Yesterday as planned, the only time I set foot outside was when the dog needed to go out. It was cold and wet and I never needed to go to the local supermarket and so simply stayed in the warm.
Yesterday also heralded the commencement of a renewed assault on VPN usage in China, with the BBC reporting it at length. It’s annoying and inconvenient from my perspective for a few reasons. Firstly, Gmail is blocked here and that’s what I use, secondly anything to do with Google is also interfered with so as I use Chrome it means it won’t translate automatically and thirdly it makes obtaining anything by way of TV or films hard. Thankfully there are programmers out there who devise new methods of circumnavigating The Great Firewall.
I was a bit naughty last night though, I stayed up until five this morning and so never got up until midday, at which time I was greeted by an email with a proofreading job. With the number of words I expected it to take perhaps thirty or forty minutes depending on how many mistakes there were but it ended up taking three hours! It wasn’t proofreading, more a translation and I had to use the computer to try to figure out what they were trying to say. Worse, the client had specified that they wanted it to look as if it was written by a native speaker. Anyone who has read Chinglish will know that no matter how you tidy it up it still doesn’t look authentic. I virtually rewrote the entire thing, which was advertising laptop bags. I have now informed those in charge that should anything like that crop up again it will not be accepted at the same rate as the bread and butter stuff. I don’t mind doing it but I need the rewards to be commensurate, as does everyone.
So far today I have only poked my head out once for Pepsi’s pee but shortly I will walk her. Then at six we are leaving in Kevin’s car for his farewell meal, he leaves for Blighty tomorrow. I might remember to take my camera too as he has invited two strange women for dinner.
Thursday 29th 1430
Well dinner last night was at the much-rumoured new pizza place. Mulan, Kevin and I went by car and met Tina and her “Godmother” - who can’t possibly be that seeing as they aren’t Christians so Kevin and I came to the conclusion she is a favourite aunt. I think the aunt was dragged along as a chaperone just in case although she ate lustily and indeed was rather chatty in Chinese and at times, broken English.
With the state of my gnashers the last thing I can order is a steak but I have to say the menu at this place has what appears to be a good selection of western dishes. I say “appears” because so many of these places offer so much but what comes on the plate disappoints. Pre-warned by Kevin that the pizzas were tasty but in true Chinese style the bases were sweet, nonetheless I ordered a Hawaiian. I won’t repeat the error. I will however, once my mouth is sorted, have a steak, he and the two girls did and enjoyed them, Godmother had a Chinese dish. At 225y for five including beers, fruit, soup and lemonade it was surprisingly reasonable and when Kevin paid, rather than getting discount vouchers he got to choose a numbered table tennis ball from a blind box. It was number four (unlucky here) and it won him a travel eating set of small knife, fork, spoon and chopsticks in a nice little case. I want one!
Afterwards when the two strangers left we went to a new western bar I was taken to once about a month ago. It’s expensive but if I am still here after next term it will be somewhere I can go and sit outside in the summer. As Kevin had paid for the meal it was my shout and I bought Baileys for Mulan, Jim Beam for Kevin (ugh!) and a dark rum and coke for me. Then the owner presented us at our table three big glasses of German black beer. It fell to me to drink them because Mulan didn‘t like the taste and Kevin was driving. I was up to the task thankfully and eventually got to drink the first rum I have had in years. I couldn’t have gin because they never had tonic and didn’t even know what it was! When I go back I will take my own.
It wasn’t as late a night as the last one but by the time I cooked for the animals it was midnight before Pepsi got her walk. She is definitely now in season. “Stumpy”, the little black dog who she always avoided and he always chased her away if she strayed onto his territory, now shows an active interest, as does she in him. He tried to get his leg over and I had the devil’s own job to get her to come with me, she kept running back to him. I succeeded in preventing anything terrible happening last night but there was a five minute period a few nights back when she disappeared and I couldn’t see her because the lights were out. I am now sweating in case she has conceived. I really don’t want that again! The trouble is, it will cost me 800-1,000y to have her done and I have already spent a small fortune on having various animals neutered. This is the first time in her almost three years of life that she has given cause for concern.
Mulan and I went for McBreakfast this morning, she being rather sluggish at the starting gate due to the single glass of Baileys she had the night before, and then she shopped for books for her sister while I did the supermarket bit. By the time I came out it was snowing.
1830
I had a nap which was abbreviated with the onset of toothache so perhaps I will need to go to the dentist before the holidays are over. Mulan’s sister is now here (I am sure I will get her name later!) and once Mulan returns from her errand of mercy (taking money to their baby brother) we will have a dinner of macaroni au gratin, which, if they don’t like, can be supplemented with delicious Pot Noodles! It may be chilli tomorrow.
It has stopped snowing and thankfully it only settled on the grass so if my want takes me I will be able to have breakfast again tomorrow. In fact I think I will insist because Mulan promised to pay next time and there will be three of us! It also means more bottles of wine can be carried back - at a third of the price locally I can never have enough and of course in time I will be either stranded here for a couple of days or faced with a freezing cold ride. Far better to just stay in the warm.
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