kjp

don't post here after 11pm. Goto bed.

My (repeated) complete inability to be anything other than casual acquaintances with the opposite of sex is so ridiculously frustrating it's not funny.

I'm such a silly sod about it. Just stupid irrational counterproductive thoughts stuff me every time.

It's annoying because I'm built to be with people. Just too have a few really good relationships.

Sigh.

ps:
I was considering other titles for this post that included the stronger words fuck or shithead. But I didn't want you out there in realworld land to get the wrong impression of my current mood. I'm fine - really. And no, that's no sarcasm or irony or whatever fancy schmancy words literary people like to use.

Anyhow. bed now. RDO tomorrow. woo hoo!...

Got back from the zoo, with 2 x jazz piano trios. Was some good music.

Good to get some good live music into me - haven't had any in a while.

Next week aof at the rev.

So last night I trimmed the beard down to a 1 (3 mm). Hmmm. Just a little too short. Maybe? Not sure. The hot brigade indicated that it would be fine in a day or to. So that's telling (something?) I suppose...

Anyhow.

It seems that the coast is pretty flat today. So I called off this morning's trip of mine there. Maybe tomorrow (unlikely, forecast is not good) or next weekend (fingers crossed). Boo. Or rather as they say "Booss".

Anyhow, alliteration anyone? ...

As requested, I'm thinking of stuff that I'd like.

The Whitlams - Eternal Nightcap (their 1997 album) would be good -- not part of my collection.

... and there's something else that I've recently thought of. But forgotten. Boo. Will comment this when I think of something more.

Just spent part of this morning reading over this. There's a few interesting bits.

If you want a good but simple freeware (for personal use) Sukoku program, then try Simple Sudoku. It's kind of addictive - too good. So I've banished it from my computer.... :(

In the vacant space this evening caused by yet another canned choir rehersal - grumble grumble - I cruised around my long jogging route. In a PB of 36 mins. So I'm pretty happy. Just felt good - despite a couple of stitches.

Nice.

Ohh, Canberra was good, as predicted. Cutie.

Useless trivia: someone who has me in their address book has the Sober.F virus on their computer...

Am currently in Canberra.

Got the 6.30 pm flight - that got in 9.10 pm or so. They have daylight saving down here, hence the extra hours difference.

The trip is to catch up with the fam; including the cutest girl in the world. Yay yay yay!!!

Anyhow.

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyy!!!

OK, serious now. But she is ***exceedingly*** cute.

With just a shirt on, it's a bit cool for me. Even though we're in the middle of November. But this is good weather. Not too hot, not too cold, but not the sameness of Brisbane.

hmmmm...

'Home is where the heart is' or something like that. Hmmm... It's kind of true really. It explains why I don't like Brisbane. Well, I like Brisbane, but I just don't like the absence of a few really good relationships (family).

Yay, had choir for the first time since getting back.

Was just as I remembered it; but a bit of extra sillyness tonight.

The funny ones are still as hilarious as ever.

Funny funny stuff. Decent music. Although I need to practice - was missing the odd notes.

Really enjoy choir, it will be a shame after the final gig.

Before my jaunt in the land of China, I had a cunning plan. Get private health insurance before I left. Then all the waiting periods for stuff would be over when I got back.

Nice idea, I thought.

Except that Medibank's computer system apparently can take all of your information - address, all your personal details, what plan you want, your credit card number, etc, etc, and not sign you up.

Top Job.

Should I get health insurance with a company with a bodge computer system (and hope that this time it actually works), or another company just to spite them.

I'll put in on my jobs list....

This is the kind of thing that you really should do something about...

If you're in my contacts list, you'd already have received this. If not, read on for a summary of my China trip.

I flew into big Beijing - oversized buildings, roads; checking out Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden city, a day trip to a part of the Great Wall, and a few of the temples and parks around the city. Next was Xian the main attraction of which was the nearby buried Terracotta Warriors that were outside of the city. Thousands of life sized terracotta warriors were buried in 210 BC - impressive due to their number, intricacy and age.

After the first two cities, we passed through the Hexi corridor (a strategic passage when the silk road was used as a trade route between East and West) and headed for the Taklamakan Desert (the second largest desert in the world). The fort at the western end of the Great Wall near Jiayuguan (which was the last outpost of several Chinese dynasties) was very impressive - having the mountains of the Tibetan plateau on one side and the desert on the other. While further north west near Dunhuang, the Mogao caves had some impressive Buddist art created over 1000 years between the 4th and 14th centuries. Also at Dunhuang, a pre-dawn camel ride to see the sun rise over the sand dunes was pretty cool.

Moving into Xinjiang province to Turfan, exploring a quiet village near the Flaming Mountains was interesting; as was looking at their irrigation system (ancient over & underground runoff from nearby mountains). The first major mosque of the trip was the Emin Mosque and Minaret (relatively modern constructed in 1778); we also visited Jiaohe a ruined ancient city built on an island between two rivers. Camping in a yurt for 2 nights in the Heavenly Mountains was a good break (albeit very cold during the evenings). A horse ride from the camp up 1000 metres to the top of one of the mountains resulted in some great views of the nearby lake. We then took several days to cross the Taklamakan desert (Taklamakan means if you go in, you won't come out) - the worlds second largest desert. On the other side was Hotan, with its jade, silk and carpets. The final stop of the tour was the far North Western city of Kashgar the Sunday market (livestock) was interesting.

After Kashgar, I was on my own for three weeks in the South Western provinces of Sichuan and Yunnan...

Chengdu was the first city I stayed at after leaving the tour group. I enjoyed - it's got a relaxed feeling to it. Went and saw some Pandas nearby, a temple and the Sichuan University Museum had some very ornate clothing and paintings. Litang was the next major town: it is a high up (4400m above sea level) in western Sichuan. It was interesting watching the lamas and Tibetans go about their lives. I got altitude sickness here - headache; nausea; no energy; breathlessness, so I took it easy. Got similar symptoms when I was on a couple of bus rides in the region that had passes at 5000 m above sea level...

Crossing over from Chengdu to Yunnan, I stayed at Zhongdian for two nights. The old town was rather new (some building were being built done up for tourists), but behind the new old town was the real old town and was interesting to wander around. Walking along Tiger Leaping Gorge for 3 days / 2 nights was spectacular: 'Jade Dragon Snow Mountain' was high above me on the other side of the Yangtzee river that was far below. It's one of the deepest gorges in the world - 3900 m between the mountain top and the river.

My time in Lijiang was effected by bad weather, and meant that I didn't see several of the more scenic things around town. However, at this stage in the holiday (after being on the go for a while), I enjoyed taking it easy in the old town. Dali (old city) was also enjoyable to relax in - near Erhai Lake. The nearby 3 Pagodas were impressive. The final stop was Kunming which was interesting - the "Bird and Flower" market didn't have many birds or flowers - but did have things that would be hard to get past customs / quarantine / RSPCA... Walking along the cliff of XiShan amongst old grottos / caves / pagodas was interesting (but disconcerting when you're right on the edge of a cliff face and you hear blasting for a new road below you); as was visiting the 'Bamboo Temple' with it's many life-like figures.

After an overnight stopover in Kuala Lumpar; my journey ended when I got back to Brisbane last Sunday.

And lastly, a few impressions of China / other bits and pieces I haven't mentioned of the trip:

* The highlights would be Tiger Leaping Gorge, the fort at Jiayuguan, Heavenly Mountains, and the scenery of western Sichuan
* The lowlights would be the pollution in some of the cities (Xi'an in particular), getting altitude sickness in Litang, being sick on the tour (just a cold, but annoying), the bus on the ride from Kangding to Litang...
* If you weren't told what sort of system of government was in place, you'd swear it was a capitalistic society - everyone trying to make money, and fairly individualistic too... Communism in name only.
* There's a great disparity in the wealth of the people - some very rich in the big cities; but many very poor people in the rural areas.
* There was *heaps* of media hype about Shenzhou 6.
* The people are friendly, but you just have to start talking to them first - they initially appear a bit on the cold / arrogant side.
* Overall, the roads are ok. Some are pretty good (between major cities); some of them in 'the sticks' are shocking; some in western Sichuan are scary... having a steep cliff down to the Yangztee a few hundred metres below you, on an unsealed dirt road that, when the bus stalled, sunk by a fair bit is nerve racking...
* The 'sleeper' (overnight) trains are pretty good, provided you're in a hard or soft sleeper.
* The scenery is impressive, but several people who live in Europe weren't as impressed.
* Chinese food is yummy but oily, and nothing like Chinese food restaurants in Australia. Uighur food (in Xinjiang) has lots of lamb and skewers and pilaf in their night markets. Lots of food in the South West is spicy... burnt my mouth several times.
* I didn't (that I know of...) had dog meat. I did have donkey in Xinjiang and yak in west Sichuan.
* The standard beer in China is 500 mL. We were in Xinjiang (very Muslim) during Ramadan... no alcohol at some restaurants... oh dear...
* Xinjiang is vastly different to eastern China - you could be forgiven for thinking you were in a Middle Eastern country - the people are different (different ethnicity), different language, food, religion (Muslim).
* Buddist / Tibetan culture is apparent in western Sichuan; while parts of Yunnan have a reasonably strong Naxi (a local tribe) culture apparent.
* It's both a dirty and clean society - people litter, spit, etc; but there are many more (than Australia) people cleaning the streets.
* It's weird seeing a really old guy on a donkey/cart talking on a mobile phone.
* I still haven't figured out why Litang (high up in western Sichuan) has plastic palm trees down the main street...