Ryu2.mind

A new place, a new year... two weeks after moving in, everything is unpacked (almost) and my DSL is finally up and running somewhat stable, so I don't have to do all my surfing from my office or (yikes!) my cell phone.

It's amazing how a year of hindsight and familiarity benefits the apartment search, particularly in a foreign country.  This time, I went through a local Chinese agent, rather than the "consulting firm" my company uses for the laowai wanting to be insulated from the hassle as much as possible (read: tacking on mega-commission).  Secondly, rather than smack dab in "expat central" I searched in the nearby vicinity -- maybe 10 minutes walk from there.

This translated to me getting -- for the same amount of rent -- a place that was nearly twice the size, much newer (actually built this millenium for a change...), with onsite gym, pool, and a convenient commute by bus or walking. 

My landlord (actually landlady) is also a vast improvement over the old one who wasn't even in Shanghai half the time.  She's also a rather interesting character -- chock full of interesting stories like how she spent several years in a labor camp in Heilongjiang province (the Siberia of China) during the Cultural Revolution -- indeed, a link to another China that still lies in the conciousness of many here.

All in all, I feel very blessed to be living here during my "sophomore" year...

For now, a few pics for folks wondering what typical middle-class living in Shanghai is like:

Welcome!

Totoro!

DDR anyone?

Where "business" gets done... ;)

Who wants to be my first guest?

Nice warm bed -- with electric heated blanket underneath! =)

A slipper from a hotel -- a rather unique hotel. ;)

For a better cook than I to take advantage of...

It'll definitely be a time of refreshing encouragement and koinonia...

...if I don't go crazy with all the planning and logistics first. =P

I've often joked about how the Chinese government should create games to promote their socialist ideas, and now it seems that they seem to have thought of the same idea.

Presenting the Lei Feng online game.

For those of you who don't know, Lei Feng was a soldier in the People's Liberation Army, regraded as leading the model life of a selfless patriotic revolutionary.  After his accidental death, Chairman Mao elevated him to legendary status, creating a national holiday, "Learn from Lei Feng Day"  to commemorate him and the ideals that he stood for.  My friend graceyc wrote a very good entry expounding on him, his values, and the day as well.

Comrade Lei is someone that truly has no equivalent in the cultural milieu of any non-Socialist country -- perhaps the closest thing in America would be someone like George Washington, and even so, I certainly was never extolled to "learn from" that guy.

What do I think about his leap into the virtual world?  To quote from the article about the game:

"For beginners, sewing and mending socks is the only way to increase experience and to upgrade," said Jiao Jian, a six-grade pupil in Yuexiu District, quoted by the newspaper.

"Every time you are promoted to a higher level, your clothes will become more average," he said. "You have to do good deeds in order to upgrade, such as contributing and volunteering on building sites. The more you do, the better and higher you get. Thus boosting your reputation."

"The game also sets up tasks like a treasure hunt, which can be found in many online games. But the treasure here is a copy of Chairman Mao's Collection, unlike the usual swords or jewels.

"It's a novel idea, very interesting." Jiao said.

He also said he likes to battle against the secret agents mainly. "Sometimes the enemy was very strong. The fight almost exhausted me, so I would go to talk with the Party secretary to replenish my vitality at once."

But -- the bottom line is that somehow I doubt many Chinese gamers today will be Lei Feng-in' when they could be PvPin' in WoW. =P

Finally... seamless and easy to useencryption for MSN Messenger (and AIM, and Yahoo... though I've onlytried it with MSN).  It uses the same underlying technology asonline banking, finance, etc... ie, effectively unbreakable.

Itried with some of my co-workers and it works like a charm.  Thebasic version is free for personal use, and unlike other encryptionsoftware out there, setting it up is almost effortless.

Ofcourse, it only works if both parties are using it, so... no matterwhich side of the Pacific you're on, if you want to give Big Brother abig "up yours", download and install it here:

http://www.secway.fr/us/products/simplite_msn/ (viva la France! =) )

then send me a test message... let me know how it works for you!

A bit of background for non China-residents: there's a underground industry here that deals in hacked satellite receivers and dishes to pick up satellite broadcasts from the Phillipines, Hong Kong, Taiwan, etc. catering mainly to the expat community.  For a one-time payment of several thousand RMB, you can supplement the usually bleak Chinese TV with all the foreign news and entertainment you want.

But there's a catch.  See, other than in a few "licensed" residences and hotels, satellite TV is "illegal" in China.   The quotes are for a reason: namely, it's "illegal" in the same sense that spitting, jaywalking, and pirated/bootleg stuff is "illegal" in China: as long as locals are making money from it, the authorities usually turn a blind eye.

The other thing is that your residence has to be facing south to be able to pick up the signal.  My last place did.  My new place isn't.  I consulted the satellite installer, who said that he could install it on the roof and run cable to my room, so that it wasn't a deal breaker.

So, I'm in satellite heaven for a couple of weeks until a few days ago, when I return to my place and turn on the TV.  Suddenly: CNN, the Beeb, Discovery Channel... nothing, 无, nichts, nada, zip.  I wait for a day or two because sometimes, the signal is suspectable to weather.  Still nothing, on a clear day.

I call the satellite guy.  He climbs up to the roof and finds that the dish is missing.  Stolen.  

He reports it to the security guard, but to no avail.  He also related to me that he saw other tenants' satellite dishes alsomissing, and the security guard also mentioned that they've triedlocking the roof access several times, but people always break thelocks.

To make a long story short, the premises won't cover the loss because satellite TV isn't "legal".  He says he could install a new dish for 800 RMB, but he told me that unless something was done about the security, it was basically throwing money away, since it'd likely get stolen again promptly.  That's 4800 RMB (about US $600) goodbye.  The whole setup was installed about two weeks ago.

It's not so much that I can't live without the TV -- I've still got the 'net and Bittorrent -- and it's not so much the loss of the money that really irks me (large as it is) -- it's a reminder of where our treasure should truly lie.

Rather, it's just the whole idea that.people are resigned to this, that people make off with hundreds or thousands worth of stuff, that the status quo is so common that people here -- the security guards (what good is security if they just stand there?) and the satellite guy -- just shrug and realize that they've given up and don't want to fight that battle any more.

The true pwnage is not my and the other residents' dishes -- rather, apathy and resignation have truly taken over folks here.  How do we change it?

Sigh.. and thus life goes on.

A shirt that they probably won't sell at Xiangyang Market.