活

huo, rising tone: The three dots on the left side connote water, while the main pictogram on the right, if used alone, means "tongue." Put together, you have "wet tongue"; the meaning of huo is "alive," or "living"--the time when you have a wet tongue.

Mandarin is awesome.

狼狈为奸

lang bei wei jian: In trying to catch a meal, the wolf haplessly kept running into the flock of sheep, scattering them and ending up hungry. The clever ferret, who was too small to catch a giant sheep but who was also starving, saw an opportunity. "Wolf! Let me help you!" said the ferret, climbing onto the wolf's back. The ferret steered his new friend slowly towards a slower, sickly sheep, then told the wolf exactly when to pounce--with great success! The two conspirators then enjoyed a feast together.

...just picked up this story in class, talking about symbiosis in different ecosystems. I clarified, saying symbiosis is a good thing for all parties in the ecosystem--whereas lang bei wei jian has a bit more negative connotation.

人定胜天

ren ding sheng tian: Man can conquer nature... reminded of that every time I see the Beijing skyline. Question remains: can man conquer human nature?

Mao's birthday in Beijing: Christmas, 2013

Just got back from a frigid ride around north Chaoyang, looking for any gas station I could find that would take my plates and registration. Even my go-to location in Wangjing failed; I even took the step of attaching the plates to the rear fender, but to no avail.

I get home and Bill Bishop's now-weekly Sinocism newsletter (apparently going out to more than 14,500 subscribers) mentions that December 26th is Mao's birthday--and 2013 marks the 120th anniversary. (Quick math: Mao was born in 1893.) I hope Mao is happy that well-meaning foreigners can't gas up for Christmas shopping. I mean, c'mon...

What is "broke"?

It's refreshing to come across Jamal Mashburn's account of the implications of the term, "broke," and what it means for professional athletes. Horror stories like Terrell Owens and Allen Iverson's life after basketball exist as cautionary tales, but, as Mashburn points out, only in a very superficial way. In only looking at the material implications of "broke," one is missing the larger problem that has nothing to do with money:

"'Broke' is not just a reflection on finances, most guys are broke before they step one foot on the professional sports field or court. Low self esteem, lack of courage and discipline, with no idea how to lead themselves outside the sport are some of the symptoms."

Courageous sentiments from a very introspective guy who walks the walk as well as talks the talk: Mashburn owns over 71 food franchises including Papa John's, Outback Steakhouses, and Dunkin' Donuts as well as car dealerships and a real estate company in Kentucky: a shining example that, for talented athletes, sports is just the beginning, not the highlight of the show.

Math is fun (i.e. easier)

In an attempt at a 'practical English' lesson the other day we talked about how to say 'math sentences' e.g. "124+235=359" When I tried to figure out the sum in class by stacking the numbers and doing 'long addition' my 8-year old Chinese students yelled at me. "That takes too long!" I asked confusedly how they would suggest I speed up. They wrote out the numbers horizontally, instructing on how to add from left to right, albeit in broken English: "Add the number 3 numbers first..."

I fee like I have a veil lifted: working from left to right, rather than right to left, and with the sums displayed horizontally is actually waaay faster. Why don't we learn math this way in US elementary school??

Hangin' out

Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning, I rush to the gym around opening to fight for a spot at the bench press and Gravitron. My rivals are older men and women who could be my grandparents. The older ladies are generally taking it easy, but it is incredible to see how hard many of the older men are going after it. A few of these dudes are huge, but most are there, apparently, to keep the qi moving and maybe to get a bit of a sweat on. Very few show any awareness of weight room etiquette from Western gyms: toweling off the bench after use, replacing weights when repping in on a machine, moving quickly through an exercise if you see someone is waiting. Not really a big deal, though, because as soon as you ask to jump in on a machine folks generally either hurry along to their next routine or let you jump in. The trainers are attentive to clients misusing machines--letting weights crash, pushing on levers meant to be pulled--in all instances where things that cost money could get broken.

One, who we call Mr. Clean, is usually pumping iron and is very outspoken, leading the locker-room banter going back and forth across the mirrored room. He is a good dude, more courteous than mostAt least when I'm around, it seems like the conversation swings to talk of America or the West in comparison to China: NBA vs CBA, clothing, money. Most comments have nothing to do with me directly, but I do become the topic of analysis occasionally, particularly as I'm trying to force out the last rep of a set and am making some excruciating face or emitting some kind of gross sound. Feels good to be a celebrity--just wish it wasn't for my bitter-beer bench press face.

Perception is reality

Caught this on the wall of my gym earlier today. One of our trainers sitting on a press with a huge rack of weights pushing up apparently with a lot of exertion.. except none of the weight is actually on the bar.

悬崖勒马

xuan ya le ma: To impress a girl, the soldier took his horse a drove it north to the steppe, where could be found a massive canyon over which he could leap, impressing the lady and winning her heart. Charging as hard as he could to the brink, at the last second he thought otherwise and, pulling up on the reins, stopped himself and the horse from leaping almost certainly to their death.