A Fine Excuse To Eat: The University Christmas Party (Part 1)
December 25, 2010

A Fine Excuse To Eat: The University Christmas Party (Part 1)

I think I have two narratives here so I’m pre-emptively dividing them up into two posts. The taxonomical sorting process is based on two things: crappy phone camera vs. real camera, and food vs. performance and festivities. It’s Christmas morning and we’re heading out soon …

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Nihilism in Shanghai: Everything Dies. Everything.
December 22, 2010

Nihilism in Shanghai: Everything Dies. Everything.

  I’m a very optimistic person in spite of all my references to key words like ‘bleak’, ‘grim’, ‘awful’, ‘miserable’ and such. My character leans toward the melancholy but not in a depressing kind of way. I actually like rain. I like solitude. I like …

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Another Series of Unrelated Photos (Part Trois)
December 19, 2010

Another Series of Unrelated Photos (Part Trois)

Remember how cold and sick and coughy I was at this time last week? How dim and grey and grim the city was?  How my toes would not warm and my bark continued to bite? Yeah, well, this weekend is much better, thank you. Look! …

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I’m a foreign woman and I bought shoes in Shanghai
December 18, 2010

I’m a foreign woman and I bought shoes in Shanghai

Just so you know, I’m a tall girl with size 9 feet. That’s about a 7 in the Uk, 39 in Europe and apparently 40 in China. Most shoes for women stop at size 38 here. Just so you know. From a tiny boutique in …

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Welcome to Tropical Shanghai. Today’s temperature will be -2 degrees.
December 16, 2010

Welcome to Tropical Shanghai. Today’s temperature will be -2 degrees.

According to official Chinese government regulations, if a city is located south of the Yangtze River it is considered tropical and therefore does not need to be heated in winter. Shanghai is located about one millimeter south of the Yangtze River, as can be seen …

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Nibblies, cookies and crepes, oh my!
December 9, 2010

Nibblies, cookies and crepes, oh my!

Today I stocked up on my coping-stash at work. The weather has turned frightfully cold after the loveliness of the weekend and it was quite difficult to haul myself out of the warm flat and out into the streets to go to work. I knew …

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A Series of Unrelated Photos (Part 3)
December 5, 2010

A Series of Unrelated Photos (Part 3)

Part 1 is here and part 2 is here. It’s a beautiful day today. Sun is shining, skies are blue. Scarves are too hot, a coat is nearly too much. Sunglasses are needed. Birds are singing, crowds thronging, babies squatting with split trousers, dogs in …

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A Series of Unrelated Photos (Part 2)
December 4, 2010

A Series of Unrelated Photos (Part 2)

For Part 1, go here This blog was left negligently unattended for much of November whilst I diverted myself and my energies with that blasted novella about goats and monsters and such. However, that doesn’t mean I neglected to use the camera on my phone. …

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Shanghai rules the copyright infringement universe: The Book Carts of Donghu Lu
November 27, 2010

Shanghai rules the copyright infringement universe: The Book Carts of Donghu Lu

Back in the days of yore when I lived in Turkey, books were a rare commodity. In my first two years, when  I lived out in the wilds of Kayseri, I lived off the half dozen books I had brought with me from Canada, chosen …

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The Fabric Market, Part Trois
November 25, 2010

The Fabric Market, Part Trois

I have been a very absent bloggist this month, which can be blamed partly on my faulty immune system combined with Shanghai’s post-Expo surge in atmospheric particles (record highs in smog, it seems!), and partly (mostly) on Nanowrimo, which has sucked up an average of …

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A Series of Unrelated Photos
November 13, 2010

A Series of Unrelated Photos

I’ve stopped being absurdly ill and have now downgraded to being only marginally ill- possibly because I only worked three hours this week (not including marking or invigilating or meetings). However, due to general exhaustion, marathon novel writing, skinned knuckles, poor posture, bad shoes, stress …

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(101 Things About Shanghai) Self-Medication
November 6, 2010

(101 Things About Shanghai) Self-Medication

I’ve had a bad cold for about a month now. I blame my students entirely. They have been coming to class with such dedication that the absentee rate is nearly nil and the cough-cough-hoark-hoark-sneeze-snort rate is very high. The desks and floor are littered in crumpled tissues, …

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