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9/14/2012 11:47:58 AM
One of the things I really like to do in China (if I have a few minutes) is to explore the ’local, local’ shopping areas. What I mean here is that the “living areas” in my city are actually a bevy of small alleyways, porticos and overhanging lean-to constructions that house small family businesses. You can quite easily travel along the main streets thinking the whole place is devoid of life, but ducking into a “housing” hole-in-the-wall gives you a chance to find local foods, fruits and candies; a hairdresser or 20; the ’assorted duck bits’ seller; my favourite Chou Dofu (stinky tofu) sellers and a plethora of other people just sitting around doing not much, trying to sell a few trinkets and treasures to the residents passing by!
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9/12/2012 11:15:16 AM
I have been thinking about how our sense of reality might have a big impact on the actual reality we create. Yes, I know I am not the first to pick up this idea - but I have been reading the forums a bit lately and couldn't help notice an interesting pattern - some of the female writers were writing with great passion about 'cheaters' and how they are
again disappointed that all men were like this - but maybe the pre-conceived notion that ’all men are bastards’ may have given rise to a abnormally low tolerance point of acceptable behaviour.
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8/1/2012 12:40:20 PM
I had quite a horrible argument with a friend the other day. In passing she commented that she was in Shanghai with her foreign lover walking in a park and they observed another Chinese girl/foreign man. These two were kissing in public, smoking and speaking quite loudly so ’obviously’ the girl was a “dirty chicken”.
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7/29/2012 11:06:55 AM
One of the things about writing a blog is that it forces you to look a bit closer a how you approach things in your life - I mean, I could easily go through my life getting no real feedback - someone doesn't respond as I expect, I could just assume something bad about them and go on my merry way! But a blog is a little different because it invites comment by others, and while some aren't necessarily nice or influential, the act of writing and thinking about the responses does give some contemplation time.
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7/26/2012 1:35:30 PM
So, if you haven’t read Part 1, then it might be worthwhile to get the background...try it here.
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7/17/2012 2:35:12 PM
Everywhere I walk in my little town of Suzhou there are exploding poodles - I don't mean of an incendiary kind, more like every girl seems to have these miniature fleabags as a new fashion accessory, and I suspect, like most fashion items they will be relegated to the wardrobe or quickly handed onto mother when the responsibility kicks in.
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7/15/2012 1:31:55 PM
The Chinese Dragon Boat Festival had given me a bit of an excuse to just ’kick back’ for an afternoon. I have been really busy the last month; moving office, then moving home and starting another 3-4 consulting jobs and I’ve been spinning around in smaller and smaller circles slowly going crazy!
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7/13/2012 4:40:25 PM
I had a bit of a problem with a lady a few months ago - although she was a kind-hearted lady, and quite attractive, I wasn't so interested in dating her - the biggest issue was that we couldn't communicate. I mean, my putonghua is pretty bad, and so is hers! She came from a rural region in SouthWestern China and spoke her local dialect but through lack of use, her putonghua was heavily accented and mostly indecipherable to me.
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6/16/2012 1:24:33 AM
If you have been anywhere near a middle school building in the last 2 weeks in China you would probably have found the surrounding roads devoid of cars and people, lots of police “crime scene investigation - do not cross” tape everywhere and a bevy of local ’pseudo-police’ sitting under umbrellas or shady trees looking menacing at the people passing by.
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6/14/2012 2:02:48 AM
Albert Einstein once described insanity as “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”. I'm not sure if his studies on this phenomena included anything bigger than sub-atomic particles but I do see some merit in studying incredible small things in great detail rather than like the rest of the population which has to consider very large things (like love, life and happiness) with very small thought!
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