Jimspeak

Baijiu Baijiu I'm in love with you
Baijiu Baijiu my mouth tastes like a zoo

No, Baijiu is not a form of poetry or kung fu. Don't ask.

Speaking of my loves, I have decided to give my heart to fried rice
and to fried noodles. I can't get enough! Irregardless of how often we
eat them (often), I find myself drawn to them like a water buffalo to
mud. Mmm! Don't worry, Rachelle knows about this (as well as my flock
of hens and traffic). She knows that these are loves that will never
be requited so it's not an issue. Again, don't ask about the Baijiu.
Rachelle loves it too so now a love triangle has formed.

We are leaving Chengdu tomorrow (I swear we won't back out and stay
longer like we did in Yangshuo). We are heading up thru a couple of
national parks so hopefully we will get some fresh air and hiking time
in the mountains (and hopefully it won't be too cold). That's the next
week or so.

Assuming we survive that, our next destination is a 3 day trip along
the Yangtze River thru the 3 Gorges area. I'm told the view you get of
the damn from the boat is lacking, so we'll see if any deals can be
worked out to allow me to rappel down it or something.

Then to Xi'an to see the Terracotta warriors and whatever else is there.

And finally Beijing.

That will end OUR time in China (MY time will come later after
Rachelle deserts me and heads to warm Australia while I head into
wintry western China to see my sis (who is continually chastizing me
for being so close right now [half of China away] and not coming to
visit her now).

For the record, there are water droplets on my screen. I think it's
safe to assume that they are spittle from the former occupant of this
chair. Spitting spitting everywhere spitting. But I guess when you've
been inhaling shit all your life, you will have some phlegm in your
lungs.

We saw people playing badminton the other day. Shuttlecock....

Not much has happened since our bike ride. I can't remember if I
mentioned seeing the...no I didn't!

The Chinese opera, Sichuan style. Very interesting. Not one continuous
story (like western operas), many short ones. There were guys wearing
masks and changing them as they pranced while another dude spat fire
(I love that!). A cool sequence with large 'puppets' held aloft arms
moved with one hand head and body on other hand functioning the major
body movements. Other strange musical interludes, singing, large grops
of colorfully dressde chaps and ladies running about while one central
lady waved her hands and sang. The music and singing was very piercing
and horny (non-sexual H, the brass kind) and different to our ear. We
were given tea and peanuts, the tea continually refilled with a 3 foot
brass nozzled tea kettle hard to manage and impressively shot. Outdoor
theater.

People here, another observation, are always in a hurry to
get...somewhere. The odd thing, once in a rushing mass of people,
there is no hurry. For example, the opera. Everyone was up and rushing
the doors before it finalized (rude to us as was the constant chatter
and murmer and running around and loud talking and flash photos), yet
once they were in that mass, they chatted and barely moved along and
seemed perfectly content to be smashed together and stuck. We waited
until they shoved off, then joined the rear guard and moved thru them
still (I did feel tall then as I could see over them all). Quite the
phenomenon. I need pics of it.

Yesterday was a bust. Everything we did. Internet worked (was that
yesterday? the days run together). Our lunch was not very good (WAY
too many pepper balls hidden in the food made our faces numb and our
lips tingly and strange) so we didn't finish. We tried the Art Museum
but were too late. Dinner was good though. Finally got some noodles
with the meat/green peppers/onion/ginger/pepper/potato/ hot pepper
mix. Good stuff. BTW, any meat meal comes with bones, most every bite
is a mix of meat bone fat any one of which may be missing (rarely the
bone). Got to the bar in time to see some wanker dancing and prancing
with the chinese ladies to some boy band crap. The rest of the night
was dedicated to re-running celine crappin' dion over and over and
over. My ears have finally stopped bleeding.

Rubble rubble everywhere here. Buildings are torn/knocked down and
another is erected behind it without removing the rubble of the old.
All over this is the case. Almost every major city we've been in has
been experiencing major construction (force the poor further into the
shadows and attempt to increase the thickness and effectiveness of the
facade) and they leave the rubble! It's similar to the movements in
Chicago and Denver to renovate old areas and improve them. Only here I
don't think there is any effort to relocate the displaced poor or
provide them with anything. And they are poor. We walk the back
streets and alleys, eating at restaurants with no english menus or
speaking (point and serve), seeing the poor and wondering at the
numbers of places the countless same stores over and over wondering at
the misery that would be exacerbated were they to learn how we live in
ease and opulence and safety and security.

Of course they laugh and stare. No way to leave this place and see any
other way of life or people just the strange folks with money walking
thru who they're told and beneath even them and are animalistic
heathens. only concerned with self-preservation (yes of course they
try to screw you don't fault them for that they have nothing and
survival of the fittest is the only law here and to not work at
screwing over means surety of death and hunger and a hastened
progression to increased misery.). The constant presence of laundry
hung everywhere from any conceivable place is of course the norm. I do
my laundry 2 days or so due to the lack of more clean ones so they
have the same issues no clothes must be constantly cleaned.

We can leave and return to clean(er) air, safe warm sound homes, jobs
(I am told unemployment is 45% here. Does farming count as working?
What age is this measured from? I don't know. Many many people here
sitting around doing nothing, playing cards looking hungry trying
cainly to peddle wares. Nothing else to do. No jobs to be had), no
glimmer of the desperation seen all over here.

They can't leave.

Continue on, Taker people. Continue this onslaught against us all
making us dependant on a lifestyle unworking for centuries but
continued blackmail brainwash Mother Culture lead us on.

Thank you whomever for my plight at birth.