"Hey there Toby, how's the wife? Job going okay? Hey if you don't mind my asking how are the titatnium bolts in your jaw doing?"

I went in to the dental hospital for the 10th time yesterday to get my stitches out. It was the second time I've ever had stitches in my gums, the first time was when a dentist in the states drew these same three teeth about a week before my wedding.

I remember those extractions well for two reasons: one was the fact that, not having insurance, I had called the dentist beforehand to ask what three extractions would cost. After performing the extractions, however, I heard him mumble to his assistant "Mary this was a surgical," and a few minutes later his office explained that since I had needed two sutures this three-minute procedure was a 'surgical extraction' costing three times the stated price.

The second reason I recall the extractions well was because I got really upset at Sara for saying I had "bloody drool" in my beard. My position was, it's coming out of my mouth, of course it's got drool in it. we don't say "yeah he got really sick and now there's vomitty drool everywhere."

Not really sure where I was going with this...

Blogging!

First day of Chinese Class

Oh man you guys I just had my first 2 hour Chinese class and it was AWESOME. Pin Yin pronunciation, nervousness, trying to read really fast, and the quiet sense of accomplishment that I was the best student in remedial Chinese 1A.

Sara came too, and we ate the worst sushi of our lives.

But they did make a snickers bar roll that was delicious.

Of course once I realized that it was a snickers bar I had to stop with that piece because I can't eat nuts with the implants.



implants

Sea Turtles in the Shanghai Zoo

Here is the wisdom I promised you.

Cleaning the walls on Mt. Putou

Winter is the off season so people were doing things like this: taking down all the wall panels and scrubbing them. Some monasteries were totally surrounded by construction.

synchronicity

For the first time ever, I got to call up Tucker, wish him happy birthday, and have it be my birthday AT THE SAME TIME.

Thank you international date line! You've destroyed the weekend for for thousands of working Chinese business people, but at least I'm always ahead of the game, calling people on my christmas morning while they're still making conversation on Christmas eve. Also I get to sound all self important talking to my mom on her Sunday afternoon: "well this is great and all P.Z., but I've got to get to work today."

Devon, I was just going through a thing where I was feeling like I was letting all my friendships wither and die, thank you so much for getting in touch. We've got a guest bedroom here (a hotel is the only thing that costs anything in dollar terms) and we'd love to see you. Sara could show you the imperial museum, I could show you the craziest mall in the world, and we could all go see a panda, which let me tell is pretty neat.

They really do look lazy.

I don't do too much of this

But there are some images too good to pass up, a poster on the Beijing subway.

I am so great, I am so great, I am so great, I am so great

Birthdays with few friends about can be a sad, gimcrack affair. But this year I'm living and Beijing and our two social friends are out of town, so even the artifice of a party is denied me. I have the advantage, however, of having things to be quite pleased about today that have little connection to the calendar.

1) we just got back from an amazing trip to the Chinese holy site/Buddhist disneyland, Putoushan island.

2) on said trip, I saw five sea turtles at the shanghai zoo. Seeing a see turtle swimming six inches away on the other side of a pane of glass is one of those experiences that doesn't disappoint.

3) tomorrow I go to sign up for 2-4 hour Mandarin classes every day for the next four weeks. I realized on my trip that I had all the Chinese a rude foreigner needs, and if I was going to progress beyond "una cerveza mas, por favor," I needed to get me in some school.

4) this school costs 12 yuan (2 dollars) an hour to attend in a class of 10-20

5) I'm going to spend this afternoon going through a list of friends I have made no effort to contact since I got here. Sara actually talks to her friends on the phone while I've done nothing so extravagant in the last 5 months. So that's gotta change.

So look, don't worry if you didn't get me a present.