Canton Fair

If I were to start a religion, one based on fear, I would tell my
congregation that Hell is a very real place, where you are forced to
eat at the Canton Fair McDonalds every day. This should be enough to
terrify even the most stout atheist, but for those few still
unconvinced I would explain the noise, the immense size filled with
people and the menu. The menu where you have 5 options, two of which
include a coconut flavor apple pie.

Honestly speaking, the fair has improved from last year. It's now in
three sessions instead of two which means less suppliers per session.
And even with the huge exhibition area, less traffic and chaos is a
definite improvement. But McHell is still there, loathsome and vile,
waiting for you to get desperate with hunger. It knows you cab only
walk so much further before you realize it's the only source of food
you can find. After, you feel violated and bloated.

Perhaps next year I'll try going hungry instead.

OP out.

Hey

This post will have even less things to read than the last one. The reason for this is simply that nothing is happening. I cry about the same thing again, you might have noticed, but honestly, as Pekka once stated; routines are pretty much the same everywhere in the world..

1) Wake up
2) Go to work
3) Come home
4) Do hobbies/watch telly/eat/have sex etc.
5) Go to sleep

And the same stuff again on the next day. Boy life is interesting. Seriously though, I'm 100% sure that no-one besides my mum or my girlfriend, gives a rat's ass what I had for dinner yesterday, what hobbies I did, what tv-program I watched etc. Don't get me wrong though, I'm quite happy right now with the situation as the power of Babylon has gotten its stranglehold of me, and I don't know about better anymore. I bet that people living under extreme conditions have much more interesting lives actually, yet they're probably less happy since their lives are unstable and unpredictable.

But before this post goes too deep into analysis about the meaning of life, and how should I repent about my wellbeing and not whine about it, I tell you that I moved into a new nice home which I like very much. 650+ sq. feet just for my skinny ass. Yesterday I bought new stereos as well. They're Sony. They sound very good. I picked the more expensive model 'cause I wanted to have a good sound. Then I also bought a new miniature for tabletop wargaming, but that one's going to be painted as a showcase for a Finnish miniature painting competition. Now I'm drinking McDonalds' coffee to wash down the apple pie and a Sausage McMuffin I just had.

Bob is now 100% sure that Markus is a prisoner of Babylon, and the worst kind actually, because Markus recognizes the "problem" yet does nothing about it. But unlike Bob, Markus doesn't believe in Babylon nor salvation. Markus believes in incurable loneliness of human mind and the joys of the flesh.

Tales from the Traffic Front

So every one has been with a bad driver. Sure, you can talk of your experiences here.

But please do not say you met the worst driver in China or Asia. Don't go on lenghts about how horrible the ride was. The China "vets" have been there and done that. Coming from anywhere except perhaps Italy, we all find the traffic much worse here. We all pay attention to it and at some point we all feel dread, be it doing 120km/h in a bus during a monsoon rain, or with a company driver who nods off on the highway - or just your common "Crazy Chinese Taxi Driver."

I won't be impressed by tales of how bad the traffic is in your home state. I have my tales of awful traffic, and no, you can't top them. Still, every so often a visitor here will want to talk about traffic. On and on. It's such a popular topic, but really, it's been done. My boss and a coworker of mine spring to mind immediately.

I'm not going to share any close calls I've had with my scooter, nor am I going to recount how many similar scooters I have seen stuck under trucks, smashed to bits. If you've been to China, you've seen the like and know what I'm talking of. And if you haven't, you don't need the mental image of a guy laying on the asphalt squirming in pain as onlookers wait for an ambulance. I've avoided any major bumps but I've seen my share.

Traffic. The one topic of which everyone has a top story.

OP out.

The Flow of Information

Did you know in China you are not always required to pass down information?

The example I will recount today regards factory holidays. I asked our contact at our regular supplier to tell me the dates they were going to get off for the National Day, about a week before the day. She told me the holidays were'nt set yet, but would be for one or two days starting on 2nd.

She was sure there wouldn't be a longer holiday though. So, unimpressed with the answer I press on, to ask the production manager a day later. He's higher in the food chain, so I assumed he would know. Same answer, not a long holiday.

So I call on the first to get one last paper done before they go on the holiday. The answer? "Sorry, we're on the National Day holiday and it'll be for three more days. Nobody's at the factory." So here I am, sitting here after the holiday and the subsequent weekend still waiting.

The factory boss was traveling in Japan, and didn't deem it necessary to let anyone else know how long or starting when would they have holidays. He then comes back from his trip a day before the holiday starts and declares it three days. Hardly a coincidence.

I won't even bother to ask when the next holiday is.

OP out.

Saving Face

The Olympics gave a great amount of face to the Chinese, too bad the Chinese children had to suffer for it. I don't mean the children working for Nike or Adidas (and they do use child labor) but the fact that China knew about the Melamine tainted milk powder but hushed the media.

Sanlu (the biggest baby formula manufacturer in China, also blamed) recieved the first complaints of sick babies last December and the first death occurred 1st of May. Newsreporters were prevented from investigating and reporting the incidents, in order not to tarnish the olympics.

Here's the newspost, from AFP, through Yahoo!:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081001/wl_afp/chinafoodsafetychildmedia

It was an intentional act to add Melamine to the milk powder. Then it was deliberately covered up. 50.000+ babies got sick and four died.

OP out.