I was going to write about my search for a new phone but seemed to have had a lot to say about the subject so I’ve moved it to a new post, which you can see here. The information is current as of August 2018 and is by no means a professional break down, just one man’s search for a new phone. Talk about a time piece!
Surprisingly, the Chinese kids are back to school already, or at least starting to wear their uniforms around town and assemble at the schools. I’m not sure if they have actually started classes or if they’re back doing their military training. Part of the school curriculum is to march around the school field and sing the national anthem all day for at least two weeks before school properly starts.
I wrote last month that it was the Fu Days of Summer and it has finally started cooling off here. Temperatures are a more reasonable 31C and the humidity has dropped substantially. The good weather will last for about a month or two and then it’ll get windy and cold… and polluted.
Looks like I’ll have some time off in September. I’m debating what to do. I do have a ticket booked back to Winnipeg already but I’m not sure I want to spend my entire time off back in the Peg. After reading the biography of Elon Musk, I started thinking I’d like to go to Los Angeles and its surroundings just to see what it’s like. People have suggested travelling around Asia but I’ve been to a lot of the countries around here and wouldn’t mind seeing something different, such as the developed world that is the US of A. So, Los Angeles, Silicon Valley, anything else? Maybe Vegas?
Also looks like I’ll be back for another year in Beijing. The strange thing about being an expat, especially in the ESL industry, is that you live your life year to year and contract by contract. Although you can reasonably assume there is work to be found, you can never really assume it’ll be with the same employer and which may also mean going through the process of getting a new visa. Overall, however, there is work to be done and it’s well-paid for the moment, so there’s no time to rest.
My younger brother and his wife are expecting their first child. Although they know the gender (a boy) our family has been surprised before. Yes, the early conclusion was that it was a boy and then when the baby arrived, it was a girl. Haha!
I continue to chug along with my Chinese learning, about ten characters every work day. I’m able to study these during the work day because I have a few breaks throughout the day in which I can just focus on the characters and nothing else. My summer reading list has also changed to include at least one “simple” Chinese book (with pinyin). I guess there’s only one more week in August and then summer is kinda over, which means I’ll have read about six books total (all but one in English).
Also looking to upload a few more time lapses from my travels. I’m trying to use my GoPro a little bit more (in order to justify its purchase) and it’s a great camera for wide shots and small enough to easily take along on my travels. I seemed to have lost the little side door though so I’ll need to get that replaced quickly.
I’ve also been looking to get a Karma drone so I could attach my GoPro to it. I know the drone it no longer supported by the company but it still seems like the best option for “aerial” photography. The other drones are either crappy or really big and require their own carrying cases. With the Karma I was hoping to toss it into my backpack or rolly-luggage so as to minimize the number of things I have to carry. Another drone I’ve heard about is the Ku Drone for about 1000RMB, or $200CAD. Decent specs, maybe not as good as the DJI Mavic but very portable and cheap, so if it goes breaky-breaky, then I won’t cry as much.
Hope your summer has been great. Many of you are probably gearing up for the school year and “back to work” and here I am planning my vacation! 😀