Post Jennifer and Post Olympics

Well Post Jennifer....life has been getting back to a bit of a routine here. But there still is a lot of action around Beijing. The closing ceremonies were another spectacular event.....even around our building.

After all the fireworks were over, and the city seemed finished, there was a 45 minute fireworks display at Chaoyang park just south of my window...spectacular....the best I have ever seen personally...and some of the fireworks were totally new to me....not just explosions but flutterings of light as the fireworks worked their way to the ground...as well as the eye popping colours of the "normal" fireworks......and that passed ..and then after a 1/2 hour another 45 minutes of more...quite a site to see and remember....

Rosamund and I had been out earlier and watched them from the window...she left for Greece and Athens with her possessions about 2 months behind and her cat in tow on the airplane.....she doesn't know whether she will have a place that will allow her to keep Giz....will need to find a place or fib to them about her cat...

Said good bye to a lot of ladies in my life this year.....time to move on?

Started teaching with a couple of twists...Reg had asked me to be the Athletic Director as the school needs one to be accredited with ACAMIS ( I think it stands for Association of Chinese and Mongolian International Schools)...with that goes some extra responsibilities and also some time to do the job....ok...as well some time for scheduling extra curricular events, bookings, administration stuff...I think I can handle that plus I get to have another title.....yippeee

However, things kind of got bogged down a little when one of the new teachers, who teaches Physical Education and Mathematics and Science was not able to get a visa and would be 2 weeks late.....I was asked to fill in for him in a couple of areas...helping teachers who would be doing the Math and taking one of his classes of PE...and then all the work came with the administration...to say the least it has been a very hard working time as we get the school up and running as well as trying to get the pe and sports teams going...and we were invited to put a team in a league 2 years before we normally would be allowed...another team had canceled out and they asked us in....well, of course and that created more work...now it has died down...the new teacher arrived to a welcome from the staff who worked to fill his positions.....woo hoooooo.

New mall opened behind us has a hockey rink and we may get some students on it this year.....it is an upscale one with real prices...yes somewhat like North America prices...and good quality stuff.....needless to say ....I am a good spectator...but they do have a couple of good bars....so THEY say.

Jennifer and I skype more often now and it is good to see Kenzie as she is growing up and developing her mom's personality....have a good picture of her decked out in her Rider suit.....Jennifer went to an Elton John concert...she was sitting 5 rows back and was able to get his autograph on a program ...she said she enjoyed it immensely.. 2 1/2 hours of entertainment.....heard that from several people that he puts on a great show.....

Have been training for the 1/2 marathon in the rain...it has been unusually rainy here this year and some mornings my run around Chaoyang Park is too slow for my liking but I can't seem to get going too fast....I sweat a lot and my shirt is usually soaked on those heavy misty mornings.....I have lots of company including some other runners from time to time and a pair of ladies who fly by me on their bikes...all decked out in their riding suits and helmets......don't know where they come from but they may pass me three times going around the park....have convinced the lawyer and a teacher to run with me ...as well Kim, a friend will be running ..should be good...October 19th.....and either on that day or before, I have to decide whether I will be running in the Greek marathon....

Will be sending home some stuff to J ( more purses) and Janet...will let me hone my bargaining skills even more....gives me an excuse to go to the markets and check out anything new....

Have purchased another set of golf clubs for me.....that is now 5 sets I have at one time owned and/or used and they still don't seem to improve it... talked to my friend Fred in New Brunswick and he is improving day to day...even went out and played some golf in Sept.....and shot a 41 on nine holes....good grief...after a heart attack and he still shoots better...what is up with that...we laugh a lot about that...

Broke down and bought another good cell phone.....Nokia N95 with more features than the last one....had another one and sold it to Craig ( new teacher) so that I now only have the one cell phone...bought it at a place called Carrefours.....we had been given a 800rmb gift card by the owner of the school so we went out there to spend it....I even bought a slow cooker to cook chili and stew in...or attempt to do...funny sight and J you will attest to this.....going through the check out line with maybe 15 lines ...right in front of me a lady had a bag which was flopping around...inside it was a live fish that had just been taken out of the tank...put into a plastic bag, price tag had been put on the bag and she was checking her other groceries along with this flip flopping thing through the till....normal as all get out.

Spent a weekend sailing in Qin Hong Dao..about a 2 hour train ride from here....The 4 friends, Dave Gibson, Ron Badger, Reg and I were a crew on a 4 man sailboat. The city was host to the Asian games a few years back and so fixed up a marina. None o us had much sailing experience but we went for a good time.

Friday night was a good get together and get acquainted and check into our hotel evening.... and we went out too late....I think three was the time we finally got back in....I was the captain and I think I led my mates astray...

The 9:30 morning came fairly early and our crew was one of the ones on the water first after a little theory...I found out later the 2 hour course we had was normally a 2 day course....anyway we headed out on to the water to practise...the winds were light and Adam our fearless instructor was finding it difficult to get us to do things right...but no capsizes... and we spent the morning getting used to all the positions that were on the boat.....I didn't have time to take the tiller before we headed in for our theory part and then lunch....one of the things that the instructor emphasized was to avoid collision at all cost....

The winds picked up as we headed out for the afternoon races which had prizes at stake.....I was at the helm and I had promised the boys that sometime this weeknd we would be in the water...well it didn't take long....about 15 minutes later, we had tasted salt water....yep ...just after a glorious tack, we were all swimming and it was to be an omen.....because for 9 times ( we think that is some sort of record) we were tossed into the water...not only that we had a couple of collisions and some near misses and a lot of swimming practise and practise at righting the boar...our instructor was very patient...and very wet....we didn't finish one race and couldn't finish another finishing with the most penalty points amassed by anyone....the idea was to have the least points.....now they tell us...finally we pulled into shore after getting exhausted with all the extra work.....we had a beer and watched the final races...the ones I had been so sure we would have been in....

But all was not lost, at the barbeque that evening, our crew won the best dressed outfit and also for some reason won the most spectacular capsize competition.... perhaps because the had had so many to draw from...it was a fun time though and we
laughed a lot...

The evening saw everyone singing and some dancing....we finished off our evening at the Extraordinary Bar....I chatted up the singer in the band and they allowed me to use my stunning voice to help them sing the Lying Eyes songs by the Eagles...early night at about 12;30

Next day we took to the waters and had fun with 3 on the boat and also we had a single boat...which Reg took out first...before even getting away he had capsized twice.... keeping up our good tradition...the three of us sailed around the harbour without a capsize and even took a little excursion out onto the ocean....I was able to get a small boat and for about 2 hours did the same...venturing our of the harbour several times just so that I could say that I had sailed on the ocean....all by myself...

Came home that afternoon on the train and slept a bit of the way....back in Beijing and it was raining so we caught the subway home and slumped into our beds....a great weekend of memories....

Another week started up and some twists...had a meeting to get the junior volleyball going one noon hour...Tuesday it was the Junior Basketball....lots of interest so I will find some coaches to start after the October holiday...Wednesday almost broke me...

Here is how it went....

Got up at 5:40 to go for my run...a reasonable one....under 40 minutes around Chaoyang Park...

Mornng classes were routine no major problems....

At 12:15 I was to go to the International School of Beijing to talk with an athletic coordinator to see how our school could get involved with the athletics....got directions written out before I left...got a cab..driver couldn't read ( I think)...phoned Chloe who told him how to get there....

Spent approximately 2 hours there and got some issues cleared away and was beginning to understand the "system"...came back to school at about 3:30

Attended Mandarin lessons so that I can learn to speak a little Chinese and can get by a little better....for one hour......

Had a meeting of softball people at Frank's place...supposedly near here.....took a cab and got close and then spent about 15 minutes finding the place....had a good meeting and set up schedules and dates and times and fees and then left for home again..

Returned home and had a 2-3 hour class on computers and how to better use them in the classroom along with the Smartboard......that almost did me in.....and then I spent another hour or so getting ready for tomorrow's work....I went to Reg the next day and said that I almost left for home last night.....I do have a return trip left from Air Canada so it is not out of the realm of possibilities....

The next day was good and Friday came very fast.....as I know ...there are days of teaching that are taxing and there are days that are satisfying...Some days you are the windshield and some days you're the bug....

Today is Saturday and I had a frustrating hour and a half trying to re arrange the flight to Hong Kong....I had submitted my credit card to a company called Elong and they needed to see the front side of my credit card...I phoned them and they wanted me to take a picture of it and send it by email....I said do you need to know the number on it and they said yes...so I read it to them.....no they couldn't accept that they have a department that approves your credit card...and then they were going to deliver it and I was going to be away and could I come down and do the business...so another 3/4 of an hour shot just to get a ticket to Hong Kong....some simple process that would normally take 5-10 minutes becomes a Hollywood production starring a cast of thousands.....hahahaha

Finished the afternoon with a pickup ball game at the park with about 2o people playing....we are going to have a small fall league of ball ....to get us ready for the spring league.....we have enough to make a team ourselves here at CIS but we are going to have other international teachers on the team....it was fun to get a few hits and catch and throw....I did not bring my glove but borrowed a couple...

Will send this one and get a new one started...not many pictures with this one.

Jennifer and the Olympics ..The Final Episode

Wednesday

Today was the Great Wall day…asked Bei Lu, a lady who works in the finance department, if she could also get me some tickets to the Chinese..Acrobats….she was able to find some and the venue is fairly close…for 7:15…..

Left atr 9:00 for the Wall at Simati with Smartie….a taxi driver from BCCSC who I knew from the first year….we hired him for about 80 dollars for the trip out and back….got there at about 1100 and went up the cable car…about 2/3 of the way then could have taken a mini train a little farther but decided to walk…whew…it was steep and tough….Jennifer decided not to go too much further....I went as far as you could go….on the way down Jennifer….yells to me “get your butt down here quick”…I actually jogged on the wall..the reason….Haley Wickenheiser, arguably the best female hockey player in the world from Shaunavon, Sask. was there…….well we hit it off really well, had pictures taken and walked the rest of the way down with her including a Zip Line that I talked her into. We chatted all the way down the wall talking about experiences and happenings while I have been here…..she said that she would try to get us on tv the next day as we were going to softball.....Jay took a lot of pictures and got her small brass momento of the trip on the wall...picture of her with the volleyball on the wall...may have een the highlight of the trip to meet her...and was very neat to be able to talk to someone about some common things....Hayley is playing in Sweden with a mens team.....she was also dong the commentating for CBC and was wanting to come out with us for drinks or something if she got time.....didn't happen as she got too busy and got some extra duties for the netwrok........a good day and it was sunny and clear out as well

Uneventful ride back except that I fell asleep and was given a hard time by Jennifer and Smartie….we saw the road go from a 2 lane highway to a three laner and at one time maybe even a four laner....but the road did not get wider, the cars just moved over a bit....J also saw how some of the poorer parts of the country are populated and some mountainous regions...

Had supper at our little restaurant again....…J seems top like the food there...it is fairly good and is cheap too....what an atmosphere there hey Jay....then off to the Acrobats by taxi....thought it was a good idea at the time but we got a little snarled in traffic again….but we did arrive early enough….another incredible show….lady twisted like a pretzel…men defying gravity with some astonishing moves....we were left in awe ...got home early...we were able to use the subway and it was quick......home early and did some wash and then went to bed early….so that we could get a good start on the next day to softball…where we will try to scalp some tickets for the 2nd game as it will be Canada and Australia…..and then maybe some wrestling in the evening….Ron has one of my tickets.....

Wednesday….

Up early and off to the softball venue Fengtai stadium....got there after one inning of US vs Japan….and 0-0 until the ninth when US got 4 runs.....one on a a monster 3 run homer ( longest ball I have ever see a female hit) and then Japan scored 1 in the bottom.......the place was only 1/3 full because China was not there......can’t believe because we would have had the darn thing packed for sure….even had a section of programmed cheerers in the outfield who would cheer on command from their leader.....our game ( which the tickets we had got us into sw we didn't need to scalp)....didn’t start well..... they hit a single home run and then got another run…we replied with 3....... did my Canada flag Calgary horse trot to get the troops yelling……they came back with another solo homer…..we had them in trouble a couple of times but could not score….they got 2 runs and we couldn’t reply.. final score Australia 5- Canada 3...they played well......pitcher was upset.......had a lot of pictures taken with my umbrella hat and Canada flag but silly ass didn’t have one taken of us......funny thing.....had one of those inflatable Roughrider helmets and a couple people wanted to wear it......one person put it on as if it were a batting helmet and had a thunder stick, using it as a bat.......Jennifer almost pd her pants.....don’t even know if we had our time on tv....had our section of the stadium cheering for Canada...Jiao Jianada...out yelled the Aussies....fun...

Didn't have time to eat and went to the wrestling venue ....stopped and had a meal....at a Pizza Hut...yeah we went western a lot....…Ron had 1 ticket and J had the other.......I tried to get a scalped one but they were 70 dollars and not for a full session.......I left early and let those two enjoy the session......have used the subway system here to advantage.....and at about 25 cents fora ride it is well worth it.......and no hassles in traffic......they even have dedicated buses but I haven’t caught on to those yet.....you can catch certain ones and they will get you there at no cost...as long as you show the ticket...

Thursday was a rest day for Olympics with no planned events unless we can get into some on scalping tickets....We went to a Starbucks...there was one close to us and Jennifer said "wow real coffee".....raining hard.....stood in the rain on a guard's spot under an umbrella and he shooshed us away.....guess we didn't look stern enough for the guests at the hotel we walked by...and we were just trying to keep dry....went to Silk Market by subway and then couldn’t find a bus so cabbed it to the Capital Gymnasium ...tried to follow another couple of Americans...they were as lost as we were....we were able to scalp ladies volleyball tickets......just showed up and asked for tickets….one guy wanted 1500 and then another wanted 300 for one…so Jay bargained 2 for 500 because the game had already begun....see how quickly you learn in Beijing....bargain hard.....free enterprise...who said anything about communism....we had terrific seats at half court but a little high up…US versus Cuba…US dominated and won in three games....a very good facility.....even had male-female cheerleaders/gymnasts.....

We made a quick exploratory trip to the BC pavilion/Canada House to see what was up there......after went to Silk Market and bought some scrolls and even ate at a McDonalds...... In the evening took Rosamund Whiting, the lady I knew who worked at the Italian embassy to the Cube to watch diving...had promised her that if I got diving tickets that we would go....saw the Canadian lady win the silver medal...the Chinese are so good and so small.....even if they belly flopped it wouldn't make much of a splash...Jennifer went back to the Canadian pavilion by Tiannamen square....she was told she was not a Canadian!!!!! if she wasn't from Ontario or Quebec and/or didn't speak French.....if you want to see her get mad......ask her to tell you about the incident.....finally told the lady "to then f'ing separate!!!!!"......good on you...quite a patriot that Jennifer... she may even vote this time????...the night was otherwise good for her as there was free beer and food........home at about 1100….

Friday.....met Reg early......took Jay to meet him…another Starbucks and cab trip to the Capital Gymnasium.......finally at a venue lots of time to spare.......men's semifinal.....Russia vs United States......best I have ever seen.....serves are incredibly fast….but the players seem to have little problem with them.....all sorts of plays set up and some great rallies and spikes...yes it is good on TV but when it is live you realize just how good and fast the game is....US in 5 at 15-13……..took bus but went too far..finally got back onto a subway ( we should have used our own common sense as we knew where we were going but thought that others knew better..obviously not) and got home.......some groceries then over to the Golden Market to get a few more purses and exchange one ….supper at Pete’s Tex Mex.....home and Jay stayed to rest…I went to Rosamund farewell party at the Stoneboat in Ritan Park….a small gathering........met a fellow named Elvis who runs a barbecue every weekend.....and may go some weekend.....had met him before but his looks had changed...another early evening..... J finally decided to sleep in the bed and I slept on the couch......

Geez dad is that bed ever hard...how do you sleep on it....easy it is the only one....

Saturday.....nothing day......except maybe a little packing….we have decided to go Shunyi to see if we can see the Kayaking finals......will take a bus and hopefully see it....well we did ...found out the bus to the Venue.....no cost....about a 40 minute ride.....then we had to get tickets......got one for 200 rmb from a volunteer off a bus...we saw him first....others were asking for 1000....so we said no....I told her to go in and I would try to find her if I got a ticket.....about 15 minutes later, I latched on to a you=ng man who was willing to sell his 80 rmb ticket for 160 ...I gace him 200 and left to find Jennfier.....ran into some Canadian fans....there were a lot there.....a coup;e from Edmonton and some young girls who were working as Journalism students.....had a good chat with them...lots of fun and got to see Vankouverden win his silver medal....cool....

Got back and remembered that Nashvilles was having a free beer weekend at their place...it is just about 500 metres from CIS so off we went....met Canadians again...Jennifer was astounded by the free beer thing.....Dad they could never do this in Saskatchewan....they would go broke......beer only 40 cents....maybe a different story....finally left at 300 in the morning.....needed to travel home the next day....maybe not such a good idea....ah well the exuberance of youth......well somewhat youth.....

Last day.....up and packing....not eating a lot....we were going to take the subway but decide to take a cab instead....Jay was able to get all her stuff into the two bags that were empty after I had unpacked all my stuff coming over.....so she had filled up two suitcases and at least one carry on .....with stuff from China....just as I had predicted.....a good body of loot....said a few good byes and then left for the airport a little early as we thought there might be a few people leaving.....


And we were right.....damn near lost my camera in a taxi...it had fallen out of my pocket...did a little jog to catch up to the car and was able to retrieve it.....the lines were quite long and it took a while to get checked in....but once we were at the front of the line it was really fast to get processed.....Jay was overweight on both bags but didn't have to pay on either....lucky beggar......we had a meal at a Burger King.....at the airport and then it was time to say good bye.....

A small hug and then she was gone....into the scads of people that were leaving as well....was a difficult moment....so much fun and so many great moments shared.....as she said "Thanks for this Chance of a Lifetime Dad...Love Ya ...Bye..."

It was a tough time home on the subway...and even a little tougher when I got home to the empty apartment that had been so busy the last two weeks....Yeah it was a great time....a two weeks of unparalleled happiness.....tough time getting to sleep that night....the adventure was over....now only pictures and memories.....

Jennifer and the Olympics Part 2

Friday August 15

Today was Athletics and our trip to the National Stadium (Bird's Nest). took the subway there and there were a lot of people on the lines...even in the hall beneath the street....Made it Olympic Green...there was a great deal of security...people were not able to get in or close to take pictures unless you had a ticket...Corporate sponsor like McDonald's were a little miffed because they were expecting way more people but if you didn't have a ticket you couldn't even get to McDonald's ...it was called being BOCOGed....screwed by the Beijing Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games Lots of walking…J will attest to that. What a fabulous stadium miraculous stadium......not a bad seat We were 24 rows up in the lower level and got to see the 100 m heats, Ladies Heptathlon, Hammer throw, shot put...one bad part of it was it took at least 30 minutes for service for a coke or chips...Waves of clapping as runners or participants would go by.....the wave was quite something when 90,000 do it...the view from the upper level was awesome.


Henry and Michael and Sam went to the ball game....6-5 in extra innings…..USA lost to Cuba. The crew met up with us in Hohai at the No Name restaurant ...a lovely place with bars and restaurants around a lake......J left her hat and sunglasses.....Henry tried to drink some cocktails and was having a hard time after a couple...it was a beautiful evening...there were lots of people out...we let for home early, a little tired and we slept well.



Saturday, we got up early, too early for Silk Market so we went to Steak and Eggs for best breakfast so far....at least according to Jennifer...good old fashioned western breakfast..just like it says......J is starting to buy..... and spend her money.…bought some shorts, and some glasses, some Bling for Keslyn and a necklace for Kim. We were off to Tiannamen Square but we were not allowed on the square proper not sure why...maybe with Henry it was too dangerous. we went into the the Forbidden city. Jennifer took lots of pictures there...and we did lots of walking, again.....J got an Audio tape. My umbrellas hat seemed popular as I had several pictures with several Chinese women and a cute little bugger who was about 2 years old. we came home early again on the subway so that we can rest and recover! Yahoo!!!!! a gold and a bronze from our wrestlers…..the ones that are staying on the same floor as us here at CIS. Gave them a Sask pin…stuck it on their door I reserved made a time for a massage for the evening.....

Ok so much for the rest and recovery......met up with Michael, Henry and Sam and went down Stinky Alley for out good food and a fun time. Sam and Henry were gumbaying, which means you drink all the geer or whatever in your glass....Henry lost badly and said he was taking one for team China...he was even a little drunk just after one beer....Michael decide on a foot massage with us. He could be one of the amigos as he was quite a funny guy. Jay had a hard massage too, Reg’s Lili..and my lady…2 ½ hours and it was good…after a long day of walking it was fitting…both in the same room…Jay said it is the first time that she has heard me stay quiet for a such a long period of time…said our good byes as Michael and Sam are leaving tomorrow early. They were fun.



Sunday

Jennifer slept in until 9:30. the massage was good but she said she was sore on the shoulders but good everywhere else. I went to Ron’s and picked up the bike. Talked a lot with him and he said he had a great time golfing. We may just go golf together in the best course in the world...??? Hills and may go there for the weekend. I came back for a small breakfast and moved back into 609 after being in Reg’s room and then J and I headed out to the Yashow market to exchange some clubs and mail them to Canada for Rex and Barry. Another different experience for her at the Post Office....We went to the local open market where she almost gagged coming in. hte smell of fish was overwhelming to her….did some local shopping…..."no thanks Dad…I will really appreciate Safeway now" We got home and went to the local restaurant again and then back to watch some Olympics on tv and spend the evening there.

Monday

A good sleep. Got up at 6 and ran for 30 minutes. MAY run in the local marathon and MAY run in the Greek one.....in Beijing you may run in the Bird’s nest and in Greece you run from Marathon to Athens and run in the Olympic stadium….so that is what I am leaning toward.

Thought I could move back into my room today and start to put some stuff away. Nope. Guess it will be another day. We had a good morning as wewatched some events on tv. Then off to the local shopping market so that we could get some purchases. I took back all the watches that were not working….warranty work…hahaha and bought about 5 more. J needed a couple and Jan wanted some…..got about 10 purses and some t shirts and a couple of bunny hugs (Abercrombie and Fitch) and another jacket…Jennifer actually started to bargain. Less in your face there. We took a couple of pictures and then came back home with the ½ ton full of stuff. A light lunch and then we went to the China World to see how the other ½ lives......real honest to goodness Louis Vuitton stores and others, saw the ice rink in the lower level, and most importantly Jennifer got a real COFFEE at the Starbucks. Then off to the Friendship store to buy some Olympic stuff…got a backpack for Kenzie…..took the subway we thought to the HoHai district…thought it would be a walk to the park…..NOT… a 15 minute cab ride after we spent about a half an hour trying to follow directions supplied by local Chinese who don’t know how to give directions…..or we don’t know how to follow…whatever…..found the No Name restaurant and retrieved Jennifer’s Rider’s sun visor and glasses…..took a trip on a paddle boat and then headed for the Soccer game by taxi…what a traffic snarl….spent way too much time in the cab…very poor organizing with buses and traffic in general…finally got out and walked….at a brisk pace Jennifer said….to get through security and into the Workers Stadium just in time to see the opening kick off…..big crowd......51,000 and they were pro American.....USA defeated Japan 4-2.....well played and some got scoring chances.....not as boring as I have seen before.....went over to Rosamunds for a nightcap as she lives just a couple of blocks away...... another late night......