I shot an arrow into the air

Blog writing soundtrack: Tearliner – Polaroid Life

I’m not really feeling like writing a lot, but I’ve got some pictures I’d like to share.

I mentioned previously that there were performances going on in the Seasons Park Amphitheatre (I wonder if they need a ticketing agency…), and it turns out that it was a three night event. Friday night had the dancing, and Saturday and Sunday both featured live music from a young band.
I had been busy working at home all afternoon on Saturday, and at some point I realized that I was hearing more than just the music I had playing. I stopped my tunes and looked out the window, and there was a band on the stage. They were doing “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” and other tunes, some familiar, some not, many in Chinese. I grabbed the camera and went to watch for a while.
Please excuse the blurriness of this one. It was taken after dark without a flash, and this is the best I could manage. It’s just a hair salon like thousands of others in Beijing (well, a bit bigger and nicer than most), but the English version of its name is interesting. My hair needs some silky love, I think.
And while we’re on the subject of odd English, I present another in my ongoing series of pictures of bread bags. I get up at six most mornings, so I hope that’s early enough to keep the bread from spoiling.
And while we’re on the subject of bread products, I present another in my ongoing series of pictures of cake at the office. This was the July monthly birthday celebration, with four honorees.
Yes, we love our dangao.

I don’t have a clever segue for this next pair of pictures. You might remember how I got some plants for my apartment a few months ago. I am sad to report that most of them are not faring very well. The big one is destined for the compost bin shortly. I don’t know if it’s overwatered, underwatered, or missing some essential nutrient, but it’s on its last roots.
The other morning a spot of white caught my eye, and upon closer examination, I found this freeloader in the planter.
The next day it looked like this.
I’ve mentioned Beijing construction techniques before, and right out my window there has recently been a good example. In a little vacant triangle of grass, some workers started laying down rows of bricks while other built a fence.
Two days later, I see these buildings. They’re temporary housing for migrant construction workers. I don’t know what they’re working on – there’s no shortage of projects nearby.
It’s been a long time since I posted a picture of something I cooked. This is a very common noodle dish that a coworker taught me how to make. It’s dalumian, which is a generic name for certain kinds of noodle dishes. This one features tomato, leek and egg. After the noodles are done, you run cold water into the pan to cool them off, then you put some into your bowl and put the sauce on top. When you get it in a restaurant, they usually have a big bowl of plain noodles, and one or more smaller bowls with the topping. I’ve had another version with eggplant that’s really good, but looks like it might be more complicated to prepare.
And here’s a Beijing event that’s not musical. Four of us from the office got tickets to see a friendly match between European powerhouse team Barcelona and Beijing’s own professional team, Guo’an.
As a veteran of the ticket industry, I have to say this is kind of interesting. As a security measure, you have to present the ticket together with the envelope to get in. There’s apparently some kind of identifier on the envelope that keys to the ticket number in a way that would be hard to duplicate. If you can make out the rules printed on the inside of the envelope, I hope you’ll find them as amusing as I do. My favorites are “No any of inflammables or explosives danger” and “Please be calm when watch match, and leave stadium as soon as possible after match.”
And to finish off, yet another picture of my little neighborhood park. Some of the rules are easy to figure out, but I’m not sure what to make of the one at bottom center. Bugles are apparently against the rules, but accordions and harmonicas are not.

The weather has settled down a little from the high heat we were having in June and July, though it’s not any more comfortable. Lately it’s been in the 30s (85-95) with humidity from 50% on up to might as well be underwater. We’ve had electrical storms quite a few evenings, with pouring rain and almost constant lightning. Forecast looks good for tomorrow’s game.

Ending credits music: Flёur - Сияние