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Published: August 23rd 2009
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Parents house
Placard designating who lives in each building Even a low key day wasn't enough to recharge our batteries and we ended up staying up way too late the night before for what was ahead of us today. I am still lacking for any Internet connection but I wake up early and get some stuff typed and some pictures transferred from my camera so at least if I get the Internet connection that I am promised at Wang Jian's house, my friends and family will at least know that I am alive. Lisa wakes in a panic because it is 6:00 in the morning and the driver will be picking us up in a few minutes. I was thinking that our appointment for wedding photos was for 9:30 so I didn't see much reason for this but she had planned for us to start at Wang Jian's parents house in central Chengdu and we would walk over to the studio.
We arrive and are given a small breakfast because they know we didn't have time to eat but they are in their 80's and not equipped to handle feeding people. Lisa lacks an amount of precision but I have been told that Wang Jian's father was government and
Courtyard
nicely shaded area for eating and gathering when the weather permits as it did this day very wealthy. In the courtyard where we meet them and have breakfast, it is very modest. Wang Jian's father is clearly a man of some importance, it is obvious from his speech. Of course there is no time for the Internet I was promised but after the photo shoot, I can use their Internet connection so off we go.
I know very little about the plans but I have come to understand that the Chinese wedding photos is important to women and so I am willing to please and just go with the flow for the day. I am given some picture books to review that Wang Jian has had made at this studio and they are murder by Photoshop. The books I see are imitative of Elle and other fashion magazines. Some are what I would call cheese shots but all are incredibly well done and I have also seen the wedding photos that Wang Jian took some years ago.
The shop is just opening but this is big time production and we enter while the employees are ending their daily assignments and end this meeting with a cheer much like a college football team before they
HDPhoto
a glimpse from the outside leave the locker room. Then comes an endless discussion of what they are going to be doing, the cost, the number of photographs included in the cost, etc. This goes on for quite some time so I break out my computer and go searching for an available wifi connection to the Internet. I am able to find one but it is minimal strength and extremely slow to the point of useless. But I have little else to do while they start putting makeup on Lisa (at least an hour).
It is simply impossible to upload my blog entries and pictures. Timeouts are frequent and it is exasperating so finally I check my gmail account and see that one of my clients was having a problem and trying to get hold of me...oh oh...To make things easier, Wang Jian had purchased a local cell phone card (GSM) for Lisa's phone which gave her a Chengdu phone number but in the process meant that her normal Beijing telephone number didn't work. When this happened, I complained to Lisa that this was a problem for me because no one could get in touch with me if they needed because my CDMA (Verizon
Lisa all made up
I guess I didn't realize she looked down on me but I am including it because it does show the makeup and reception area and some of their work on the walls Wireless is married to the outdated technology) is basically unusable in China. It becomes apparent to me that our staying at Wang Jian's apartment means I don't have Internet access and her telephone number changing means trouble for me but it is already my Saturday noon which makes it Friday night in Phoenix. I am no help to anyone at this point. I decide that I will keep my mouth shut for now because this is her day (the wedding photos).
So we get through an exhausting day of photos. Typical professional studio, high quality digital cameras and lights and we run out and get a quick lunch because this is a long session. I don't know the time but I suspect that it is approximately 3:00 when we finally start heading back to Wang Jian's parents house. We can see proofs on Monday.
Finally back, I am worn out but I want to get on the Internet now so I can read/reply to e-mail and upload the pictures and blogs and I am led to Wang Jian's brother's bedroom. Granted he is probably nearing 50 but I am told that his wife is a stewardess and when
cheese cake
She had a few different cheese cake shots done. I didn't want to piss them off by shooting too many pictures she is traveling, he stays at his parents house, much like Wang Jian often stays there. Plug and play Internet? No way. It is some strange ADSL that requires a user name and password and I am getting none of that.
I vented my frustration because something had to give somewhere. It now is past 5:00 and too late to try to get wireless Internet from China Telecom and dinner is approaching. The parents have a cook to prepare their dinners and I am treated to a home cooked Sichuan dinner that is very good...I think that they went overboard to impress me and I was impressed. The inside of the house was even more impressive. I am told it was built in 1982 and it is a rich ceramic tiled floors, elegant furnishings, modern bathrooms and very large. This is a real treat.
After dinner though, I am still wondering how I am every going to get an Internet connection. I am told there is an Internet cafe nearby and we walk there but no dice...cannot use my computer. I have all of my photos organized in Picasa, all the text typed in OpenOffice and even moving
these things to another computer just isn't feasible. Lisa is suggesting that we just stay in the hotel next door but of course all of my clothes and things are an hour away so that isn't going to work and the next morning we have a long day of sightseeing all lined up and I don't have walking shoes anyway.
So now I am very frustrated. Finally, Wang Jian's brother gets his friend to come over and help me get my computer online which I could have done much earlier if they could have just told me the user name and password for the Internet connection but language was a real problem. Finally, somewhere around 8:00 I am connected and working but I have basically run out of time so I upload and publish what I can and we get a ride home from Wang Jian's sister and brother-in-law.
As for the experience of a lifetime, that will come in the Sunday report.
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Jingjing
non-member comment
Sorry for the internet problem...I feel the frustration. But I guess you got it done by now.