I need a smart phone

With a commute of about an hour to and from work 5 days a week, I'm starting to wish I had an iPhone or an Android. I defintiely want to start getting flashcards in and messing around with a dictionary while I'm spending all that time on the road. I am, however, a bit too broke at the moment and that'll have to wait. The nice thing about waiting for smart phones is that the hardware, and just as importantly the apps, get better and better as time goes on. 

I'm actually not all that familiar with smart phone apps and what's out there right now, but I'll just go ahead and describe my dream situation:

An ebook application with dictionary and flashcard functionality built-in (or synced from other services.) Looking up words simply by touching them and then importing them into a flashcard program like Anki would be incredible. 

I'll settle for less, but something along those lines can't be too far away.

Brothers / 兄弟

The following is a quick translation I did of the first 3 paragraphs of 'Brothers'. The book is bit above my level, but I've enjoyed reading it and as a part of my study/reading/enjoyment I like to translate little pieces. Have a look.

Liu Zheng's super rich, bald Mr. Lee had his head in the clouds thinking about spending his 20 million U.S. Dollars on a trip. He would board the Russian Alliance space shuttle and see outer space. Sitting on his world-renowned gold-plated toilet, bald Mr. Lee closed his eyes and imagined he was already through the atmosphere. Alone in the unfathomable emptiness, he was truly a floater. Bald Mr. Lee looked down at the world slowly spreading out before him and couldn't help shed a few tears as he realized that on earth, he was already a stranger in a strange land.

One upon a time, Mr. Lee had a friend he could depend on for his life. His name was Song Gang. He was one year older and a head taller than Mr. Lee. The loyal and sincere Song Gang had died three years before, turned into a pile of ashes and placed inside a small wooden box. Bald Mr. Lee thought about Song Gang's little box of ashes and sighed to himself. The ashes of only one small tree would amount to more than the ashes in Song Gang's little wooden box.

When bald Mr. Lee's mother was alive, she liked to say: “Like father, like son”, referring to Song Gang. She said Song Gang was honest and good. He was just like his father in that way and the two of them were like melons grown on the same vine. When she talked about bald Mr. Lee she wouldn't talk like that. She would just shake her head and say that Lee and his father were completely unalike. Two different people on two different paths. That was until he was fourteen, however, when one day he was caught in the act of sneaking looks of 5 girl's asses in a public bathroom. It was then that his mother's opinion was totally changed. She finally understood that, actually, bald Mr. Lee was just like his father; two melons grown on the same vine. He could clearly remember his mother, terrified, holding back her tears, sadly saying to him: 

“Like father, like son.”

random notes on the way out the door

-many 6:30 am mornings these days. don't mind it much at all. (not yet...)

-picked up 'Brothers/兄弟' 上部 and enjoying it. There are paragraphs here and there that put me in front of the dictionary/cpu every 5 words, but so far so good. I like the direct, blunt style. Now lets see if I can actually finish it. 慢慢来

-Korean kids aren't that bad. At least not any worse than most HS kids would be in their situation. In fact, some are a joy.

-still looking for a good Hunan joint near the house. Been to a pretty good one on 金沙江路, but the closer the better.

-用上海话说玩是'bih xiang'? Where the hell does that come from?

-still loving the apt

-time for some home cooked food and beers at a friend's. (now if only he was from 湖南)

back at the coffee shops

Been busy with the new job and getting adjusted to the new place. 

Very much enjoying Shanghai.

Looking forward to starting with a new tutor. I think I may simply choose an interesting novel (Brothers, maybe?) and push through it with the help of a teacher. This of course can be done alone, but with a tutor it's almost like doing a book club. I think it'd be a good way to understand the literature and learn a bunch as I go along.

Still no internet and I'll probably wait on that actually. Haven't really missed it all that much.

The sun is out today and considering everyday the last two weeks has been grey and rainy, this is huge. Time to go enjoy it.

apt hunting (cont)

Well, I'm moved in and very happy with how things turned out. I'm living in a location I absolutely love and an apt that I'm also quite fond of. I'm quite sure that I'm paying a few hundred more than I have to be, but I don't think it's such a bad thing. I got the initial price down quite far, but even tho it could have gone farther, I think the little extra actually contributes to the landlord's sense of responsibility to the place. Almost every demand/request I've made has been met and  exceeded. So far the relationship w/ the landlords (a couple) couldn't be better and that's important. (horror stories...horror stories)

The whole experience has gotten me thinking about how I go about doing things in China. Most people will swear that bringing a Chinese friend is absolutely necessary, but it occurred to me that even from the beginning (when my Chinese sucked) I've mostly done these kinds of things alone. Also, it's not that my gf doesn't want to help me out, but our relationship just hasn't developed that way. I do think that a friend (esp a local) can make a difference and certainly clear/speed things up, but I really don't mind going it alone. You can have more control that way and you also learn a lot more about the processes. Most importantly, I think it's more personal and the police, landlord, agent, etc don't feel like they're dealing with someone they may have problems communicating with in the future.

Anyway, I'm tired as crap from all of the running around these last few days, but now it's on to the unpacking.

apt hunting

I'm currently in the process of running around Shanghai apartment hunting. In 3 days I've been to about 6中介s and I've seen almost 20 apts. The first day was easily the most hectic as I was pretty clueless about prices and I wasn't familiar with any apt complexes near the subway stops I want live by. I've pretty much narrowed it down to wanting one on the east side of Zhongshan park, near the actual park and the new Best Buy, etc. I've found a couple good buildings over there and I like the location. I have a preposterous commute (esp by Nanjing standards) so I want to live within at most 10-15 minutes from the west side of line 2.

Anyway, the fight goes on. Getting a place involves a lot of savy and if you don't know what you're doing, you could get a bad deal. Here's my advice:

Bring a Shanghainese friend if you can. The older and more aggressive the better.

If you can't, have good enough Chinese and also be good at bargaining. No Chinese friend with you almost always means a higher price. By good bargaining I mean tell them how crappy the apt is and say you've seen the same for less. (even if it isn't and you haven't.)

Get a good landlord. Even if you like the place, a bad landlord=no fun. Those 'promised' fixes and additions to the apt before you move in may never happen...

Don't let the agent and landlord speak Shanghainese. (Unless you speak it I suppose...) I think some people might be uncomfortable asking them not to, but it's youre gonna be living there. They will talk about money and things they don't want you understand. Tell em to quit it.

Remember you can leave. Just like any old 老街, saying you're not happy with the price and walking out is a good way to see if they truly won't go any lower, or are pushing your bargaining abilities.

Finally...bring up the almighty 'economic crisis'. This has worked at almost every place I've been to. (and likely for good reason, I suppose.)

 

Anyway, although I'd love to get into a place immediately, it may take a few more days. I do have a few lined up for this afternoon so lets hope one of them is the one.

Clever Philips Ad

Via hecaitou @ 槽边往事.

I actually didn't get this until I looked up the word 'depilation'. My Argentinian friend got it right away, but that's because the Spanish word, depilacion, is still used on shop signs and in conversation. Unlike in America where we've taken to simply saying: 'hair removal'.