Don't you hate it when that happens?

So THIS one they translate into English. I think I could have figured it out using the picture. (Oh, and nice picture by the way!) And since they did bother to translate it, don't you think a proofreader would be in order? I mean, before you have a bunch of them made up into metal signs and hung up in higher class department stores, couldn't you have someone just have a once over?

My Reluctant Model
I am so excited that Rob's $91 tux is done! (In fact I think I am more excited than he is.) I can get him some cufflinks and he will be ready to go. He has a black tie and cumberbund and also red. I love the deep red and want to find a dress style that I like and get it made in that same color. Mrs. Wong is the best! I hope to find things that she can make for us while we are here. And, if we should lose or gain weight, she can alter them too. I just had to throw in the gain/lose weight thing because our eating habits might cause that to happen. Love ya Mer. Had to get a mention of food in there somewhere.

Random Thoughts on a Holiday

Rob got Veteran's Day off from work so we took the opportunity to go see Wu Ai Market. It can be a crowded, busy place and I figured better to take him there on an American holiday than on a Chinese holiday or a weekend. The market used to have tons of outdoor vendors, but they are doing some sort of construction or something right now and that is gone. The market currently seems to consist of two large five story buildings linked together by sky bridges. Escalators lead up, but you have to use stairs (or one of the few crowded elevators) to get back down. This seems to be common here. The vendors in the market place generally have little tiny booths about the size of a closet. There are aisles and aisles and I can't imagine ever seeing it all. Some vendors have bigger spaces, more store like, but those are less interesting in general. Once we had wandered around for awhile, we decided to go eat. (I know, Meredith, I am mentioning food again. I won't say where we ate, but there was a Ronald McDonald outside of it.) I didn't really think that we would find much at the market, but wanted to make sure that Rob got there at least once while we live here.

Afterwards we went for a walk towards the Imperial Palace. I took these two shots in that area. The first is some guy standing in the back area behind some buildings. The gates are actually open so you can see in. There are so many little nooks and crannies behind and between buildings here and I find them fascinating. The outside can look fine (or sometimes even beautiful) and behind the appearance is quite different. I am hoping to get shots down some of these alleys, but I worry that someone will be around and not appreciate me taking a picture of what they seem to want to keep hidden away. I guess I wouldn't like it if people came to my house and took a picture of the kitchen before I did the dishes. Shenyang seems to be building up so quickly and I find it interesting to see the older, less modern things and places. The second picture is of some guy who was sitting by a gate eating nuts or something. I just liked the way he was sitting there. I guess I lied when I said two shots because I am going to put in a color picture of him too so you can see the colors. Oh, and a PS for Mom or anyone else who is interested. You can click on the pictures if you want to see them bigger. :)

Not About Food

My sister has informed me that my blog is mostly about food. I tried to tell her that my last entry was about my bags, but she said it was really about how much food my bags held. I hadn't intended on writing primarily about food, but some of us aren't as gifted as my sister and don't really know what to write. (Check her out at www.thedailycollision.blogspot.com and you won't be disappointed!) So, I decided to write about traffic today and I took some pictures on my way back from the Fu-Mart. I won't tell you what I bought there, but it was primarily edible items. I happened to have my camera handy and was able to take this picture of Mr. Lettuce Man deciding to cross
through an intersection against the light. I mean, why not? Traffic was not heavy at that particular time and place so it wasn't that big of a deal. I am going to have to keep my camera handy so I can perhaps catch some other interesting shots. It takes time to get it out of my purse, turn it on, line up the shot, and that often ends up being too much time. I need to come to terms with the fact that people are going to stare at me a lot even if I am not taking pictures of seemingly random things, so I might as well take the pictures if I want them. I am still a bit self-conscious.
Now Mr. Lettuce Man is not an exception to the rule. People really don't seem to like to wait more than 5 seconds and would rather cross the street against the light in a Frogger like method than wait their turn. To try to remedy this situation, there are actually people at the intersection who hold red flags and megaphones and direct pedestrians and cyclists. Now there are the little lights at
crossings with the red standing (don't walk) figure and the green walking (walk) figure. Seems self explanatory to me. Surely not all of the Chinese are color blind with poor vision. They should be able to figure it out. Sometimes the people (usually women) will actually wave the flag is someone's face and yell with the megaphone. They have to go to such extremes if they want to be acknowledged any more than the walk/don't walk signals. The sad thing is I used to think that the traffic and the people and the bicycles were horrible. Now I am rather used to them. Sometimes I even play a little Frogger rather than waiting for the light to change...