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November 29 Top 10 Ways to Keep Warm in Shanghai's WinterShanghai is a very humid city and is one of only a couple of places in the world that suffers from the climate of cold winters and very hot summers. Strangely, despite temperatures hovering close to 0 degrees in the winter, and high humidity, the Shanghainese construct their condominium buildings without any insulation in the walls and without any central heating. Want to avoid spending a small fortune on the electric bill by running the heater all night? How else can we stay warm? Here are a few tips:
10. Coffee
Buy a coffee brewer from Pacific Centre or Best Buy, or buy a filter press from Starbucks or Ikea. Buy some premium coffee beans from Starbucks. Make and drink coffee often.
9. Drink and Eat Out Often
Spend little time at home. Go out for dinner and drinks often in heated public places. Chinese hot pot is perfect.
8. Warm the Extremities
They say we lose most of our body heat from our head and we often neglect our other extremities: hands and feet. Wear a pure wool toque at all times, day and night. Get a pair of super warm and thick mitts or gloves. Woolly socks are unavailable in Shanghai, so bring some from home. In the evening, give your feet a soak and wash in a plastic tub filled with hot water.
7. Hot Water Bottles
These are a must in Shanghai.
6. Vacation in a Hot Spot
If you can convince your employer to give you a decent vacation at some point during the winter—Christmas, Chinese New Year—go somewhere warm. Don't go to Beijing! Hainan Island is crowded. Try Singapore, Hawaii, or Australia.
5. Down Jacket & Wool Sweater
Down is the warmest insulator in existence, warmer than anything else natural, warmer than anything artificial. Down jackets are widely available in Shanghai. Get a thick, pure wool sweater too. Dress in layers.
4. Undergarments
The most important layer is the first one. Get some tightly fitting undergarments: top and pants. Most supermarkets in the city carry these.
3. Smart Bedding
Most people concentrate on covering themselves with thick blankets, failing to consider that what is under you is just as important. If there is but a sheet beneath you when you sleep, all that cold air is coming up from the floor, right up through the mattress. Put some blankets under the mattress as well. Better yet, wrap the mattress with blankets. Best of all, ask a Chinese ayi to make a sheath (slip cover) that fits tightly around the entire mattress.
2. Electric Blanket
Night is the coldest. And few of us will sleep in our down jackets and wool sweaters. Also, when you sleep, your heart rate slows down and your body is cooler. So this is the situation in which you are the most vulnerable to catching a chill. Nothing beats an electric blanket. Turn it on for a bit before you go to bed, and when you hit the sack, you'll be in paradise. The only downside to these is that your skin gets a bit dry, so buy some moisturizing lotion.
1. Love
Well, what could be better than shared bodily warmth? The human body operates at a hot 37 degrees. So, get yourself a husband or wife, and you'll be all set.
November 23 Happy Birthday CarolynCarolyn was born in Shanghai in the late 70s, a couple of years after her brother. She lived in a neighbourhood with several kids her age and still keeps in touch with them. She says she doesn't remember kindergarten but remembers elementary school with fondness. She said it was a happy time and she played lots with her classmates. During junior high school, her family relocated to Pudong (eastern Shanghai). She kept the same school so had to travel an hour and a half to school everyday. She took a bicycle to the ferry (there were no bridges across the river at that time). After crossing the river, she had to take two busses to school. During junior high school, she became ill with hepatitis affecting her liver. She was hospitalized for a month.
There was a boy who had a crush on her but she turned him down. Later on, this same boy drowned while swimming in a river. Carolyn felt very guilty. She went to visit the boy's mother who wouldn't stop crying. After her schooling, Carolyn worked as a cashier in a supermarket but hated it. She switched to sales for Benetton. It was very tiring because she had 12-hour shifts and spent the whole time on her feet. She said many customers would try on several outfits and then decide to buy none of them. Her dad got cancer in his throat, due to smoking, and had surgery. Fortunately, he's okay now. After a couple of years at Benetton, Carolyn joined a textiles exporter. It was during this time that she met me. During the time she worked for the supermarket, Carolyn acquired a pet dog. She called him "Du Du". But Du Du was never trained where to do his business, so Carolyn's mom gave Du Du the boot.
Friday night I treated Carolyn for a toffee nut latte at Starbucks, then hot pot. I bought her a Parker pen, a coat, and pants.
Saturday night, we went to her parents' place to celebrate Carolyn's birthday. Her brother phoned from Shandong Province where he works to wish her a happy birthday. His wife and daughter joined us, however. They played ma jiang (popular Chinese game). We all had dinner. She ate crab (her favourite). Her dad cooked beef and celery for me (my favourite).
November 20 40,000 HitsToday, Peltonator's received its 40,000th hit. Considering that my site is porn-free and contains no foul language; considering that it subscribes to neither atheism nor religious fanaticism; considering that it does not advocate promiscuity or drunkenness; considering that it promotes neither asceticism nor materialism; considering that it stays clear of partisan politics; considering that its author is just a Canadian of humble means living in China - it's quite surprising. I must be doing something right. November 14 Movies of the Late 1990sWar was the big theme in the late 90s. The ancient Scottish rebellion of William Wallace was featured in Braveheart. A futuristic war with a dose of sci-fi comedy appeared in the entertaining Fifth Element as well as the action-packed Matrix. World War II was explored in the intense Saving Private Ryan and the inspiring Life is Beautiful. Issues about the aggression that leads to war were dealt with in American History X and Fight Club. The question of morality versus authority was looked at in the submarine thriller Crimson Tide.
Crime was also a major theme in the late 90s. The question of capital punishment took the reins in Dead Man Walking and corporate crime in The Insider. These crime films were made in a variety of styles: classic in L. A. Confidential, black comedic in Fargo, romantic in Mickey Blue Eyes, thrilling in Se7ven, and mysterious in The Usual Suspects. The late 90s also saw the biggest box office hit of all-time, a record which has yet to be broken, the sweeping romantic tragedy Titanic.
My favourites from the late Nineties (1995-1999) are the following:
Braveheart (Epic, 1995)
Stars: Mel Gibson, Sophie Marceau. Brief Summary: William Wallace leads the Scots in revolt against English oppression.
Crimson Tide (Thriller, 1995)
Stars: Denzel Washington, Gene Hackman. Brief Summary: Officers aboard a U.S. naval submarine disagree over whether to launch nuclear missiles on Russian missile bases.
Dead Man Walking (Drama, 1995)
Stars: Susan Sarandon, Sean Penn. Brief Summary: A nun counsels a stoic man on death row, helping him to break down and admit his crime.
Hamlet (Drama, 1996)
Stars: Kenneth Brannagh, Julie Christie. Brief Summary: Shakespeare's masterpiece of murder, incest, and revenge within the Danish court.
As Good as it Gets (Romance, 1997)
Stars: Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt. Brief Summary: Obsessive-compulsive man who insults everyone around him begins to help those in need.
The Fifth Element (Sci-Fi, 1997)
Stars: Bruce Willis, Mila Jovovich. Brief Summary: Four elements, plus a fifth (representing life force), are needed to stop an approaching evil planet.
Selena (Musical, 1997)
Stars: Jennifer Lopez, Edward James Olmos. Brief Summary: Biography of Mexican-American singer murdered by her fan club president, just as she was emerging from obscurity.
Titanic (Romance, 1997)
Stars: Kate Winslet, Leonardo Di Caprio. Brief Summary: A poor boy wins the heart of a girl doomed to marry a tyrannical rich man on the ill-fated Titanic.
The Insider (Drama, 1999)
Stars: Al Pacino, Russell Crowe. Brief Summary: True story of a cover-up by a major tobacco company.
Mickey Blue Eyes (Comedy, 1999)
Stars: Hugh Grant, Jeanne Tripplehorn. Brief Summary: An English auctioneer proposes to the daughter of a mafia kingpin.
The Road Home (Romance, 1999)
Stars: Zhang, Ziyi; Sun, Honglei. Brief Summary: Prompted by the death of his father and the grief of his mother, a man recalls the story of how they met in flashback.
The top ten significant, feature-length* movies of the late 1990s (1995-1999) as rated by the general public:
1. The Usual Suspects (1995)
2. Fight Club (1999)
3. Se7en (1995)
4. The Matrix (1999)
5. American Beauty (1999)
6. American History X (1998)
7. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
8. L.A. Confidential (1997)
9. Life Is Beautiful (Italy) (1997)
10. Fargo (1996)
Source: Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com), power search, settings: minimum votes: 10,000. Search conducted 19 October 2008.
* Movies with a run time of at least 60 minutes. November 10 Dealing With ShadowsToday, I began reflecting on the concept of light, shadow, and ego. Self-love is a peculiar attribute and has served as the destruction of many people. It is the root cause of spiritual diseases that deprive the darkest tyrants of heartfelt conscience. True life is a battle between the insistent self which harbours our animal instincts—lusts, passions, ravenousness, and appetites—and the human spirit which strives to uplift the heart to the lofty plane of humility, selflessness, kindness, purity, and radiance.
Notice that when a person's ego craves to be in the spotlight, he casts a shadow. We often cry out, "Shine your light on me" out of a desire for others to shower us with kindness. When we face those human beings whose animal instincts dominate over their human side, and, like ravenous dogs, treat us badly, we react by complaining about them to others. We expect other people to shine their light of kindness and humility on us. But, note that, when they do, when we are the recipient, we cast a shadow. How, then, can we live shadow-free?
There are two ways to live shadow-free. And in a world that has steadily declined in ethics, morals, and virtue in the past century and a half, most of us opt for the first way. The first way to live shadow-free is to live one's life in darkness. Shutting oneself out from the light entirely is completely effective in removing one's shadow. Now everything is dark. Withdraw from the world, indulge yourself in playthings and intoxicants, and your shadow will vanish.
But there is a better way. Ponder a minute. How can we be surrounded by light but not cast a shadow? The key lies in the location of the source of light. What if we concentrate all our energy on becoming the source of light, ourselves? What if the source of the light comes from within? We will have no shadow. When we concentrate on overcoming our dark, impulsive, selfish nature, and turning up the light of humility, kindness, purity, selflessness, and love, we will eradicate the shadow that follows and haunts us wherever we go.
Do not allow the darkness of modern society eclipse your radiance. When you see your fellow people struggling in fear and aggression, act in the opposite way. Do the following:
"Be generous in prosperity, and thankful in adversity. Be worthy of the trust of thy neighbour, and look upon him with a bright and friendly face. Be a treasure to the poor, an admonisher to the rich, an answerer of the cry of the needy, a preserver of the sanctity of thy pledge. Be fair in thy judgment, and guarded in thy speech. Be unjust to no man, and show all meekness to all men. Be as a lamp unto them that walk in darkness, a joy to the sorrowful, a sea for the thirsty, a haven for the distressed, an upholder and defender of the victim of oppression. Let integrity and uprightness distinguish all thine acts. Be a home for the stranger, a balm to the suffering, a tower of strength for the fugitive. Be eyes to the blind, and a guiding light unto the feet of the erring. Be an ornament to the countenance of truth, a crown to the brow of fidelity, a pillar of the temple of righteousness, a breath of life to the body of mankind, an ensign of the hosts of justice, a luminary above the horizon of virtue, a dew to the soil of the human heart, an ark on the ocean of knowledge, a sun in the heaven of bounty, a gem on the diadem of wisdom, a shining light in the firmament of thy generation, a fruit upon the tree of humility." —Bahá'u'lláh (1817-1892)
There can be tremendous opposition when one begins to act in this way. Some, out of jealousy, misunderstanding, or ignorance, will ridicule this kind of behaviour. One of the things I often encounter in China is, after being kind to someone, being accused of "pai ma pi". This means literally, "pat horse fart" and means figuratively to ingratiate oneself to someone, or, as we say in English slang, "suck up to". When this happens, call the words of Mother Teresa to mind in her tract, ANYWAY. My WorkA few entries ago I wrote about the troubles at Carolyn's company. Now its time to write about my work. The end of the month will mark the one-year anniversary of my leaving the Jazz English school (yeah!). Not a pleasant experience to say the least. I then joined The French School (École Française de Shanghai or EFS). While it was a bit better than Jazz, I quickly found that it wasn't for everyone. I left them at the end of the term (last August). I am with a new school now. The pay is about the same as EFS as is the schedule (only need to work four days a week). The holidays are much less but, unlike EFS, they have a curriculum which makes things much easier. While at EFS I spent most of my holiday time preparing lessons. The biggest downside with my new school is that I must travel very far to work everyday, so, physically, it's tiring. I am discovering why so many foreign English teachers don't remain in China and why those who stay change their jobs frequently. It's hard to find a decent school with a good curriculum, class structure, administration, salary, and holidays. Every place has its pro and cons. The trick is to find a place with more pros than cons.
For my evaluation of The Shanghai French School (École Française de Shanghai) as a place to work, click the link below:
For my personal experience working for the Shanghai French School (École Française de Shanghai), click the link below:
Movies of the Early 1990sMany classic and modern novels were turned into films in the early 1990s. Given the success of Kenneth Branagh's Henry V, the gifted actor-director began bringing other Shakespeare plays to the big screen: Much Ado About Nothing in 1993, Othello in 1995, and Hamlet in 1996. Director James Ivory converted two novels into great films: Howard's End (E. M. Forster) and The Remains of the Day (Kazuo Ishiguro). Modern novels / stories made into films included Thomas Harris' Silence of the Lambs, Amy Tan's Joy Luck Club, Winston Groom's Forrest Gump, Dominique LaPierre's City of Joy, and Stephen King's "Shawshank Redemption". Exploration of history was a key theme in director Steven Spielberg's Schindler's List, Kevin Reynolds' Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, and Oliver Stone's JFK.
My favourites from the early Nineties (1990-1994) are the following:
Die Hard II: Die Harder (Action, 1990)
Stars: Bruce Willis. Brief Summary: Terrorists set up a mock air-traffic control tower keeping planes flying overhead running out of fuel.
Ghost (Romance, 1990)
Stars: Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore. Brief Summary: A murdered boyfriend, as a ghost, uncovers a conspiracy, and must protect his girlfriend from danger.
JFK (Drama, 1991)
Stars: Kevin Costner, Sissy Spacek. Brief Summary: Story of the assassination of U.S. President Kennedy and the one man who brought it to trial.
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (Adventure, 1991)
Stars: Kevin Costner, Alan Rickman. Brief Summary: The story of Robin Hood who trained the poor to rebel against the oppressive Sheriff of Nottingham.
City of Joy (Drama, 1992)
Stars: Om Puri, Patrick Swayze. Brief Summary: A dejected American doctor travels to Calcutta slums helping the downtrodden stand up for justice.
The Hand that Rocks the Cradle (Thriller, 1992)
Stars: Anabella Sciorra, Rebecca De Mornay. Brief Summary: The wife of a doctor who was exposed for molesting patients and commits suicide takes revenge.
Howard's End (Drama, 1992)
Stars: Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson. Brief Summary: Two sisters become entangled in a stuffy upper-class family.
Lorenzo's Oil (Drama, 1992)
Stars: Susan Sarandon, Nick Nolte. Brief Summary: True story of a father who finds a cure to a rare disease that his son contracts.
The Joy Luck Club (Drama, 1993)
Stars: Kieu Chinh, Ming-Na Wen. Brief Summary: Vignettes of the lives of a couple of generations of Chinese-American women.
Mrs. Doubtfire (Comedy, 1993)
Stars: Robin Williams, Sally Field. Brief Summary: After divorce, a man disguises himself as a female nanny to spend secret time with his children, in custody by his ex.
Much Ado About Nothing (Comedy, 1993)
Stars: Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson. Brief Summary: Adaptation of the Shakespearian play about caustic love games on the path to marriage.
Red Rock West (Thriller, 1993)
Stars: Nicholas Cage, J.T. Walsh. Brief Summary: A man enters a small town and becomes entangled with a corrupt sheriff, his indulgent wife, and a hit man.
The Remains of the Day (Drama, 1993)
Stars: Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson. Brief Summary: An investigation of the value of principles versus loyalty to an employer.
Schindler's List (Drama, 1993)
Stars: Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley. Brief Summary: True story of a factory owner in Nazi Germany saving Jews from the concentration camps.
Star Trek: Generations (Sci-Fi, 1994)
Stars: Patrick Stewart, William Shatner. Brief Summary: Captains of old and new Star Trek series battle a man with a weapon that can destroy a star.
The top ten significant, feature-length* movies of the early 90s (1990-1994) as rated by the general public:
1. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
2. Schindler's List (1993)
3. Pulp Fiction (1994)
4. Goodfellas (1990)
5. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
6. Léon (1994)
7. Forrest Gump (1994)
8. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
9. Reservoir Dogs (1992)
10. Unforgiven (1992)
Source: Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com), power search, settings: minimum votes: 5,000. Search conducted 19 October 2008.
* Movies with a run time of at least 60 minutes. November 06 Wai Di RenMany people ask about the population of Shanghai. Below are stats from a recent edition of the Shanghai Daily English-language newspaper.
Shanghai is the most populated city in China and the most densely populated on the Chinese mainland.
Last year, Shanghai had 18.58 million permanent residents, giving it a population density of 2,931 people per square kilometre. Shanghai had 6.6 million migrants, 5 million of whom stayed more than 6 months. In terms of the migrants, the largest group is from Anhui Province, 2nd from Jiangsu Province, 3rd from Sichuan Province, 4th from Zhejiang Province, and 5th from Jiangxi Province. From 1990 to 2007, the number of migrants in Shanghai grew from 1.06 million to 6.6 million.
I don't have current stats on the number of foreigners in the city. The last time I heard (a couple of years ago), the number was in excess of 200,000.
Shanghainese refer to foreigners as "wai guo ren" (literally outside country people) and Chinese from outside Shanghai as "wai di ren". Evaluations of Universities and an Airline CompanyA week after I blogged about evaluating things on the net, two articles appeared in the news. The first was about students evaluating universities. The second was about current employers of Virgin Atlantic airlines writing negative things about their company and flight passengers on Facebook and getting fired for it.
Regarding the first, students of Western University (London, ON) were the happiest with their institution, giving it the highest marks among the large universities (enrolment over 22,000). This was followed by McGill, McMaster, and the University of Waterloo. Among medium-sized universities (enrolment of 12,000-22,000), the University of Guelph in Ontario scored the highest. Among small universities, King's University College (Edmonton) received the highest rating. More detailed results can be found at: www.globecampus.ca.
Regarding the second "evaluation", first of all, I never got caught up in the Facebook frenzy because, in order to join, you not only have to give them your email address, but your password to that email address. Small wonder that identity theft is becoming commonplace and people are finding money missing from their online bank accounts. Why on earth would anyone fall for giving out the password to their email account?
Next, evaluating a company non-anonymously while still employed by it, is never wise, and, as many comments pointed out, complaining about the people you are serving defeats the purpose of choosing a profession in which you are serving them in the first place. Firing the cabin crew for their on-line rants was, perhaps, a bit rash though. Mixed-Blood BeautiesCanada and the U.S. have finished off their federal elections. I wasn't going to comment on them, as I don't care for politics, but errors in the media have prompted me to. Canada has re-elected its Prime Minister, Stephen Harper. The media is saying that the United States has elected its first black President. But Obama is not black. His mother was white and his father was black, making him as much white as black. This racist ignorance reminded me of something U.S. comedian Bill Cosby once talked about.
Apparently, in United States law, if a person is 1/16th black, he is considered black, not white. The Cos' drew an analogy. He said, suppose I go to a bakery and ask for a blueberry pie. I take it home and it's an apple pie. I take it back to the bakery and remind them that I'd asked for a blueberry pie and this is an apple pie. The baker then tells me, "You're wrong, this pie is 1/16th blueberry, so it's a blueberry pie." There are some ridiculous law of this kind in Canada too, but concerning British, French, and First Nations people.
In China, they refer to people who are racial hybrids as "mixed-blood beauties". It has been scientifically proven that the more diverse the racial bond, the healthier and smarter the children. I lived for a time in the Caribbean and saw multi-hybrid people: Chinese, African, European, and Indian all mixed together, and these were the most beautiful people I've ever set eyes on. Carolyn's WorkCarolyn has been working for a company in Shanghai. It has been difficult as there is a lot of office politics going on. Many people have quit because of the ill-treatment. The company did really good business in the summer, raking in RMB 40 million. Carolyn worked really hard for them doing a lot of things above and beyond the call of duty, like training new receptionists. She is the assistant to the human resources manager. Having worked there for a year, this manager recommended she receive a pay raise of RMB 500 per month, which is reasonable. But the head of the Shanghai branch, who has the final say on salaries, decided on a pathetic RMB 200 raise. Carolyn was really cheesed. She said that the janitors received RMB 200 raises. After all the extra work she did to ensure the smooth operation of the company despite the high turnover rate, this was the thanks she got. Interestingly, when she talked to the HR manager about it, the HR manager said that she was quitting! November 02 Halloween and Birthday PartiesFor Halloween, I attended a costume party held by a workmate at her home. Carolyn is spooked by Halloween culture, so she decided to stay home. The Halloween party was quite diverse: there were Chinese, Japanese, a Brazilian, a couple of Africans, Canadians, a Taiwanese-American, Americans, and others.
I've been to several parties in Shanghai in the past several years. (Parties are not really my bag.) All parties I've been to here are quite tame and what some people may see as lame. I think the reason is mostly cultural. Chinese usually party in restaurants and karaoke venues, not in one another's homes.
Last night, as I mentioned previously, Carolyn celebrated her 30th (29th by non-Chinese reckoning) birthday party with two of her friends also turning "30". We three couples went out for a hotpot dinner. The restaurant's name was—get this!—"The Dollar Store". Riiiiiight. There are two types of hotpot in China. The first is a big pot that everyone shares. The second—the style of last night's dinner—involves individual mini-pots, one per person. After dinner, we shared a birthday cake.
After eating, we went out for karaoke. I sang songs in Chinese and English. I've written out lyrics in pinyin for several Chinese songs enabling me to sing them. I'm a lousy singer but it's the fun of karaoke that counts.
All six of us forgot to bring a camera along, so the only existing photos are low-res ones taken with Carolyn's cell phone. |
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