It’s a hot and miserable day in Suzhou. There was a huge storm last night and today the humidity must be round 100%. The cleaner was washing the stairs when I left the house this morning and yet when I returned a few hours later the stairs were still wet, the bathroom still looked as if it had condensation on the mirror. In fact this morning you could not see the tops of the buildings in Suzhou due to the low cloud.

Slowly the low cloud burnt away and with that the sun was able to crank the temperature up and do it’s thing. I went in search of my trendy sun umbrella, my parasol and I don’t really care if I get funny looks. The sun had a bite in it today and I was not wanting to get bitten. It’s actually better than wearing a hat and covering up too much because you can get the airflow around the heed and the body and you end up feeling cooler.

I ventured out only for lunch and then I came home and put the feet up because I really didn’t feel like doing anything else. I got a phone call to see if I wanted to teach tonight and I toyed with the idea for about 2 mins and then decided .No.

Tomorrow I have a class and today is a day for preparation and relaxation and so that is what I have done. I think I will go for a walk once the sun goes down and head to the park.

Over the last few weeks I have had a few technical issues with the old PC. First it was the screen that went on me and I got so angry with it that I gave it a good thump and then it came back to life. This fix lasted me for at least 3 weeks until I could not take it anymore. Sissi took me to a computer market where we searched for a guy that replaced the screen for $90 and low and behold I have a brand new computer. Now that I could see the screen once more and everything was ok I decided to reinstall windows and so I started the process of backing everything up and then I reinstalled Win 10. I formatted the second partition and then completed that install too.

Two days later I was downloading some updates and so I went to the park while it was going through the motions. When I returned I got the shock of my life to see that the BIOS screen was staring me in the face. I spent the best part of the day trying to fix the problem before I was severely tempted to launch it from the balcony. I resisted this temptation and went for a walk and bought chocolate and just generally felt sorry for myself, plus the fact that I was so fucking pissed off that my computer had once more decided to toy with me.

The next day we got an IT guy to come to the apartment and he said that he could check out the problem and if need be replace the hard drive for about $70, which included the windows install. I went ahead with this and got a 500GB hard drive installed. I got the PC back the next morning and low and behold WIN 7 Ultimate was installed and it was great to be back to a cleaner looking and in my opinion a better operating system than 10. I mean 10 is OK but it’s designed with the tablet in mind and all this fancy apps store nonsense is just a drain on resources and so to get back to a much leaner system is great. Of course if you know WIN 7 then you will know that it does take quite a lot longer than WIN 10 to set up, this is where 10 has the advantage. But at least you can see the updates easier in WIN 7.

So a few days have passed and the PC is nearly ready, but then need to print a PDF which is a very simple process with WIN 10, however with WIN 7 you have to set up yourself but then that’s easy enough. This is where you can see some advantages of having 10 but you know going back to 7 is really great. The PC was designed to run 7 and so it does run faster, but I also like the look of 7 compared to 10 and so I am once again happy to use my PC and I am so glad that I did not launch it over the balcony last week

Looks like all my money troubles are over, I received this the other day but I missed it, I hope I can still get the money………………….

Subject: WE ARE STILL WAITING FOR YOUR EMAIL.

From: “Mr. Robert Steven Kaplan” <ceo@federalreserve.com>

To: Recipients <ceo@federalreserve.com>

Fri, 08 Jun 2018 05:37:05 -0700

Dear Beneficiary,

This notification message is from the Federal Reserve Dallas District,Your name is enlisted among the beneficiary whose fund is approved for payment, by the Board the Governors Federal Reserve Bank , and we have been waiting for you to contact us for you to claim your funds of $56 Million dollar, but to our surprise one Mrs. Brenda Miller came forward for the fund, that, you asked her to claim the fund on your behalf with documentary evidence which we are not sure of it source.This was why we decided to contact you to confirm to us if you really sent Mrs Brenda Miller.

She said, you instruct her that the fund should be transfer to the below account detail. I will advise that you change your email password,because your email is be use to write to us,but because of the name on the account, we have to confirm.

Bank name : Heritage Oaks
Bank Address : 545 Twelfth St, Paso Robles, California 93448
Phone Number: 1(805)239-5200
Account number: 001453521
Routing: 122239982
Swiftcode: HEOAUS61
Beneficiary name: Brenda Miller

Most importantly, confirm to us urgently if you gave permission to Mrs Brenda Miller to claim the fund on your behalf and if case you did not authorise anybody, then, You will have to stop communicating with the impersonators and the organisations, because they are trying to divert your fund to themselves. She tries, so hard to change the fund ownership to her name. We await your prompt response,

We will need to communicate on cell phone by sms or whatsapp.

Yours in Service

Robert Steven Kaplan

As you may know or not know, my current accommodation is also an Airbnb house. For the most of the last three months it has been great and I’ve met some interesting guests along the way, however some of them are just a fucking nuisance and death would be too good for them.

This weekend we had one guest that was a closet gay and he was just way too hyper active. Him and Sissi were carrying on like a couple of school girls, screaming and shouting and laughing and after a few hours of this I was tempted to throw him over the balcony. I can’t throw Sissi over because she is the landlord and chief translator.

The other guest that is here for a month or more is a school kid about 16 years old and although he is self sufficient he is also annoying when he appears from his room. He spends most of the time playing games and when he ventures out he is unable to open or close a door without nearly ripping it from the hinges. Doors are slammed and windows shake. He walks through the house like a fucking elephant and does not seem to be aware that other folk are present, but then this is common behaviour here. In the restaurants or on the bus or train they people will watch something on the phone without headphones so that everyone can share. It’s so fucking inconsiderate.

This young kid does not feel very comfortable around me and that is just fine, mind you I have had to give him some advice. For instance when he was washing his dishes after breakfast he will let the water run on full bore and spray it all over the place. So I have shown him how to wash the dishes using just a little water and not an Olympic size swimming pool. There is a dish rack to allow the dishes to dry but this simple piece of apparatus seems to confuse many Chinese and they choose to ignore it completely and instead put the freshly washed dishes on the bench, stacking them in a manner that allows the water to collect in the bottom dish. I have shown him the process but it doesn’t seem to make any sense to him and he continues to empty the swimming pool.

But let’s return to the noise levels…………………….Sissi too will play music loudly on the phone when the TV is on or even if you are sitting quietly reading a book. I honestly don’t know why they are not aware of their surroundings, I mean would you just crank up the music if someone in the house was reading or watching TV?, I don’t think so. This is not just grumpy old man syndrome, no this is someone trying to understand the human condition and trying to figure out the answer or the cure before I’m tempted to take some action myself.

Living in China for the most part is good and I enjoy my life here, but there are some things which I guess are cultural differences which I struggle with at times, maybe I can open up a “Finishing School” and become wealthy teaching not just English but etiquette.

Well I’m at the airport once more after finishing up my two night stay in Hong Kong. I caught up with Grace yesterday and we went to Stanley on a double decker bus. The rain was tipping it down but it was far from being cold. My shoes are waterproof and so all was well.

The accommodation was small but functional and you certainly could not swing a cat in the room because it said so. It was cheap and at the entrance there were quite a few Indian restaurants and so I had a big helping of Pakora.

I’d been to Stanley on my first visit to Hong Kong but we decided that due to the weather this was a better option than going for a walk.

I like Hong Kong for a few days but would not like to live here even although there are a few more civilised behaviours, such as staying in line in a queue. But Suzhou is relatively quiet in comparison and so I’m looking forward to going back.

Another three months from now and I’ll be off to somewhere else but just now I’ll leave that decision to a later date.

My first visa run is apon me and as usual I factor in a fuck up factor for time and luckily I did. I went to terminal 2 because I’m flying to an international destination, but guess what Hong Kong is domestic. Once more I have forgotten but I’m sure the last time I flew I didn’t come through here. Anyway a quick detour and I have arrived at my gate in plenty of time. Although for a minute when I was at passport control I thought I was going to have a problem because she took such a long time looking at my passport, but then I just realised that she’s checking out where I’ve been and maybe a little jealous.

I guess Taiwan,Macau and Hong Kong is a bit like European travel in the fact you still need all your bits of paper to get on the plane, but it’s not domestic of course.

I’m hoping to pick up a new phone in Hong Kong because if I buy one on mainland China it will come with all the free crap Chinese software that allows so much advertising to randomly appear and it will also come with firmware that does not allow you to get to Google Play and it also will not allow you to install a VPN for example and so I’m hoping I can find a new phone before my old one finally gives up the ghost.

I thought I’d be looking for a new computer too but thankfully I think I’ve solved that little problem.

And now I’m at my gate waiting to board and all is well. The weather in Hong Kong is hot and humid, but what’s new about that?

I’ll meet with Grace tomorrow and she’ll hopefully take me to another new place, maybe the beach not sure. Last time I saw her was in Edinburgh last February when it was a tad colder. I’m looking forward to catching up and she’ll hopefully get me a good price on that phone.

Each night across the country many middle aged women and a few men get out for a ho down on the park. One of the biggest I’ve seen is in the nearby Central Park next to our apartment.

There are also many many people out and about doing their own thing.

Now if you saw a group of folk brandishing swords you would be off in the opposite direction, but this is a common sight every day in the park.

Yesterday I went in search of a street tailor that could take up a new pair of jeans for me and so I headed to an old part of Suzhou where I often go for lunch and to buy from the local market. I asked one lady and she said that her machine was unable to sew that material but she told me of a place nearby.

The lane to the South Gate of Suzhou University is narrow and busy and this is where you will find small street stalls selling food and also my tailor. A middle aged woman sitting amongst piles of clothes and with an old sewing machine in front of her which wouldn’t have looked out of place in the 60’s.

There was a queue of students when I arrived. I asked her if she could take up my jeans and she said yes and quickly measured them and then told me to come back at 6pm and so off I went.

I returned at 5.30 and realised I hadn’t asked how much and so I was trying to come up with an amount. Maybe 20 rmb or 30rmb , I had no idea.

My jeans were lying in the chair ready for me. I asked for the bill and she said “6 rmb” I said “that’s too cheap I’m going to give you 10rmb” she said “no need” but I did anyway and she was very grateful. Behind me I could hear the other stall owners asking her what happened and they were laughing. 10 rmb is also very cheap but I often wonder how some people can survive when they charge so little.

Last weekend I went to Dongshan for the first time since I have returned to Suzhou. I have missed this place and this time I went with Sissi and her friends, they had a car and so it was way more convenient getting there. None of them had been there before and so it was the foreigner leading the locals which was rather amusing. On the way to the village we pass many Loquat fruit trees and some other berries which I’m not sure of the name. There are cameras here and there are also many people working tending the plants and trees, but this doesn’t stop the Chinese from trying to get free fruit. Maybe I’m too old these days but I tend to respect these areas. We are allowed to walk through these very productive orchards and it will only take a few people having this kind of behaviour to bring the whole thing to a halt. Don’t get me wrong I’m not holier than thou in my old age but I pick the time and place with a bit more thought.

The main 24 step climb was a breeze and so I guess the training every morning must be doing something.

I never get sick of this place, however being the weekend there are a lot more people around than I’m used too. It’s just not the same.

When we arrived at the village the first thing on the agenda was lunch but as usual I had brought a few big Baozhi (big dumplings) which I like as I’m not a fan of the lake food on offer. I find most of this food quite tasteless and I don’t understand why it’s so popular. It’s like oysters, if they are so good then why have Oysters Kirkpatrick. You don’t taste the oysters because the other flavours are too strong and yet a wee oyster has died for no reason as far as I can see.

I will go to Dongshan soon but I’ll go during the week. I want to get a good bike so that I can try cycling around this place because it looks like quite a challenge.

My young friend Kang Meng invited me to her university today to have a look at the art from the students graduation. There were many different styles and I must admit I really enjoyed it because it was refreshing and new.

This last picture was my favourite.