random thoughts from gay shanghai

Move to London

2009-11-02T23:27:26+01:00

Moving to London and to a new blog!

Meet me at http://randomthoughtsfromgaylondon.blogspot.com/

Is it true?

2009-10-17T18:11:16+02:00

Hanging here in limbo, just awaiting the decision about Sean's entry permit for UK, it's really quite frustrating. Nothing you can do really, we gave them all the documents we could and now just have to wait and see what happens. In my view, everything should work out fine, they don't have a reason to refuse him entry, but you never know. They kept his passport after he'd handed in all the documents, I guess that must mean he'll get the permit - though I'm assuming that they make the decision on the spot when you apply, as they do when you apply for Chinese visa. The only weird thing is that they said they'd call him in 5 days, where as you'd expect they'd say come and pick up your permit at certain date. Well, who knows. I'm just going to believe everything will be fine, like it always is and then we move to London!!!

Today's pavlova wasn't a big success, it was a lot of work and now I have a killer headache - actually I've had one since this morning - but a beer should solve that, no?

Supposed to

2009-08-28T17:50:53+02:00

So often we tell ourselves what we have to do during the day, the week, the month. Of course, it has its uses

London, london, london

2009-08-13T22:23:33+02:00

Yes! I'm going to London next Monday, the long-awaited first step towards getting out of this little town (These little town blues...)

After only sending out 5 job applications, I already got an invitation for a job interview and i'm taking the chance to combine it with visiting London, registering with job recruitment agencies, seeing my friend and immersing myself in a big city. God knows I need some excitement.

For lunch I made this great vegetable stew with aubergine, courgette, bell pepper and tomato. Mmm and a pesto I'd made myself.

I love you and I'm proud of you!

Houses vs Apartments

2009-08-08T23:55:54+02:00

Hadn't lived in a house for a long time, just the two-week holiday a year at my parents' which doesn't really count as living, more as staying. But now i'm back for longer term, it'll be half a year i've lived here by the time we leave. After 4 months and a half, I really haven't discovered the joys of living in a house yet, except for the garden of course. What a joy, being able to just sit outside like that and not have to go anywhere, like a crowded park or a cafe with outdoor seating where you have to spend money and endure the waiter's looks while you try to let that one cup of coffee last all afternoon - and there's always the going to the bathroom problem when you're alone somewhere.

No, the whole space thing just has so many disadvantages. When we lived in the apartment in Shanghai, for example, and I was lying in bed reading and felt like a glass of milk, that was just a matter of seconds. Now I have to get up, turn on the light, go downstairs making sure I don't fall, go into the kitchen, get the milk, think about if I want to just have it downstairs or take the glass up with me and then still have to come back upstairs.

But really, the only thing that space is used for is storage (at least in my home). It lets you keep all the stuff you don't want and all the stuff you buy now and will need later (who needs 10 toothbrushes or i heaven's name 48 rolls of toilet paper?). Not only can you store a lot of things, you can also have separate stashes. My mom keeps her household rolls in 5 different locations around the house! Lemonade in 3... We bought a new supply of toilet paper when we had run out, if you have the space, you apparently buy 30 rolls at once...

Ugh

2009-08-04T22:52:55+02:00

My allergy flaired up again last night. I don't know what brought it on, probably the swimming triggered it - I always get very runny nose after swimming - but then something else must have completed the circle. By midnight last night I was completely blocked and it was hard to breathe. So I took an allergy pill and fell asleep. This morning I got off to a very late start - slept until 9!! Hadn't done that in ages. This morning was OK, but by lunchtime I was so exhausted again, I just had my lunch (very nice fish in the oven which I'd made) and then went straight to bed after another allergy pill. After a one-hour nap I, the afternoon was fabulous - really enjoyed some outdoors time, the weather was amazing again today. Then I made my favourite aubergine soup for dinner and this time added a cucumber.

I can feel the allergy coming back already, hope I can fall asleep soon, so i'm going to log off now. Goodnight!

The Case of the Letter in the Radio Box

2009-08-03T22:12:34+02:00

I had just arrived home from swimming, when my neighbour (the dodgy one who sells electrical appliances out of his home), called me and said, with a mischievous look in his eye, he had something to show me. They'd found a piece of paper with some scribblings on it. The radio was made in China and they thought it might be in Chinese. Perhaps it was even a love letter!

After reading the first few lines, it was obviously indeed a love letter.

What I imagine happened is this: the guy who wrote this letter slaved awya at the radio factory and he fell in love with a co-worker (haven't we all once...) so noticing his supervisor wasn't around, he decided that instead of putting radios in boxes, he'd write a quick love note to the girl (her name is Chunhua), full of I really like you and I care about you and don't hurt me by not loving me back, I can't stop thinking about your smile. But after having finished his cigarette, the boy's supervisor returned and the boy quickly stashed the letter in the box so his boss wouldn't notice. Right at that time his shift was over and his colleague come to continue where he left off. Seeing no opportunity to retrieve the love letter, it ended up being shipped to Belgium with the radios.

So, no, Carry, romance isn't dead. It's alive and well... even on Chinese factory floors!

Freedom

2009-08-02T22:33:39+02:00

Trying
Attempting

To be free
To get control
And
Let it be

Mellow Sundays (a post about alcohol mainly)

2009-08-02T10:55:09+02:00

Glanced at my ceiling
Full of mosquito bodies

I can really enjoy a rainy cool day once in a while. Nothing beats the feeling of getting up in the morning and putting your warm socks on!

A South-African Pinotage is waiting for me for lunch, it's a magnificent wine made from a not so well-known grape, but one I discovered in Shanghai at Enoteca. Bought one here in Belgium for under 5 Euro! It's a Stonecross Pinotage 2007.

Yesterday we went to the supermarket, thought about buying a bottle of gin. To our astonishment alcohol is more expensive in Europe than in China: Gordon's Gin, Wyborowa Vodka, you name it. In heaven's name why? Fortunately wine is cheaper though...

Cloud's disappearing. Guess we'll see the sun coming through soon!

Labels

2009-08-01T17:58:52+02:00

Labels

Pick your team
Pick your theme

Just pick one

Identity

Lowering Taxes II

2009-07-30T20:55:03+02:00

Remember this post?

Well, i've been trying to come for reasons why it didn't work out as planned.

The first thing that comes to mind is that even if you give the money to the govt in taxes, it'll still spend it on stuff, and sending it back into the economy. So it has the same effect.

But there must be more. As a progressive, I believe in the redistributional effect of taxes, it's a means of taking money from the affluent to less wealthy. Take away taxes and what happens? The rich make more and more while the poor have less and less money and government help at their service. The problem is, those rich people aren't just going to poor all that more money into the economy, they'd ship it overseas or invest it in the housing market which then busts at some time because there's too much capital in there and prices go through the roof. Whereas poorer and lower middle class incomes would still spend that money on stuff like food, holidays, clothes etc, all those commodities with "real" prices which keep the economy healthy for a great part.

Now one question has been nagging at me for a while. We all would like the perfect society, where we pay just enough taxes to ensure the government can take care of us all and keeps the economy healthy. Can't we just compare all those countries with different systems and just see which one has the best? Of course, not all are the same, for example Norway is a great country I guess, but it does get a lot of income from natural gas. Still, can it really be that hard?

Swimming

2009-07-29T16:36:27+02:00

One thing i'm very happy about this week is I started swimming again. For one it's a really good exercise: you have to use your muscles and your stamina, so it's loosing weight and growing muscle at the same time. The other thing being it's a fine place to see fine men. I actually miss going to the gym, looking around in the locker room, aha aha....

I'm going to try and put up this video of the song i've fallen in love with. Don't know if it'll work:

A filled day, but still many things left undone

2009-07-27T23:44:37+02:00

I've had such a full day, and still I feel there's so much stuff I haven't done. Some emails I didn't write really. But I did make up a huge bill, started to learn how to park, made lunch, gave Sean a long English lesson, still had some time to send out some CVs, had an incredible workout that involved running, swimming and powerwalking, made dinner and then did some more work between 8 and 9. So yes, i'm quite exhausted. I'm going to bed now.

Reading my blog posts from 2007 yesterday, my god I had fun in my life, going to the gym and mostly meeting people and visiting exciting places. I know that's all coming back, but I miss having a life. At least last week we went to Gentse Feesten, a huge party in Ghent, and to the Witch Parade. This week, who knows?

So lately my life is all about work, teaching Sean English, exercise, helping my parents out and food. So not much time for fun stuff for myself, I even don't have the energy to read in the evening. It'll change!!

One last thing, I've made an Excel file of my blog stats and till yesterday I've had 37,503 visits since I started writing in 2004. Can you believe that it's been 5 years?! Fuck!!

At least being thirty is fabulous...

Sleep, slept, slept
Keep, kept, kept
Dream, dreamt, dreamt
Hold, held, held

Once

2009-07-26T23:18:55+02:00

Once

A Cigarette
A Light
A Cheesy Pickup Line

A Day
A Night
A Lifetime

Once

Battle

2009-07-25T23:19:01+02:00

Where every step is a battle
The war does commence

Went swimming this afernoon to a so-called swimming pool. Only problem was nobody was swimming, just having fun in the water. All for that, but at least in China they have separate lanes for people who want to exercise, not play.

Something weird happened to me again today. My parents went to our neighbours' home for drinks, Sean was upstairs watching something online, which meant i felt quite by myself. What did I do? Cleaning! And it felt so good; cleaning can be very cleansing... Made me miss having my own place again, and being at home alone, doing whatever I want. Including cleaning.

Today, I've done some work, gone for a car drive to practice my skills, made a very nice lunch, went swimming, had sex, made dinner and still I feel like I haven't done a thing, like i've wasted a day of my life...

When battles are fought
The war comes to an end
In the eye of minds
Pleasant rain abounds

Lowering taxes

2009-07-24T15:32:50+02:00

At first glance the lowering taxes mantra makes sense. I think the hoped-for effect went something like this:

So they were hoping for a self-sustaining effect of ever higher spending and an ever growing money supply to fuel the economy. The place where they tried it, the U.S., was almost brought to the brink because of this ideology. So where did it go wrong?

The dark night

2009-07-22T22:27:46+02:00

I'm lying in my bed

Listening to the rain

Knowing

I'll sleep well

Books, books, books

2008-12-08T10:04:18+01:00

The New York Times Ten best books of 2008 I haven't read any, but i'd like to read Netherland and 2666. On top of the recommendations we got at book club yesterday (we all presented our favourite books), 2009 will be a year with lots of reading. And Change!

Next month's book club book, for the book club in January is "Mr. Pip." I've just started reading it last night.

All my life (well, leisure life) seems to be about books these days... and watching stuff on youku. (watch BenX)

Ooh, and tomorrow I'm being interviewed by 周末画报！Talking about Christmas.. And i'll have my picture taken

I haven an exciting life...