Really Pre Beijing
Well, Fuzhou Road was disappointing. The books weren’t as cheap as I’d hoped (inflation, I suppose), I didn’t have as much time as I’d wanted, and I couldn’t find Wolf’s wish list. But I did manage to read Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (3 hours), the Artemis Fowl Files (1 hour plus), and I did manage to buy 5 classics and a Christie mystery. Total spent, RMB 120. I had to pick something at random for Wolf, so I did; also, I noticed a book entitled ‘Homosexuality in Ancient Art’, with full-colour illustrations, but I doubted if the price were right or if Wolf would want it anyway since I don’t think he’s gay. Besides, it was a large book and heavy.
This morning, I had my shoes’ soles refastened. Now I have one pair of increasingly tattered shoes with wonderfully fixed soles. I and my siblings then proceeded to my father’s office to sing carols to his colleagues, none of whom we knew or had seen. They also had never before seen so many children on one family, as Chinese regulations forbid one family from having more than one child, with the result that most local children are pampered and spoilt beyond measure. The performance itself was woefully off-key, although my brother tried to keep it up with his guitar. It may have had something to do with our nervousness and our utter lack of practice.
I just got back from a long session of window-shopping for warm clothing. All we actually bought was two pairs of socks each and a dinner at Pizza Hut.
We go to Beijing tomorrow at 6:30 am, but we’ll stop overnight halfway to rest. Going the whole distance at one go would probably kill the driver from exhaustion as the whole trip takes something like 20+ hours in optimum conditions. At least I’ll see snow; and if lucky, I’ll visit a bookstore and maybe find a Lone Wolf book there cheap!
I shall, of course, require entertainment on the way there. That’s where the books I bought are expected to come in.
This morning, I had my shoes’ soles refastened. Now I have one pair of increasingly tattered shoes with wonderfully fixed soles. I and my siblings then proceeded to my father’s office to sing carols to his colleagues, none of whom we knew or had seen. They also had never before seen so many children on one family, as Chinese regulations forbid one family from having more than one child, with the result that most local children are pampered and spoilt beyond measure. The performance itself was woefully off-key, although my brother tried to keep it up with his guitar. It may have had something to do with our nervousness and our utter lack of practice.
I just got back from a long session of window-shopping for warm clothing. All we actually bought was two pairs of socks each and a dinner at Pizza Hut.
We go to Beijing tomorrow at 6:30 am, but we’ll stop overnight halfway to rest. Going the whole distance at one go would probably kill the driver from exhaustion as the whole trip takes something like 20+ hours in optimum conditions. At least I’ll see snow; and if lucky, I’ll visit a bookstore and maybe find a Lone Wolf book there cheap!
I shall, of course, require entertainment on the way there. That’s where the books I bought are expected to come in.
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