Civil

Yes you must try to be civil but I don't think he has any intention of doing so, he has threatened the school and said that he has students ready to walk out with him if they let him go, and I believe he would also try to take them to court. I think they may also believe what he says about me as he has students confirming the info. He has been a real shit heel and gone to a great deal of trouble to insure that I am the one to leave. He has done things that are so low it's despicable, he is a poor excuse for a human being and I am ashamed that he is here representing my country here. Will read the story tonight Pat, don't have time right now.

the nut house

Yes I would say this guy should be locked up away from society, he has made up so many things about me and tried to play the nice guy while being a complete asshole the whole time. In fact this is the type of person that may make me purchase a firearm when I get back to the states. He seems like the type of person who may show up on my doorstep some day just to call me a bitch or a cocksucker, or do something stupid like try and hurt me just because he seems to feel that I am the source of some of his problems. I have no idea what really set him off in the first place, I maintain that to this day. Just as long as I don;t have any more trouble from him the hour commute I have to do every day will be worth it.
The new school i work at is nice, a little less work, but farther away. This isn't really such a bad thing, as a friend of mine fro my Zhengzhou adventure lives in that part of town. Perhaps I could work out a way to spend some time with him there, but things are going to be rough for a little while, my schedule will rotate until the new year starts.
Christmas was ... well awkward. Tom actually summed it up pretty well in his post, Janice simply can not act resonable when she is around him. It is putting my relationship with my brother at risk. I am not sure what I am going to do about it, again the 24th is like tyhe biggest shopping day of the year here. I ended up having money problems again, but bought my chriustmas gifts before I realized the trouble, so I am having a bit of trouble getting through the next 10 days. Other than that, ay things cooooo.

Merry Christmas, Happy new Year, Job transfer

First off I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a happy new year, it's Christmas eve here and everyone is busy. I do have some news about work, after trying very hard to deal with the madman I work with, I finally realized that it was impossible to do so. He began fabricating lies about me, that I was mentally unstable and a heroin user, saying that I would cry openly in front of the students (Which I don't), and that I throw things at students. In the end they still wanted to get rid of him, but he threatened taking them to court over breech of contract. Therefore I agreed to transfer to the branch in Hankou, it's a half hour commute to and from work now so I have to set out earlier, and it's on a bus so it's no pleasant.
However, it's less hours, the same pay, and so much less stress. I hadn't realized how stressed out I had become over one extremely immature person. So I am good for right now, my days off will also rotate but stay together because I have to commute so I will have more opportunity to meet with people that have strange days off. Anyway that's it for now.

Meiko Girl McLean

1998-2007

"Meiko you were a true friend to me for many years, Ever since you were an ordinary blue eyed kitten waiting for me to almost step on on the floorboard of Carrie's Taurus. You grew up to be one of the most beautiful felines I have ever known, and my heart breaks to realize that I will never be able to run my hands through your soft fur, or kiss you goodnight on the forehead any longer. You are the closest thing I have had to a child and I am very sorry I couldn't be there with you, I am sorry for the brief instances in which I may have been neglectful. I hope that where ever you are now the litter box is always clean :), If there is one pet waiting for me in whatever hereafter there may be, I hope it's you. Good bye and rest well my Dear Friend, Beloved Daughter, And Humble Pet. For you were all of these things and more ... Farewell."

Merry Christmas, Happy new Year, Job transfeer

PWN?

I have no idea what PWN means, you will have to forgive me. I just hope it's not stressful or violent, I have plenty of that in my life right now, and I'm not looking to have anymore.

My dreams

I was really considering starting a company here in China, but I feel like I should let the economy stabilize some. I can't help but feel that the US is at least partially responsible for the inflation here, it's all foreign relations. The US wants/wanted a 10% increase in the value of the RMB before they will make any real agreements with China on the matter. China has been refusing as this will send plenty of people into poverty, but it looks like the influence has taken it's toll.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfFWFmKuMGs new vid, just sit through the whole thing, there is a suprise at the end.

I hate teeth

I don't get why teeth can't just be nerveless hunks of bone in your mouth, I mean why do they need nerves at all? You know I don't know what the deal is because I have never have had a root canal before, but man does my tooth hurt bad suddenly. It almost hurts as much as it did before I went in, ugh I just want it to be over. Why is it that your fine almost all day but when they finally decide to hurt it's at night? They are amazing little tools but at the same time they can be so much trouble, as much as I take care of them ... it's just to little to late I guess. On top of that this guy I work with flipped out again, I asked him a very simple question as he had a folder I needed and there was a lot of activity in the office, I believe it was "Is that the Lower Intermediate folder?" He flipped out and questioned why I was talking to him, told me I shouldn't even smile at him, called me a dumb ass and a motherfucker. He even threw down the 100 kuai "Punching" fine and came at me in front of our boss and a room full of students. It's almost like he wants to start a scene, the question was non provocative, I work with the man and as much as I would never like to speak to the prick it's impossible not to. Now I feel as though my safety is in question, he wants to strike me, and no one has ever looked at me with the kind of hate I see in his eyes. I think he may be mental as well, I am going to tell my boss I am not returning to work until something is done about the situation. They will not be able to fire me as I am going to have the backing of the foreign experts bureau. I left the US partially to get away from a crazy person, I am not going to work with one who wants to kill me.

Expenses

You know the RMB is getting to be more valuable everyday, this may be good for the country but right now it's not very good for it's citizens. When I first came to the country it was about 8 to the dollar, now it fluctuates between 7.35 and 7.4 to the dollar. This may not seem like a huge increase, but it has made an impact. Money isn't going as far as it used to as prices have increased but wages have not. My wage is a bit lower than most of the teachers here when you do the math, after paying my bills a good portion of my wage is gone. Also there is my dental work and the fact that everything is usually a little more expensive for foreigners. Plus there is eating, Chinese food is really simple, it's all about how many ways you can combine noodles, veggies, and meat. Well, your lucky if you get much meat, so the temptation to have western food is really strong sometimes and that is pricey. Eating Chinese street food is about the cheapest thing you can do, but there is a calculated risk there as it's not the cleanest way to eat and you risk food born infections. For instance I had some sketchy dumplings last night and am feeling the result today, With the addition of a girlfriend my funds are stretched pretty thin. As far as eating goes I try and give myself 1000 a month to eat on, this gives me about 32 RMB a day. I could for example have a big mac meal at lunch, and have enough left over for a couple bowls of rice at dinner. Or I could skip lunch all together, save it all and have a nice dinner with my girl.
Patrick, I have always respected your ability to live like a pauper and get by. Frankly, if i wanted to live like a pauper I would have stayed in the US, I was doing quite well at that there. However I have paid back the majority of my debts, the only reason I had to borrow money at all this month is because I had to have this dental work done. It was an ... unforeseen event, at least having to have it done this early was. I should be alright soon, there always seems to be some kind of mystery expenditure. Like I'll get a message from my land lady saying "Hey you need to pay this 500 yuan building management fee." just all of a sudden out of the blue. That's just the way it works here. I should be back on track soon, I want to come home for a while at some point so, I'll need to save some cash. I am trying to find practical things for Christmas, Tom is still as indecisive as ever about some things, he can't seem to tell me what he wants. I think I am just going to do the uncle thing and give him some cash, let him get his own gift. Well gots to run peoples :)

Ugh

You know Saturday has to be my least favorite day of the week now, I start work earlier than most other days on that day. I worry about work a lot at night so usually I have only had a few hours of sleep, and I can't really stand most of the people I work with. They are lifelong expats that seem to think they are better than everyone else, and they never shut up. They have this annoying habit of talking to themselves or to each other about the most useless things I have ever heard people talk about. The last thing I want is to have an in depth discussion on the history behind "Grandma got run over by a reindeer" when I have only had two hours of sleep. Most of the time the other foreigners here are far more annoying than the locals, at least most of the locals don't want to be around you but are sometimes friendly and helpful. All I tend to get from other foreigners is this sickly attitude of superiority, or they ask me if I want to come to some expensive ass bar and play drinking games all night. Or any foreigner who has made his way onto that third rate network CCTV just oozes superiority, fucking sickening. I don't think I'm better than anyone else in this country, it seems to be the wrong attitude to have in this place.
China is actually a very good place for people who like to be alone, or hang out with one or two people. I am also not under the false impression that I am "Rich" by any sense of the word, I mean I have to borrow money by the end of the month usually. If I "Re Up" my contract I am going to be asking for more cash, I am glad I caught onto this early before I made the transformation into a "Douche Bag".
So some beggar came up to me today on the way to work with a monkey on a leash, this seems to be getting more popular in certain parts of Wuhan. I used to see it a bit more rarely, but it seems to be spreading a bit. My guess is that they are not welcome on big thoroughfares like Zhong Nan Lu, some of the monkey are in pretty bad shape, missing arms, legs, eyes. This monkey is all in one piece and she is a very pretty monkey, frankly I think she should be leading the guy around on the leash as she is doing all the work anyway. I have had to deal with this guy for weeks now, they always go after the foreigners because we are all "Rich", and I have told him I think he's a despicable human being and I have no interest in contributing to the ill treatment of my simian cousins. He comes up to me this morning, after two hours of sleep, knowing full well that I am not going to give him the time of day much less any money. He is pushing his "Beggar Bowl" into me pretty hard, so I shoved him away and started exchanging insults with the guy, some in Chinese, some in English. The monkey is freaking out doing flips like crazy and getting agitated, the "Boys in Blue" show up and more or less tell him that he needs to leave the foreigners alone and everyone else for that matter, and that he isn't welcome in front of the plaza. I get the feeling that they have told him this before, I expect him to be back tomorrow. Well gotta start work, later all.

Root Canal

As I said this is only the first session of the root canal, it's going to take two or three more sessions to complete. However, it does appear to be working as I can't really feel the tooth for the most part. This seems to be the general idea behind a root canal, I only have a temporary fiberglass filling in right now, so I am not allowed to use the tooth to chew at this time. This isn't really a big deal as I haven't used it to chew more than noodles for about 6 years now. The tooth next to it is going to have to have a root canal as well, so there is another month and a half of dental work. The most painful thing at this point is the injection site, even now a week later it's still a little sore. Leave us not forget that I am missing my second to the last lower molar on my right side, so one of two things will have to happen with that. Either the two teeth on the sides of the gap will have to be root canaled and fitted with a bridge, or I am going to have to have a dental implant put in. These both have their advantages and disadvantages, the bridge is by far the cheaper way to go. However, I would have to sacrafice two potentially healthy teeth, on the other side of the coin, if the teeth are healthy then they will make good bridge posts. As far as the implants go, it's a great way not to sacrafice two good teeth and have less metal hardware in my mouth. However, I don't know if they even have them in this country, and even if they do they are going to be expensive. Also, I'm not sure how I feel about having a titanium rod screwed into my jaw bone.
I think what I am going to do is have x-rays done of the teeth on that side and see if they are developing cavities or if they are healthy. If they are developing cavities, then I may as well have them root canaled and do a bridge, if they are healthy then I think I need to look into the cost and availability of implants. I need to save as many of my own teeth as possible, also the upper molar that has a crack along the side will be root canaled and all the openings will be filled.
The thought of having a mouth full of teeth that work is very appealing to me, metal or otherwise, being able to chew food normaly and be able to sleep instead of being in searing pain ... these things are huge to me even though they may seem simple to everyone else.
I have been spending a lot of time with Tom lately, my girlfriend has been writing her Thesis and taking final exams so she hasn't had so much time, although things are better between us. It's getting cold here in WuHan, I watched a documentary about the rise and fall of the DeLorean sports car last night ... I think patrick would call that a "Fuck Story" a great idea that was just born at the wrong time. John DeLorean was a great designer and Engineer but that dude was also real crooked. Anyway all I have to go make my photocopies for the day, I will try and post more often and get more videos up on youtube.

Long time no post

Sorry it has been so long since I have posted guy, I have been very busy since I got back to WuHan. I have been getting some very serious dental work done, and although I wanted my Dad to be the first one to know I guess I am going to give everyone the news. On my lower left side I have two broken molars, the back two, one has been filled previously and the other developed a cavity and cracked. The one with the new cavity has been driving me crazy for about two years. It's been about 6 years since I have been able to chew anything on that side. I was convinced that I was going to have another molar removed from the amount of pain i was in, i broke down and had my girlfriend take me to the dentist. I paid for the specialist and after looking at the x-rays they took, decided he was going to pull the tooth. He didn;t even want to pull the one next to it. He said the teeth could be saved, I went off to another department and had the first session of a root canal done on the cavity ridden molar. I will be going back at the end of next week for the second session and perhaps the first session on the tooth next to it. The girl that did the root canal said she was pretty sure they could use the theeth as posts for crows, she also said a bridge for the right side where I am already missing a molar would be no problem either. I will be in and out of the dentist for 4-6 months, but the work is cheap, I could have all gold hardware for a fraction of what it would cost in the states for example. I estimate all the work at about 1000 US perhaps a little less if I go with a different metal. I am very excited by the news. I will try my best to keep everyone updated.