Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Random Continued...







This guy was delivering a manequin on his motorcycle...






I can't figure out how to get photos into my text and away from the top...grrr...anyway:

We turned the corner where we found many fashion stores with some hilarious Chinglish…check ‘em out….


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On the way home, we usually go through a walking mall of golden, marbled cement. I figure it’s about 5 blocks/a good half mile long. The cement goes around everything between the buildings. Anne and I saw the workers that were sentenced to scrubbing all of the cement with one bucket of soapy water and 2 eighteen inch scrub brushes. One worker squirted extra detergent ahead of the other scrubber. It’s got to be like the Golden Gate Bridge, where they never stop painting all year long. That’s just how long it takes before it needs it again. Sometimes you just drop your jaw and stop, stare, and wonder…Notice they’re cleaning 4-5 sections at a time.

At the end of “Golden Street”, set up one day out of nowhere, is a British Mini car display, with a chassy bolted onto a wall. Ok, I’ve seen car “shows” on that street before, but this one has huge speakers blaring hard core rap about death. Sooooo Chinese; just random events pop up over night! Or, random decisions get made!


Joey went to the Pearl Tower in Pudong and walk around an 8-10 foot section of plexiglass that hangs out on the 78th story. The picture he took is looking straight down. You can walk around the entire floor like that apparently…Pretty wild…

In China, well, Shanghai anyway, lots of services want your continued service and will give you opportunity to purchase VIP cards for various amounts of $. We found a corner shoe shiner that is now shining our shoes for $.75 since we fronted $40. He gave us a card that works like a debit card with him. Also, after going to our local hair salon-which is right across the street from the shiner-for a couple of weeks, they tried to get us to be VIP’s for $500 down. We laughed, and got them down to $125, so now, we walk in, they seat you, squirt your hair with some water, lather you up and give you a shampoo/head massage for about 5-7 minutes. When that worker bee gets done, then they start a neck, shoulder, and upper back massage. I think I started nodding off after awhile! My last one-a few days ago was literally 10 minutes. You kind of forget why you’re there. I kept telling myself, “Well, no need to seek out a massage today; I’m good!” Then, since we of European decent don’t know much, you’re presented with the skills menu. Do you want the young funkadelic dude in black and white over in the corner with 7 of his buddies that are texting and surfing their buns off because the worker bees are busy, and that can’t understand a word you say for $5, or do you want the young funkadelic dude in the same get up etc. sitting there too that has 3 more months under his Polo patent leather belt (knock off presumably) for $8, ooooorrrrrrrr do you want the most revered young funkadelic, back room pot smoker-it can reek-that has the most experience in the “joint” for three times the usual price? I hadn’t yet had the pleasure of experiencing the $5 cut because Anne likes the #1 boy and has been lining us up for him and his #2 buddy, so I decided to see just how bad it could be. These are exciting times in the ol’ hood! When the nervous, new young buck came over, his apprentice and a couple of other peons of green watched with intent interest as he ventured into the gray straw of the American 6 footer. After all was said and done, it was no different than 90% of the other haircuts I’ve ever had, so I guess it sufficed. I went over to pay and remembered the VIP card! This ensures that we will forever get 50% off the regular price. Yes, I’m on the $2.50 track with Joey. I think we’re good for about a year, depending on how many highlights and colorings happen on the female side of the family. You ought to see the eyes light up when Annie and Hailey walk in! Cha Ching!!! Plus of course, by now, Anne has the whole store of young black hairs enamored and wanting to correct spelling and math tests with her while she waits for Mr. Big Guns.


'til next time, with stories from Bankok, Jakarta, and Bali

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