New 生日快乐 Tradition

生日快乐 shēngrì kuàilè! My odometer turned over today and kicked it off by starting new shēngrì kuàilè or birthday traditions. First: no cake.   I had planned on celebrating by indulging with a coconut crunch old fashioned and cuppa Joe at a Dunkin Donuts (as there are Dunkin Donuts in Bangkok). Instead, my taste buds did a U-turn. I grabbed […]

Dinner Entertainment

If I didn’t believe in the Great Flood  before, I do now. So,  I just left Bumrungrad Medical Center in Bangkok for my annual “mid life check-up”. A probe, squeeze and roter rooting for one set price. I thought I’d reward myself with a special treat. I walked past Dunkin Donuts, eyeing the coconut crunch donut, saving that for Monday, […]

Lost in Translation

OK. So I broke my phone. It was already held together with duct tape, thanks to dropping it in Vietnam, but when I fell off my chair tutoring a student, the screen went green. I was 痛不欲生 . English translation: overwhelmed with sorrow. It’s not that I was in love with my Samsung phone I got free at Costco for […]

Are you there, Cortana?

            A coworker was telling me about a friend who works for Microsoft. This guy’s job is to fine tune how Cortana works. You know, that annoying voice that greets you when you power up your laptop, asking if you want to add anything to your grocery list. His s job is to actually listen […]

My Chinese Friends

  One of the hardest things about divorce is your friends telling you, “Ginger, you gotta get back out there.” But in China, there is no “there”. Finding English speakers is tough in Kunming.  And quite honestly, the only relationship I’m really interested  right now is with me. But  my ears do miss English, gosh, they crave English: I’d lick […]