Monthly Archives: January 2008

Modern Beauty Salon

Yesterday, I stopped by the Modern Beauty Salon in the Ginza Mall, mainly to use their shower. I needed the shower because on Monday our hot water heater died in spectacular fashion. (Obviously, calls to a certain Fairly Useless Boss … Continue reading

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Even Battery-Shopping Is Fun

Things in China are a little different. At home, a calculator might come with extra batteries. In China, batteries come with a free calculator. I imagine this one as one of those Amazon recommendations. “If you enjoyed electronic devices, try … Continue reading

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Blog Housekeeping

Looks like the blue background makes people want to comment. Thanks! Great to hear from you! Except for the one guy who keeps telling me how to buy discount drugs from Canadian pharmacies, I don’t think he realizes I haven’t … Continue reading

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Thanks Andrea!

The best Christmas present I can remember! Nutella shipped to Beijing! She also sent us Munchkin Chthulu!

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Tormenting Teenagers For Fun And Profit

I was asked to teach one lesson of an ongoing class for Singapore Academy, the head teacher’s class actually, and she would be observing me. Does this mean a teacher is making the academic decisions in the school? Too good … Continue reading

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Wangfujing Snack Street

It’s time for another trip to Wangfujing to visit the foreign-language bookstores! I’ve read everything in the house at least twice (Except for Scarlett, because seriously, once was more than enough.) and needed to restock, and Stick was looking for … Continue reading

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Chinese Bargaining

The other day, I interviewed for a really lovely ESL program at X College. Everything was going well, and the interviewer told me that because of my experience and qualifications, they were prepared to offer me a higher-than-usual starting salary, … Continue reading

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Welcome To Take Beijing Taxi

Stick, on the inflated currency in Back To The Future’s 2015: A hundred and fifty for a cab ride? They must have gone all the way across town!

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OK Computer

Chris Anderson , the editor of Wired, is interviewed on 123-reg blog about what Anderson calls the long tail effect, that is, our shift from a few major mainsteam products to a “long tail” of smaller niche products. The shift … Continue reading

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Character Studies

Yesterday afternoon, I had a job interview at a Singaporean-owned English academy, to do training and prep for Chinese students who’ll be studying overseas in English-speaking countries. My prospective boss asked me two or three basic questions, then told me … Continue reading

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