Somewhere down the road

Terraced farmland, as viewed from my seat on the train.

The skies are grey in the villages, and even more so in the cities. It's dreary season.
Coffee (below) adds some excitement to the trip, of course! :-)

I’m on a rail trip this week, about 500 miles away from my lovable 15-pound Pekingese fur ball. 

The train is as modern as they come (better than any airplane I’ve ever been on), but the further away I get from Bamboo Forest, the more antiquated the scenes that pass my line of vision.

The mountain villages may be far from the big-city sophistication, but what lovely landscape greets the farmers each morning!

I got off the train in a big city of about 10 million. It is dirty and dreary. They need to run the whole fleet of motor vehicles in this town through a car wash. Some sun would be nice, but even if the clouds lifted I’m not sure we would see it through the polluted skies.

This morning it was raining cats and dogs and my friend and I got drenched in our unsuccessful bid to flag down a taxi. We gave up after half an hour and scrapped our plans for the morning. It is still pouring.  

It's still cold too. I'm wearing three pairs of socks inside my fur-lined boots and even have on two layers of long johns. Winters are brutal almost everywhere in this country, even when {sigh} the calendar officially says spring.

If rainy season is in the summer, then what is this? 

Bring it on!

Winter is cruising towards the finish line and the first buds of spring are peeking out of their hiding places. Can’t wait to see the trees covered in pink (might be God’s favorite color)!

That's my apartment building in the top photo.

Biking in the kingdom

Next time you go buy ice cream out of a sidewalk ice cream freezer, remember this poor guy (top left) who had to haul one on the back of his bike, and the gal (bottom right) who wears a dress in WINTER on a bike.

Living life in the bike lane is not easy. I know for sure.

The face masks are for warmth. The guy talking on a cell phone is a danger to other bikers. This, too, I know from experience.

The Plush Pink Cave

My sweet little darling spent most of the winter inside her posh resort, otherwise known as her cubicle. It must be nice and cozy inside. I’m supposing. I’ve never been inside it.


That hair sticking out the front is part of her really long bushy tail!

Dull

My mind is as dull as the grey skies outside. Day after day, I look out my big picture window and see wet-slicked pavement, bike riders wearing bright-colored raincoats and pedestrians carrying umbrellas. The elderly who usually play cards at the park downstairs are probably sitting at home, watching TV, bored out of their minds.

I want to be busy, check a bunch of work assignments off my to-do list, update my blog, finally answer long-unanswered emails or go out to meet new people. But I am overcome with rain-induced dullness.

On a dry day, it could take up to half an hour to get a taxi. On a rainy day, taxis are all full. I could stand outside an hour in the cold rain and still not flag one down.

I could take a bus, but it also requires long waiting times, only to get on a standing-room only bus next to people whose wet umbrellas and outerwear are pressed against my own. It feels yucky and disgusting.

The last available transportation option is my e-bike. I could don a brightly-colored rain poncho, but when I got to my destination, I would have to fold up the wet plastic, stuff it inside a bag, do my errands, unfold the wet thing and put it over my head (and bulky winter coat) again. It's messy.

You've probably got a car. You probably cannot fathom the lifestyle of someone like me who doesn't have one.

So I stay in, waiting for a break in the weather, jetting out the door the second it stops, hoping it will stop for at least an hour. I need groceries if nothing else.

A few times I went out to coffee shops hoping to meet new people, but the shops were basically empty. No one else wants to get out in this weather either.

I vowed I wouldn’t let the weather slow me down this winter. I am still trying to fight against failure. The next two weeks' forecast shows more rain, so I'm going to make an effort to overcome the dull days of winter in the Middle Kingdom.

Activities for a cold, rainy day

I went to the Marvel Comic book website and made myself into a comic Super Hero. I did it for a team-building project (i.e., I kinda had to do it...I can't see myself doing this for any other reason). What do you think? Do I look fashionable and scary?

You can go there too -- it's fast and free:

http://marvel.com/games/play/31/create_your_own_superhero

You get to choose your hair color, clothes, weapons, etc. but not your age, skin elasticity or body shape. So if it doesn't look true to my age, it isn't my fault. If you decide to make yourself into a Super Hero, send it to me so I can see! 

Shanghai - The Posh Side

Huai Hai Lu (Hwhy-high-loo) is the most fashionable road in Shanghai, situated in the French Concession area of the city.

I remember this street back in 1997 when it was just starting to modernize. It didn't quite look like this back then.

My favorite Starbucks in Shanghai used to be the bottom floor where the dark Louis Vuitton signs are now.  It's only been in the last year or so that Starbucks moved out to make way for Louis. Starbucks I can afford, Louis Vuitton, not so much. 

All the photos taken in the following post are within a block or two of Louis Vuitton's store...easy walking distance. Such a contrast! I like the new look, but miss the old quaint Shanghai I first made friends with.

Shanghai - Cloudy Day in February

 An artist at a park near downtown

Right off the most fashionable street in town is a neighborhood that hasn't been torn down -- yet.  I love these quaint neighborhoods that are being demolished at an alarming rate.

More of the same neighborhood in the French Concession quarter of Shanghai.

More of the quaint neighborhood, with new modern architecture hovering above it.

It's February...no leaves on the trees.

A gaggle of girls in fashionable black walk through the Xin Tian Di area of Shanghai.

The painter has acquired an audience. The fountain in the park makes the gloomy day seem a little brighter (to me anyway).

A restored building in Xin Tian Di area of Shanghai. Xin Tian Di is pronounced SHEEN-tee-en-DEE and means "new heaven and earth," a common place name in the Middle Kingdom.

Another view of the park.

Another view of the area.

Humongous billboard in Shanghai

I hear you. I feel your pain. It’s a noisy place in which we live. The risk of going mad is all part of the package. Dear Pepto-Bismol-pink-shirt guy, I think you are already there. Did you know your billboard has no words and advertises nothing? 

Weathery Woes

I have four big picture windows in my apartment, and the view from all four is the same – gray skies. The blah weather is forever on my mind. And assuming you don’t want to hear about it, I figured it was best just to not write much during February.

That, plus my Internet hasn’t been working well enough to open my blog much lately. But don’t give up on my blog, it will all get better soon enough!

A word to February

A bike rider wearing a bright pink raincoat rolls down the bike lane
on a rainy day in February. Photo taken from my balcony.

It's dark outside, but the sshhhhhhsh-ing sound of tires pressing down on the wet pavement wakes me. I listening carefully, but the only other sound I hear is Mimi softly snoring at the foot of the bed. The usual noisy early-morning exercise routines at the park downstairs are not happening today. It is raining. Again.

February, you once again have failed to impress me. Your cloak of clouds, fog and rain are getting monotonous. If you could just intersperse your days with a bit of sunshine here and there, we could be friends. You are a stubborn month.

I just want to ride my e-bike without having to wear the big colorful raincoat and carrying a towel. I want to ride a bus without other people's wet umbrellas and clothes pressing up against me. I would like to flag down an empty taxi, which are never available during the rain. I want to take Mimi for a walk without having to wash the mud off her feet every time we return to my apartment. I just want to get out and buy groceries, pay my bills, visit friends, take photos, and have something interesting to talk about for my blog!

But no! The murky month of February taunts me with 29 blocks on the calendar this year, 29 chances to rain instead of the usual 28. The barometric pressure is weighing me down.

I just need a little ray of sunshine to cure whatever ails me! J

P.S. On the positive side, I'm glad we aren't suffering through a drought!