It is Tuesday morning, and here I sit, sniffling, because I god da code n by doze iz blugg'd. My body has betrayed me by hosting some crappy cold viruses. Sheesh ka-BOBS! I so hate having a summer cold. BAH! I was supposed to work last evening, but as the day progressed and I felt worse and worse I decided to stick around home and take to my bed. So there I was. WAH. LOL. Feeling sorry for myself but happy that we won a lot of tissue during our mid-autmumn festival gambling, so at least I can take care of the inevitable runny nose. LOL Luckily, my cash card worked yesterday, and I managed to make a large withdrawl. I literally marched straight over to the bus kiosk and I put 100 Yuan on my ... read more

I just couldn't believe my eyes! I had heard shouting outside, and the volume of the voices was certainly escalating. I wanted to see what all that ruckus might be about...of course, DUH, the men involved were all speaking rapid Chinese (well, let's face it, even non-rapid Chinese is a problem, lol). Peering below from my shower window I saw two of the guards from our apartment complex arguing loudly with a young man. The shouting quickly escalated into shoving! OMG, was I really seeing/hearing this? WHACK!! Then the guards commenced with their nunchuks (no idea whether this is spelled properly, lol) on the poor fellow! The victim howled and sprinted the hell outta there, guards hot on his heels, slashing at the air with the wicked weapons! Yelling and hitting and fighting. Yikes!! I don't ... read more

My feet are sore. LOL Wednesday, I spent over 3 hours walking or hiking. Today, I bet I walked for at LEAST an hour and a half. The 3 amigas, as we like to call ourselves, headed out shortly before noon to meet Rich and Diane at the School. We decided to be brave today and do something that really scared us, just to prove that we were alive...we crossed our street at the crosswalk. Now, in Canada, that is not a big deal....here, it is a miracle to arrive alive on the other side. The cars/trucks/bicycles/buses/taxis, they don't slow down. You step tentatively out from the curb....they whiz past you while you slowly advance....frozen stiff in fear and when the coast is clear in each lane (there are 4 of them in each direction just ... read more

Sorry to send you another email so quickly after my last entry, but I have been sorely frustrated by the workings, or NOT, as the case may be, with this blog at times. I had successfully uploaded the video to the last entry, or so it said, then published it without attaching it! ARGHHHH!! So, I am trying again. ... read more

Well, things have gotten a tiny bit hectic with school starting today--t was generally chaos at the school, and if I had any illusions about how the children's behaviour was going to be--rather, how wonderful I imagined, and the key word here is IMAGINED, it was going to be--let me be the first to inform you that those illusions have been completely and surely shattered by day's end. LOL Ay karumba, as Bart Simpson would lament. Kids are kids are kids. Period. No matter where they live. Especially boys. Thursday, was a day of rest. None of us ventured outside of the apartment. My stomach was really feeling off, and since I knew I didn't have THAT much beer with the gambling, I think it was the food. Who knows. Maybe I am poisoning myself with ... read more