Tastytronic diary for Hemingstein

26 Nov 2006

Sun, 26 Nov 2006 10:34:05 -0700

baggins, congrats on the house! Moving away from Chicago in the winter is a brillant move. betsy and I are well (in Guatemala) and we don't even have fleas . . . anymore.

16 Mar 2006

Thu, 16 Mar 2006 21:22:38 -0700

I make my return to the states in early April and look forward to seeing all you Chicagoans and am planning on flying out to California in the middle of the month and am equally looking forward to all of you Chicago pilgrims. Hey, and thanks to everyone who has been way more consistent than me with their postings; during this past year of being in China I've really enjoyed the bit of a window/connection into your lives. take care, zai jian (basically: again see or see you soon.)

16 Mar 2006

Thu, 16 Mar 2006 21:21:59 -0700

Sunning myself in China's spring city . . . its suddenly spring, nearly summer (the Chinese are scandalized by my semi-hairy legs making such an early appearence . .. in China its somehting like no shorts before workers day (May 1)). I have an overnight bus ticket in my pocket to travel west tonight to Dali where life is calm and the cultural feel is different (China is like 95% Han, but harbor over 50 other ethnic groups that have a heck of a time carving out their niche or keeping it (Tibet).)

2 Feb 2006

Thu, 02 Feb 2006 05:03:13 -0700

Happy Year of the Dog, all.
The Chinese New Year Celebration rages on.
Every street corner: man with cigarette selling
the wickedest collection of fireworks you've ever seen:
bangers and bongers and wigmadigits, slap-splashers and
other eyegouging combustables.
The sis bomb ba of it all has been going on for a week
and my nerves are really stretching thin (I wake up to it,
fall asleep to it) . . . a simple walk to the grocery
kiosk down the street is like a war zone re-con
mission. I'm getting paranoid of little kids- with
their cute faces and quick thumbs- snap sizzle bam!
Happy Year of the Dog . . . . rrrrrrrrr

16 Dec 2005

Fri, 16 Dec 2005 08:51:20 -0700

ni hao, all. China remains big. And my home city remains dirty, though now it is cold and no longer desert hot.

Recent highlights include: (yi)the heat in my apartment turning out to be as good as it was advertised- all the heating in the city turns on on the same day and ever since that day my apartment has been tropical; (er)the real tropical heat betsy I enjoyed for ten days in Thailand; (san)finally beginning to understand what my students are talking about when they make comments that they shouldn't be making just because they figure I can't understand what they are saying and then making good natured comments back to let them know that crazy foreign guy isn't quite as Chinese oblivious as they thought (such a sweet moment)
lowlights include: (yi) the city suddenly getting down right cold, betsy returning to the states (way low), and (er) hitting a culinary wall with Chinese food (Chinese again!!??). My appreciation for msg, ginger, and garlic waxes and wanes. Though,I'm sure I'll wax back soon.

Congrats to miss mercury mouth and family. My heart is jumping too: in two weeks I'll have a second niece or a first nephew (also awfully sweet)

language lesson of the day: 1-10:

yi, er, san, si, wu, liu, qi, ba, jiu, shi

4 Aug 2005

Thu, 04 Aug 2005 04:00:55 -0700

Cinnamon girl, I happy for you that your back on the horse . . . and teaching . . . what a pleasure (sometimes not, but mostly yes). I hope it all goes well for yea.

hey lukas, is the chess board still hanging around the diner? If so how 'bout a game?

1 Aug 2005

Mon, 01 Aug 2005 05:57:01 -0700

We've just returned from a ten-day trip south to Sichuan: a Chinese province famous for its ridiculously spicy food and its stunning terrain and its Giant Pandas.

Our trip took us into the mountains up over 14,000 feet into a town (Litang) that's on the geographical and cultural border between Tibet and China. The town was like the old west, set on a high plateau surrounded by higher peaks, an unpaved road running down the main drag of low buildings, and cowboy hatted motorcycle riding ethnic Tibetans (who look strikingly like native Americans) hanging out at the numerous pool halls around town. The red robed monks that were so numerous there gave the town a distinctly Eastern air, but the black potbelly pigs running around everywhere made it feel like border town Anywhere.

The July nights were cold enough that we slept with electric blankets and drank steaming yak's butter tea in the evenings instead of the standard Chinese Pils. The trip whole scene was a nice change from Xi'an, my Chinese hometown, which is scorching these days- not too mention stinking, crowded and hazy with smog.

Oh, yeah and the Pandas were real cute too.

20 Apr 2005

Wed, 20 Apr 2005 05:29:55 -0700

Climbed a mountain on Monday, Cui hua shan. It was good to be out of the valley and the smog that is always in the valley. The moutain had a pretty steep grade, but it was a Chinese tourist moutain so it had steps more or less the whole way to the top. Enroute to the top of the mountain there were various side sites to see including the ice cave where you could see your breath and the fake plaster stalagtite cave where you could see a fake plaster monkey masturbating.

Also, a question: what redvinegar song(s) w(ere)as played on local anesthetic? Wish I could've tuned in.

7 Apr 2005

Thu, 07 Apr 2005 04:15:18 -0700

"brandish" I mean . . . I'm sure the old people are branishing as well . . . just not with swords . . . I hope . . .

7 Apr 2005

Thu, 07 Apr 2005 04:13:25 -0700

Up early on a Thursday to run along the wall in the park where the old people practice Tai Qi and waltz and branish swords. My friend Owen and I moved through the people under the lilac trees which are now in bloom: purple and fragrant . . . good fragrant, not the ammonia and boiling chicken and dust smells that are so plentiful here.