I figured out why I’m having a tough time writing in this blog. I’m trying to over-think it all. That, and November was a horrible month.

I’ve been trying to figure out if there’s a narrative that I need to be able to name, something of a theme that I can offer, something like Keeping Goats. Honestly, while I love the idea of being able to tell you about what I’m going to be writing about, I don’t know. Life offers itself to me on a daily basis, and I really don’t know what’s coming. The best I can do is life in China from the perspective of a Jim.

Two really lousy things happened in the last half of November that really struck me as impactful and slowed me down. The first and more powerful is that some friends of mine who were expecting their first baby, lost it. She was in labor and the heartbeat just stopped. Absolutely horrible. There’s nothing more to it than that. Simply awful.

At the same time, later that week, I was on my way to work and almost driven off the road by a coworker who amounts to a classic jock. He’s a 25 year old gym teacher with a Mercedes and had no problem driving into oncoming traffic in order to come from my side to push at me while I was on my bike. I got out of his way, stopped and yelled at him and he took issue with the fact that I used words like Fuck. Well fuck that. I’m a registered expert in the language of English by his government, and if there’s something I know, it’s the appropriate place to use adult-themed words. Being pushed off the road by an out of control driver is one of those times. He can bite me. Then, he came after me in the hall, I walked away, had a screaming match with him (no use of the word then, shoot, I was in the school. I know better.) and the management came to his defense saying that I never should have used such language, that it isn’t appropriate in the city of Wenzhou. Fuck that. Someone tries to kill me on the road, I’m going to make some noise. Fairly traumatic month. So that sucks.

Welcome December! Today is a Saturday. I had a good short chat with my brother and a nice long chat with a lady who was representing a school that very well may be the next place I work. Yup, a job interview with a charter school out of Arizona that after about a dozen schools around Arizona decided to come to China. They’ve been at it now for about six years and just opened up a new one that is in the Guangzhou area. I’ll be heading back there one way or another. Might take a year off to study (Have you seen the description?). Might keep working. Either way, I’ll be back in the warmer area where my lover awaits and I can enjoy duck more often.

I’ll be honest, sometimes, I have no idea how I found myself here and sometimes I’m really glad I am. Today is ok. For the most part, I’m having a fine time. This month, I’m producing a rendition of Charles Dickens’ Christmas Carol with my 9th grade students. I taught 4th graders what a riddle is. “You tricked me!” she screamed when I reported the answer of “a newspaper”… Yup. Well, that’s just the way it goes kid. “A fish,” I reported, another student’s eyes squint as if in threat. Still I continued. “Waves,” I reported, mercilessly. Heh. And I gave them homework on top of it all. Draw two pictures and find three riddles. I’m relentless. I’m gangsta like that, it’s just how I roll.

I’ve finished wrangling about it. I’ll finish the year out. Gotta keep the game on. I hope you’re well.

Maybe see you at dinner. Rock out~