This is a follow-up to my Sept 16 journal entry of Beijing’s increasingly absurd traffic situation just to prove my point =P

Traffic Jams in Beijing Reach New Records of Congestion
From ChinaSmack

From NetEase:
On September 17th, the peak number of congested roads during Beijing’s evening rush hour exceeded 140, surpassing the record of 90 set ( Read more... )

Chinese netizens have come up with some interesting calendars to help them keep track of which are working days and which are holidays due to the Mid-Autumn (Mooncake) Festival and the October Golden Week National Holidays. Here are two of the best ones:


( Read more... )

Just saw this posted on a friend’s Facebook page - a video by Digi (telecomm company), I think.

Message from the person who posted this video:
Lots of people fighting these days because we're all different. So sad. The beauty of our nation is that we're different. We are unique like that. And each have something to learn from the other. Relak ( Read more... )

My hands smelled like garlic. But I was pleased. There was garlic in my chicken wing marinade, sautéed zucchini, and the sauce for penne a la vodka - my new dish for the night.

After referencing several recipes online, this was the recipe I decided on:
1.    Add olive oil to heated wok
2.    Once oil is well-heated, add minced garlic and ( Read more... )

We were still wearing tank tops and shorts one day and on the next, everyone was clad in long pants, scarves, boots and their Fall jackets. Summer has officially ended in Beijing. Somehow, I missed the memo when I left the apartment with just a thin cardigan yesterday evening. After arriving at the mall on my bike with clattering teeth, I ( Read more... )

It is common that we rant and whine about traffic congestion all the time.

When we’re late to dinner:
“在三环上堵死了！” “We got stuck on the third ring road!”
When we’re late to a client meeting:
“打不到车！太堵了！” “We couldn’t get a taxi, traffic was too horrible!”

Also:
“车又打不到，地铁又挤不上，公交又不来！” “Couldn’t get a cab, couldn’t squeeze into the subway, and ( Read more... )

In the past year and a half of living in Beijing, we’ve been required to function as “proper adults.” We sign contracts, we negotiate about money, we fix things, we attend networking events, and we host dinner parties.

But last night, I found my mother waiting at the entrance of our apartment complex when I got home from work. She was eager to ( Read more... )

If there ever was an annoyingly clingy child, I was that child. Before December 1992, I was never separated from my mother. And so, at age 7 and after a year of attending primary school, my mum put her foot down:

“Ping, in December, daddy and mummy are taking a trip ok? And you will go live with your cousin Charmaine.”
“Why can’t I come along ( Read more... )

Some may have noticed that in the past month, I’ve only posted 6 entries and that three of those were pictures/videos. I can come up with legitimate reasons - August was an intensely busy month at work and outside of it; the new TV show Treme entered our lives; I’ve had to wage a few battles against a particularly strong personal demon - yada, yada ( Read more... )

To those of you who cook, can you please verify with me if it is common for blades to fly out of knife handles? It happened to our house guest and to Evan. Even though our house guest’s first reaction was “I broke Evan and GP’s knife!!!” I am more concerned about one of us losing our toes (remember that episode on Friends when Chandler lost a ( Read more... )