Sunday 26th August, 2012          2200

Flipping heck - seven-thirty this morning again! But ok, I took steps to wake up “early” so tonight just maybe I will be sensible.

Having had a super idea for tonight’s dinner and one that would be a new experience for K, I went downtown this afternoon, literally in, shop and out again. Later I took the dogs out for a drink and saw yet more freshmen plus parents - even at one point recommending to an undecided group to eat in the sweet pork restaurant. The offshoot from the campus café will I think be open in two or three days, which considering most of the labour has been employees, is remarkable because from an empty unit with a bare concrete floor it has taken a scant three weeks. The other ones are taking longer and it is impossible to tell what food they will serve.

Still on the food front, my genius of an idea for dinner was shish kebabs - what’s not to like about grilled chicken and vegetables? My preferred accompaniment is blue cheese dressing but of course here I am limited to mayonnaise. Still, perfectly simple fare surely? Nope. After just two skewers a certain party declared it was too dry and they didn’t like them. Didn’t like the mayo either. Give me strength. I made a dozen, of which half have been eaten. The rest will be put out for the animals - pure waste - but of course only the meat will disappear.

I offered to take her downtown for dinner tomorrow (I fancied a prawn hotpot again) but she is in full-on stay at home mode as always. In fairness she will have to move back to her dorm by Saturday at the latest so I guess she is just savouring the solitude and privacy of her own place. Cassandra has invited Kevin and me out for dinner probably Tuesday so she will be on pot noodles that day. On that basis I have decided to hell with it, I will attempt lasagne tomorrow. It makes sense seeing as I haven’t made it for so long, not to mention using pork instead of beef, this way I can ensure no disappointment at a dinner party occasioned by anything other than a cultural taste bud clash.. Another trip to town then - good job the electricity is free.

“My” campus café will be open tomorrow, as indeed I think will be the barbers - good job as my hair must be an inch long now and in another couple of weeks I will be in danger of having to use a comb.

The antibiotics appear to have helped Robin because her cough is gone, although last night while I was sitting at my computer my nostrils were assailed by the most disgusting stench immediately after she dumped a most gruesome load from her bowels on the floor behind me. It was tempting to flee and check into an hotel but I couldn’t be angry at her because she is terrific at controlling herself so was patently unwell. The problem is, one never knows what she is eating when she roams the campus.

Enough for now, I have some Silent Witness to watch. I have missed that since it took a break.

Monday 27th        2130

Ah, the best laid plans! I didn’t rise until late but that isn’t the reason I never got to town. Not long after I surfaced Kevin came for a chat and to get some things from his flat - one of the things we discussed was the lack of teaching schedules as yet on the school website, with one week to go before start of term. He left after I phoned K to wake her up mid-afternoon (yes, she really does stay up late studying alone) and I thought I had better get a move on and head out for my shopping.

I couldn’t shower because the water was off. I don’t leave home without being clean so I had to wait. It was nearly five before a trickle gurgled up through the pipes so it was far too late to do anything and I couldn’t even bake some bread for us to eat because it wouldn’t have been ready until after nine. Taking the last of the animal grub from the freezer, I advised K we had no choice but to go out for dinner. As by now it had started raining we plumped for the pork place and aside from them having no prawns it was a decent meal. Pepsi sat and trembled in the grass the entire time while Robin was constantly being shooed out by the fuyuans (waitresses) and indeed me.

My campus café is open now so I stopped there to get wine from the shop and have a bottle - Pepsi found a corner to lay down and shiver with fright for the duration. Lord only knows what she will do next week when the place fills up - probably die from a heart attack. The teacher from 305 came down, what for I don’t know as she never bought anything, but she said the water was off again so she couldn’t cook her dinner. I could have offered her the flask I keep filled for emergencies but didn’t because I needed it to cook for the family. In any event, when I did go home we had aqua again.

My new bread machine was apparently despatched yesterday (K and I think they forget about it) so it could arrive any time. Cassandra has yet to confirm dinner tomorrow to Kevin so if I don’t get told something concrete by lunchtime then I will indeed go shopping and cook here. The Chinese seem to me to be under the impression that everyone - especially foreigners - sits around all day just waiting to drop everything at once for a dinner invitation - school included. Well I don’t and thus far have refused two invites at the last minute from the uni and Kevin tells me he refused at Christmas in his first year because he had already agreed to go with some of his students. I don’t like missing “school dinners” because the food is always lavish, but I work on the principle that a date is a date and first to ask and obtain agreement is my priority. Talking of dinners, I wonder if we will have one shortly seeing as it appears no new foreign teachers (no replacement French teacher coming it seems) will arrive? Hmmmm.