The Adventures of Daniel Kwan

Last Friday, went to Blue Frog on Tongren Lu with some people. Ten chicken wings was something like 30 RMB. Reasonable. But a Corona was 40 RMB! Sheesh. All the servers spoke good English. Then went to C’s Pub again. Drank too much. Mother says don’t eat those yángròuchuàn (barbecued lamb on a stick) that people serve on the sidewalks but they’re so good! Some homo pics from C’s:

Hungover all day Saturday. Went to a party at Khalid’s house a few hours late. Ate some great homemade food. Watched Indian music videos. Witnessed a ridiculously huge bottle of Johnny Walker. Didn’t drink any but took a pic with it. [Note to self: Get pics from Khalid!] Stopped by C’s again on the way home but didn’t drink. Had yangrouchuan again. Yum.

Went to Disc Kart on Sunday with Jenn and Khalid. Jenn broke 40 seconds (39.something) and placed first. Khalid and I kept passing each other but Jenn was nowhere to be seen. My left shoulder was dead after two sessions. Ate hotpot with them at Dolar Shop. Talked about expat salary vs local salary. Depressing discussion for me.

Lately I’ve been taking taxis a lot. It’s eating up my savings but I don’t care because it’s saving my sanity. I can’t stand taking the bus and metro all the time from Qibao to downtown anymore.

Imagine spending 90 minutes right after work to go have a late dinner with someone, and then having to go home immediately because the journey back is another 90 minutes, not counting the time it takes to walk to the bus stop and wait for the right bus.

Not doing that anymore. Just thinking about it pisses me off. If the journey would take more than 30 minutes by bus or metro, I’m calling a cab. Besides, some taxi drivers are really funny, even though I never totally understand what they’re saying.

One driver kept bitching about how stupid that “Beijing Welcomes You” song is, saying it’s like a monk chanting because the tune keeps repeating nonstop for seven minutes. He even mimicked a monk to prove his point. (Being a taxi driver he must have heard it a million times on the radio.)

I asked him why it’s still being played when the Olympics is over, and he said because some people like it. He asked me if I like it. I don’t care but I said no just to agree. Then he slapped my leg and continued saying how awful that song is.

Walked around Tianzifang yesterday with a few people. Let’s see if I can remember everyone’s names… Jady, Jenn, Aviva, Harman, Khalid, Bonnie. (Bosephone didn’t come because her other friends were more important than us.) Later that night we watched the Olympics Closing Ceremony at Zapata’s. Boring as hell, but congrats to China for the 51 gold medals. Anyway, photos of Tianzifang below.

So there’s this controversy about how the little girl (Lin Miaoke) who lip-synced at the Olympics Opening Ceremony was actually lip-syncing to another little girl’s voice (Yang Peiyu). (Details here.) Personally I don’t see anything wrong with that.

One girl is more photogenic than the other. It’s not a mean thing to say. If we call one of them ugly, then yeah that’s mean and totally wrong considering how they’re children, but that’s exactly what people are doing by making this a big deal.

Look at them. Both of them are adorable, but Lin Miaoke looks better in front of cameras so she’s in the show. I haven’t heard Lin Miaoke sing, but Yang Peiyu probably does a better job and therefore her voice is in the show. Keyword: show.

The organizers took the best elements of the two girls and put them in the show. It’s as simple as that. If people are going to criticize that, they might as well criticize the entire Olympics for being unfair and not awarding everybody Gold medals!

The 2008 Beijing Olympics opening on August 8 was pretty awesome. Zhang Yimou did a fantastic job. I watched it at a small club called MAO with some locals and fellow laowais. It was great until my exhausting three-hour journey back to where I live.

Yes, three fucking hours, because I waited for the metro to open since I was too cheap to take a taxi which would have cost me over 100 RMB because I live so goddam far and mother told me to save money but I slept through my stop and had to turn around and fuck it I’m taking a taxi next time.

But anyway, here are some pics from Friday night through Saturday morning.

» CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE

The 2008 Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony begins in about 4 hours, at 8:08 PM. Let the harmonious mayhem begin!

In other news, access to my host server is still unbelievably slow from here. I assume it’ll go back to normal in a couple weeks when the Games is over.

(Source)

I’ve disabled the photography link because I’m redoing the photography section, but the connection to my host server has been so slow these past several days that I haven’t been able to make any progress. I wanna kill some Fuwas.

As much as I make fun of and criticize China’s government and everything else, I wholeheartedly wish for a smooth and (dare I say it?) “harmonious” 2008 Olympic Games. I believe this would be best for cooperation and peace among nations. Add oil, China. Add oil. And go kick some ass, Team USA!

Photo source: espnstar.com.cn

Best video ever! Read the warnings below before hitting play.

WARNING!

DO NOT eat or drink anything while while watching this video.
DO NOT handle fragile or sharp objects while watching this video.
DO NOT operate machinery while watching this video.
DO NOT watch this video if you are pregnant or in poor health.
DO NOT watch this video if you are suicidal.

Now hit play. The fun begins at 0:56/3:53. Once you’re familiar with the lyrics, be sure to sing along! 中国加油!

Found this video through a new and ridiculously awesome blog called ChinaSmack.com.