National Day Parade

I've taken a bit of a break from blogging during China's fall festival (and the Reitz family visit, to be recounted shortly). I'll now begin recapping the last two weeks or so. Sorry for the lack of updates, everything is proceeding swimmingly.

The holiday started ridiculously enough with a fifteen person sleepover at Ellen's luxury apartment in the Ascott, which has a pool, jacuzzi, sauna, and gym. This was September 30th, the day before the China's National Day Parade. We were expecting to be locked into the Ascott complex until the evening of the 1st, after the parade festivities subsided. We trucked in cases of beer, dozens of eggs, pounds of pasta, slabs of meat, bags of fruit and vegetables, and bottles of liquor, all so we could survive two days. That's how we celebrate the PRC, baby.

On the 1st, fighter planes and helicopters passed directly over us. We would hear/feel them approaching, run to the window to see them, and 10 seconds later they'd be on TV, televised for all the nation to see. The televised display was incredible: thousands of soldiers marching in lock-step, 100-ish floats representing China's accomplishments and advancements, an ever-changing display that changed from the Chinese flag to Chinese characters to a portrait of Mao in an instant. The Catch: this display was the width of Tian'anmen square (the largest city square in the world) and was not powered by electricity or a computer, it was powered by people. Tens of thousands of volunteers with colored flags, holding one up on cue to create a massive portrait. The timing of it was perfect, every time.

I believe the parade received very little coverage in the USA. That's a little disappointing, as i believe the rest of the world could learn something about the love felt by the Chinese citizens for their country. It's absolutely astonishing the sheer magnitude of support for this parade. Hundreds of thousands of volunteers spent three months preparing for their small parts in the parade. They gave up weekends, nights, and vacation time just simply to participate.

For spectacular pictures of the actual parade, please see this link, courtesy of the Boston Globe. It gives an idea of the preparations required for such a magnificent display.

And here's a little of what we saw. We were not allowed to see the actual parade (except on TV), but the tanks all rolled out of town directly past where we were staying. Note, the parade was largely military, but the purpose was to demonstrate that while China is still a developing country, they are both peaceful and dangerous. The message was clear: We're minding our own business, don't mess with us and we'll play nice.

Every little boy's dream: TANKS and ROCKET LAUNCHERS!!!

~Kev

Introducing: Happy Sparkle Kitty Magic

Ace found a 4-month-old kitty at school. It was weak, emaciated, skinny, sick, and left for dead by its mom. Being a good ace, she took her to the vet to be taken care of, cleaned, and treated for her multitude of ailments. Ten days later, we took her home.

Within moments she found a small crack in the bottom of the kitchen cabinets which led to the plumbing and into the walls of our house.

We would not see her again for two days, although each night, at the stroke of midnight, she emerged for a short time to wreak havoc on our plants and eat/regurgitate vitamins onto our floor.

On day three, we lured her out into the kitchen with promises of tasty tasty chicken flesh. Embodying the very essence of "bait and switch", she did not attain chicken flesh, but was instead promptly sequestered to the bathroom.

The next day, she exchanged heart racing for purring, crying for mewing, and cowering in a corner for cuddling on a lap. She gained access to the living room and we quickly kitty proofed all the holes she could escape into. We also named her. Since she's a Chinese kitty, we had to give her a Chinese name; Her official name is Happy Sparkle Kitty Magic, and her nickname is Muse. Or Mews.

We also bought and installed little yellow cat claw caps so she can't scratch things. She hates them!

So, without further ado... behold photos and a video of our newest addition, Muse.

Cat and Kev napping.

Ace took this video while she was playing with her new toy.

Awwww.

~Kev

New China's 60th Anniversary

Rivaling last years extraordinary preparations for the Olympics, Beijing has once again set itself to guarantee a celebration of massive proportions for National Day, this October 1st. It also marks the beginning of the Fall Holiday, and this year is special because it commemorates the 60th Anniversary of New China, in 1949. They've been practicing the parade and fireworks for a few weeks now, sometimes at strange hours.

This whole Anniversary madness has had some unpleasant side-effects.

• The subway, which i use everyday, has been closed a few times.
• Traffic is routed away from the center of the city, especially around Tian'anmen Square and surrounding streets.
• Tanks have been rolling down the streets. The first time was about 2am on a Friday night. It woke Therese up.
• Security has been heightened everywhere.
• Undercover police are checking passports of foreigners at random. Hasn't happened to me yet, but it's only a matter of time.
• Additional roadblocks and checkpoints entering the city, which makes my vendor visits just that much longer.

The parade itself should be pretty cool, although it's completely closed to the general public. Its purpose is to display the awesome power of China's army to the world, and the parade will be televised live on 10/1. However, there are a fortunate few who live in the Tian'anmen area AND have connections with someone in the parade. They have been able to catch a glimpse of the dress rehearsals. I happen to know two of those fortunate people.

The images i'm posting here are from them and would, in all likelihood, get my blog banned within China, if it wasn't already. I don't really care.

That last one is a picture i took out the window of our company van while driving to Tianjin. Closer inspection shows us these fighter planes are locked and loaded.

Wow.

~Kev