（候），他'gan jin'（赶紧）跑回家。我告诉我的老师了，然后她哈哈笑了，我也笑了。

还有呢，今天，我们一家和'Peng'佳棋一家要去看马戏！ 妈妈说要早一点吃饭，早一点去马戏完跟'Peng'佳棋玩。

噢！我忘记告诉你一件事，在（再）过三天就去日本了！（东京),

还有呢，我和去看爸爸剪头发，我'na'（拿）着我的本子写周记。爸爸也'ran'（染）头发。一共'cai'(才)50元我'绝'（觉）得很'pian'（便）宜。我也看到一位女生的'xiang'（相）片她的头发是粉'zi'（紫）'xiang'（相）间

Public Transport on Rehersal Evening.

Sunday was Wayne's BBQ on his rooftop balcony. It also was one of several evenings leading up to National Day for parade rehersal. The rain was not planned though it had been raining whole day. It stopped just enough for us to start the charcoal fire, cooked and finished the food.

As soon as we bid LY and SS goodbye, I regreted not taking LY's offer to send us home. No taxis to be found anywhere. Some key roads were closed for the National Day parade rehersal. The main subway line we needed to take was shut down too. So we walked to the nearest bus station and waited.

The first bus that came by was sardine-packed. Luckily another less crowded bus arrived immediately after and we hopped on. We knew it was going towards Carrefour direction, at least bringing us closer to home. Asked the lady conductor where we should get off to change into Bus 605. Right in front of Carrefour.

Another 300m walk to the another bus stop (珠江帝景）and another 15mins wait and we got on Bus 605. Hurray!

Congested traffic all the way, but it got worse as soon as the bus turned into Chaoyang Lu. The traffic was at a stanstill. Our bus driver turned off the bus engine. We opted to get off and walk. No more rain then. The traffic lights under CiYunSi Qiao were altered to ease traffic along 4th Ring Road, at the expense of all traffic on Chaoyang Lu. Took 90mins to get home instead of the usual 15.

Disney Land -- Kristine

on Monday (17th), we just came back from Japan. On Aug 3rd, Daddy, Kimmie, Adele(my cousin) and I went to Disney Land!
We played "Splash Mountain", "It's a Small World", "Spinning Cup" and a lot more.
I ate 3 Mickey Mouse pizzas and 2 boxes of popcorn! I shaed a box of popcorn with Kimmy. we took pictures with:
1. Daisy Duck, 2. Pluto (in snoggling suit), 3. Mickey Mouse!!!!!

8.22.2009 (sat)

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Is Kimmie Really Who I Claim She is to be? - Part 2

Episode 1 highlighted how our local bank considered Kimmie and Kristine without their middle names as different persons, initially refusing to credit their accounts with foreign funds from a wire transfer.

Episode 2 continues here:
After her foreign fund was finally credited, the next task was to apply for Kimmie's replacement card. We just could not find Kimmie's card. Kristine's was found where it was supposed to be, and kimmie's was supposed to be together.

Searched through all drawers, all folders, and anywhere and everywhere cards and important docs are usually kept, the kids' toy boxes, their bags and wallets.... Did find a Beijing public transport card that we thought we lost, but not Kimmie's bank card. Did discover Grace has 16 handbags in Beijing (more in Melbourne!!)

It was a long 90 minutes wait while the bank manager called to seek advice. Something was wrong. It took too long. He eventually emerged at 530pm from his office, came out to be waiting lobby, greeted us with big smiles, and then apologised profusely he could not 'yet' (dare not is more correct) approve my application for Kimmie's replacement card, because
1. Kimmie now looks different to the photo in her passport,
2. The amount of money just received in her acccount was a lot for a 5 yr old,
3. The bank had no such precedent (replacing a lost card to a alien resident minor whose account suddenly received a sizeable foreign fund)
4. The birth certificate was not familiar to him because local birth certs show parental ID (身份证）numbers as well, whereas Kimmie's cert shows just parental names and places of birth.

Using hand gestures to plead, the manager begged that I 'worked harder' to find the 'lost' card instead. A very constructive innovative suggestion indeed. But that meant he was not suspicious of any plot to swindle the bank, he just didnt want to stick his neck out issuing a replacement card in case Kimmie is not Kimmie. If this Kimmie found her card, his problem solved, no more need to know if Kimmie is indeed Kimmie!!!

Showing up in a bank in t-shirt, shorts, and thongs with long hair does not render my appearance as 'safe-to-stick-my-neck-out-and-issue-new-card-to-his-daughter-who-looks-so-different-to-the-passport-photo' to the manager.

I asked him what I needed to do to prove Kimmie is indeed that Kimmie in her passport and birth cert. He was honest to confess he did not know, as there was no precedent. He suggested getting a local Notary Public (公证，a govt certification bureau) to certify Kimmie's identity and our relationship. My feel is that Notary Public needs to be a DNA expert as well.

I counter suggested getting the Embassy to certify true copies but that didnt fly  because he was not sure if that was good enough. It will be funny asking the embassy consular officers to certify that Kimmie's passport is 'real'..... However, I do  need to call them and ask how Kimmie's passport photo can be updated.

The bank manager wanted something familiar like a local birth cert, local ID, or something similar that a local notary public cab certify. If the fakes look like real (a counterfeit RMB100 bill we saw at a retail shop looked real, and what about 99% of LV bags out there), and the real look fake (kimmie's passport, birth cert), it will be a daunting task proving real from fake and fake from real. I suppose I can just keep trying different Notary Public until I find one who doesnt care, someone who says 'just pay my fees upfront'.... Or I can try calling one of those mobile numbers peppering public pavements and walls touting 'Needing Certificates （办证） or Proof of Residential Identity (户口）?'。

He promised to find out what other proofs (Kimmie's passport and birth cert are useless by now) he needed from me, and suggested the mother comes along the next visit to the bank branch (maybe I should simply drag a Notary Public along too!). For now, my plan is to ask him to reverse the money out, back to the sender in that foreign bank. Not confident I can get my image erased in his eyes no matter how I dress for the next ocassion. Certainly will not run around town begging for certifications and DNA tests!

That is Another Day of Living in Beijing!
Never a dull moment.

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Is Kimmie really Who I Claim She is to Be? - Part 1

Our local bank would not credit Kimmie's account with some foreign fund I transferred to her from abroad because in the wire transfer manifest, her middle name was missing.

The lady teller explained that 'in China that (mismatched by a middle name) would constitute a different person'. Maybe so, but what are the chances of another person sharing the same first and surname to have the same account number, at the same bank branch, receiving the exactly same amount of foreign funds on the same day, sent from the same person????????

I am sure she can do complex multiplications faster than a calculator, but can not and will not think outside the 9-dots.

The lady teller insisted on receiving a letter from our foreign bank clarifying that the Kimmie in the wire transfer was indeed the same Kimmie in front of her at the local bank branch.

If I was the person sending the money (surely she wasnt doubting that), why could I not just clarifying that to her, there and then, without msgs flying around the globe. No deal, her work situation would become untenable if she accepted my suggestion!

That same evening I sent a msg to the local bank manager via their online website, asking how it was possible for Kimmie without her middle name to be a different person to Kimmie with her middle name, if her account numbers matched and her account password matched.

I received a reply from the portal coordinator within 2 hours saying she had re-directed my grievance to the Branch Manager. Pretty efficient.
The next morning, I received a call from the local bank branch asking me to bring all proofs of IDs for myself and Kimmie, and proof of our relationship.

End of this episode.

Part 2 to follow.

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moving again?

Our lease is expiring, so we felt we wanted to move to a new apartment near Kristine's new but temporary school campus. Rental market has been coming down, rather noticably, round about 10%. Rushing around Fu Li Cheng the week after our return from Tokyo with several rental agents, mixed gender, all young and mostly new. Saw more than 10 units of sizes between 130-170sqm. Asking prices from 6500-8500. Eventually, we decided NOT to move.

This area called Fu Li Cheng has roughly 5000 units of apartments, close to CBD. Serving this enclave are 30 real estate offices, each engaging around 15 agents. They cover both rental and sales. Each month roughly 30 units are sold, so on average each agent gets to close a deal once a year. Rental is roughly 10 times the sales turnover. That averages out to 1 rental deal per month per agent. On average of Y8500 per unit, and their average commission of 10%, that equates to Y850, plus their monthly base salary of Y800, or Y1650 income per month.

So how do they survive? They dont. Most are nomads who migrate in and out with the flow. Another source of income for them is 'private deal', closing rental or sales transactions without going through their real estate companies. They tend to be aggressive in closing deals, often not taking the deals through their companies, enabling them to offer deep commision discounts to the landlords so they could satisfy tenants rental demand. Therefore, we often see these agents milling OUTSIDE their offices to hijack customers (0nce they engage a customer, their colleagues cannot poach)

Beijing properties are going through the roofs again, but rentals are down some 10%. Somehow they dont reconcile.

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Ceramic Knife

It has been 10 years since Grace was introduced to a high tech ceramic knife from Japan by her Cornell schoolmate, Kristine's godfather subsequently. Finally, she took the plunge this trip to Japan and bought one for Y3500(Y95=US$1).

Back in Beijing, I used that to cut meats, fruits and vegies. Very sharp, and apparently staying sharp for as long as the user doesnt break, snap, crack, chip, crash, drop, misplace it.

Then I blundered by asking Kristine's Japanese tutor to explain the manual inserted inside the case. This is what she told me:
1. Do not use it to cut any hard object, such as fish bones, fruit pips or hard vegie stalks.
2. Do not press on its back to cut through any object, as it is brittle
3. Do not stack any heavy object on top of the knife (as it is brittle)
4. Do not drop the knife (intentionally or unintentionally...) (as, you guess it, it is brittle)
5. The knife edge is very sharp (I can verify that). Take extreme care when handling it
6. Keep away from children (or any knife thrower for that matter!)
7. Do not attempt to sharpen it at home. Send it to the appointed agent for return to factory to be sharpened for free.
8. Best used in slicing fish fillets for sashimi, as it will not retain any odour (unless it cracks into pieces...)

It comes with a lifetime warranty, within Japan......

(My added comments within brackets)

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Haier Washing Machine

Called Haier service hotline (4006-999-999)this afternoon regarding faulty spin cycle. Haier knew straight away (from th call-in number) the make and date of purchase, address and owner. Efficient info management. First call to a male operator who suggested I pressed the machine cover hard to see if that trigger the spin cycle, to avoid a service call. No deal. Second call to a lady operator who arranged a serviceman house call between 6-8pm the same day. He called at 4pm to say he could arrive between 430-500pm. He arrived at 5pm.
45minutes later, the cover lid was replaced and it was all done. Y125. 10 minutes later, Haier Service Ctr called to check if the serviceman had indeed appeared, how much the charge was and if a receipt was issued. She also asked if I was happy with the service call. I didnt tell her I tipped the serviceman an extra Y10.
This aspect of China is progressing well.

Kimmie's 5th in Beijing

Kristine started singing 'Happy Birthday' to Kimmie in bed this morning, before Kimmie was awake!

Xiaogugu celebrated Kimmie's birthday in Tokyo on Aug 17, at TGIF, straight after the dolphine shows at Shinagawa Prince Hotel. The sundae in the photo came free for the birthday girl. Normally an ID is required as proof of birthday, but Kimmie didnt need that on that day. The TGIF staff sang her a birthday song and took a TGIF birthday photo.

Back in Beijing, the day is a lot more subdued. It will be french fries, grilled chicken wings and chocolate cakes for dinner. She does get to watch as much Cartoon Network as she desires today!
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Kimmie's 1st Paino Lesson

This is a historic event.
Kimmie went for her first piaono lesson under the tutelage of Ms Chao, Kristine's piano teacher at Yamaha.
Grace took her there. Apparently, she was doing very well, except whenever Ms Chao asked Kimmie what she was taught just minutes ago. Each time, Kimmie got nervous!
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Re: Back to Beijing

It has been almost a week since our return to Beijing. Home quarantine is over and we emerged unscathed with no flu symptoms.
The flight back was uneventful. We were hoping to catch another glimpse of those Health Quanrantine people in space-suits and full face masks boarding our plane unpon landing to check temperatures, but that was not to be the case. Even the thermal cameras were not in operation as we walked through the arrival terminal.

A day after our return, we did receive a call from a lady working for local health authority asking me if we were all feeling ok, that we should take temperatures everyday for a week.

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Aqua Stadium

Tokyo has several aquariums. The Aqua Stadium attached to the Prince Hotel is a short distance away from Shinagawa train station. Entrance is Y1800 for adult and Y1000 for kids. The dolphine show is repeated every two hours and in between is the Sealion show, plus some interesting collection of fish, big and small kept in huge see-through tanks.

heading to Narita airport in 5 mins