National Holiday Staycation

Todays weather: High = 23 Low = 18
Cloudy

The weeklong national day begins and I'm making it a staycation. Ironically I've had to be a rebel about this and staunchly reject the notion of traveling during this time. When the masses hit the roads in China you want to stay at home, simple as that. The week break is rather nice and it actually feels like a holiday this way. Hitting the crowds at the Great Wall in Beijing or West Lake in Hangzhou right now doesn't strike me as a holiday.

More importantly though, travel during this break should not be expected or encouraged because it isn't guaranteed if new teachers will have their passports or visas ready in time.

I've seen it happen year after year where teachers are on the edge of their seat wondering if they'll get their passports back from the PSB office in time to travel for national day. In this context making plans for this holiday is sketchy. Also the Chinese seldom book trips more than a month in advance due to things always changing at the last minute.

This year was no exception for the new teachers although I was fortunate to get my visa done ahead of time last June. Nonetheless I was a new teacher at this school last year and had to face the same kind of uncertainty.

What made matters worse was family expectations to attend an event in Vietnam last year (long story) and demanding I show up during national day despite not knowing when I'd get my passport back with a visa. Given this uncertainty I hadn't booked any flights and I would need to at the last minute which would be outrageously expensive during peak season.

It was a total nightmare, mess, and gongshow, and the conversation got ugly fast. I was even told by my own father to bribe the PSB or go to other extreme measures to get my passport back and expedite the Chinese visa, which I'd then need the passport to apply for a Vietnam visa, all within a few days before national day.

These conversations took place in Shanghai on a cell phone at the world EXPO last year. My enjoyment of the event that evening was totally ruined by such unpleasant conversations demanding I get my ass to Vietnam when all practicalities dictacted this would be extremely difficult if not impossible.

In the end I showed up, first by getting my passport back with simply a tourist visa extension and the school would apply for the work permit again later. Then I showed up to Pudong airport with only a suit as luggage and flew standby to Shenzhen. Then I booked two Air Asia flights on the spot to get to Hanoi Vietnam, with a stopover in Bangkok. I slept in the BKK airport lounge that night. Next day got the Hanoi flight.

There isn't much more to say about that particular Vietnam trip except that I showed up as ordered. Even then it was a disappointment as many things didn't go well at the event and there was no real sense of community or feeling that this was in fact a wedding, where we would expect some kind of joy and togetherness.

Consequently, shortly after then I left and headed back to China using land borders to cut costs on flights. The trip began to pick up after that where I met two travelers from South America on the same bus. They were new to China and I tried to give some travel tips as best as possible. This is of course difficult as China travel will throw curve balls to even the veterans.

Nonetheless we became good friends on the bus and I helped them out of a jam at customs where they got detained at least an hour. I went through first no problem and was able to persuade immigration (in Chinese) to let them also through after repeatedly bugging the guards and vouching for these travelers. I then held up the last bus for them and we got into Nanning rather late. Next step was to help book their train tickets which was a disaster due to crowds but they settled on a 5am departure the next day.

Meanwhile I got a free dinner out of this and am still in contact with these travelers. My next flight was out of Nanning the next day and it was cheap.

Sadly I haven't been in contact with my family much after last year. My father threatened that my actions not to go to Vietnam during national day would result in alienation but I concluded that would end up being the case whether I showed up or not.

Meanwhile this year`s national holiday finally promises to be a solid rest.

Subway System Glitches

From today's paper.   That settles it, I'm geting another motorcycle as soon as possible.

 

 

---------------

A total of 284 injured passengers have been treated at hospitals since a subway train rear-ended another on Metro Line 10 yesterday afternoon, Shanghai authorities said today.

By 9am today, 95 were still hospitalized. The others were discharged.

Metro Line 10 is closed today between the Yili Road Station and Sichuan Road North Station as the affected section is undergoing safety checks.

The closure put great pressure on road traffic during the rush hours. Traffic authorities deployed 100 buses to shuttle between the 12 closed stations to send commuters to work.

Many commuters said they had no idea of the Metro suspension, which was announced last night.

"I saw many people coming out of the Hailun Road Station to take buses this morning," said a woman surnamed Lu. "The Siping Road was in a great jam," she said.

It is still not known when Metro Line 10 will return to service.

A signaling glitch caused the rear-end accident near downtown Yuyuan Garden Station at about 2:50pm. A slowing train rammed into another that had stalled in the tunnel for nearly 40 minutes.

-----------

 

-----------

THE Shanghai subway system has suffered crashes, halts and breakdowns from time to time over the past few years.

Two trains collided in a Metro Line 1 tunnel after a power glitch on the morning of December 22, 2009. There were no injuries because one of the trains was empty and both were running slowly. But passengers were trapped inside the damaged train for up to four hours on that occasion. And tens of thousands of commuters were stranded at eight Line 1 stations for the entire morning.

On August 2 this year, a Metro Line 10 train broke down shortly after it left a station and none of its doors could be opened. Passengers were forced to evacuate one by one through the driver's cab.

A few days earlier, on July 28, an error on a signaling system being tested on Line 10 caused a train to take a wrong turn. The train, which should have been heading for Hangzhong Road after leaving Longxi Road, instead took the other line on the Y-shaped intersection and ended up at Hongqiao Railway Station.

On March 10, a power failure in downtown Shanghai forced thousands of Line 2 passengers to evacuate stranded trains which were stuck in tunnels and stations.

More frequently, signal system failures have caused train delays along the city's Metro lines. A signal system failure on Line 6 caused trains to be delayed for about 40 minutes and left huge crowds waiting at the Jufeng Road station in Pudong on May 27.

Lines 6 and 8 reported frequent delays at the initial stage of operation in 2009 for signaling modification.
-------------

 

Shanghai Subway Crash

This one was brutal, thankfully no deaths.
 
The days of high-speed trains and transport are over.  Sometimes riding a motorcycle s the best way to go after all. 
 
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/nsp/Metro/2011/09/28/Subway%2Btrains%2Bcollide%2Bsending%2B271%2Bto%2Bhospital/

 

2-Year Exit Plan for BC Offshore School Teaching

Today's weather:  High = 28 Low = 22

Partly Cloudy

 

As mentioned in a few conversations with friends and colleagues, I'm looking at two more years of teaching math/science in the BC Offshore system, then making my exit and doing something else entirely.  This is actually the best year I've had so far doing the job, and the last 3 years have seen steady improvement, but conversations have indicated it's getting time to move on.

 

By the end of two years, including this current one, my masters degree program  (MMT - masters of math for teachers) should be complete and I will have gotten two years of AP experience under my belt.  There are no plans to leave Shanghai during those two years and quite possibly I'll stay here longer.

 

But come June 2013, whe that school year is done, I want to make my exit from the BC system.  The reasons for this are rather complicated to get into, biut an in-depth conversation with the English teacher at our school who's had nearly 10 years of experience at Dalian (before he came here) has revealed a lot of interesting stuff.  To put it simply, there are many good things about the offshore system but it's getting time to move on. 

 

What is most likely going to happen is that I would teach math at universities, prep colleges, or A-level international schools in Shanghai, that is ones which use the IB curriculum or some other international accrediation.  Other options are to go into curriculum development.

 

The general idea is to stay in Asia of course, but even if I did return to North Amerca I would stay clear of the BC system.  Offshore or not, the BC high school education system is going down the tubes, and the latest thing has been the dumbing down of the math curriculum to include "Pre-Calculus" 10, 11, 12 which really has very little to do with pre-calculus.  Also, the provincial exams have all been dumped entirely, except for Engish 12.  Now schools are reporting the ever-inflated "school marks" which students use to apply to universities.  It is not fair as there are different standards for different teachers, and they can make up whatever exam they want now --- or choose not to even bother with an exam.

 

In a nutshell, the education system is become a lot less rigorous and standardized in the name of being more "student centered" and there is no way anymore that kids in BC could hope to compete with their Asian counterparts in math -- if they ever had a chance in the first place.

 

I'd rather go for the universities in future where I'm sure there are opportunities in Asia, and a masters degree would help.

 

However, before doing any career changes I'm going to take a year off and ride a bicycle around the world, getting the money from other sources of income besides work.  Stay tuned to this blog for more information.  All these mini-trips to Thailand over the years have proved to be of much use, and I've met scores of characters over there who have given me ideas on how to make alternative income sources and travel on the cheap in Thailand.  As a general rule of thumb, I don't travel unless I'm somehow getting an income at the same time, and there are many creative ways to do so as I have been learning.

 

Hilarious Math Spoof

Subject:  Teacher arrested at JFK Airport

A public school teacher was arrested today at John F Kennedy International airport as he attempted to board a flight while in possession of a ruler, a protractor, a compass, a slide-rule and a calculator.  At a morning press conference, Attorney General Eric Holder said he believes the man is a member of the notorious Al-Gebra movement.  He did not identify the man, who has been charged by the FBI with carrying weapons of math instruction.

 

"Al-Gebra is a problem for us', the Attorney General said. 'They derive solutions by means and extremes, and sometimes go off on tangents in search of absolute values.'  They use secret code names like 'X' and 'Y' and refer to themselves as 'unknowns', but we have determined that they belong to a common denominator of the axis of medieval with coordinates in every country.  As the Greek philanderer Isosceles used to say, 'there are 3 sides to every triangle'.

 

When asked to comment on the arrest, President Obama said, 'If God had wanted us to have better weapons of math instruction, he would have given us more fingers and toes.'  White House aides told reporters they could not recall a more intelligent or profound statement by the President.  It is believed that another Nobel Prize will follow.....

Cheers

Motorcycle Pro-Ride Course 2 Months Later

Today's weather: n  High = 27 Low = 21

Partly cloudy

 

As predicted, many of the skills I learned during the training course in July back in Vancouver don't apply in the Shanghai context now that I'm riding here again.   Dominant lane positions?  Forget it, the cagers will do anything to get past you, including very dangerous and aggressive moves.  Shoulder checks?  Also forget it.  In the Shanghai context, you have to focus on multiple things ahead of you, and also use your peripheral vision.  When it gets very busy, such as in rush hour, you can be keeping track of 5-6 objects simultaneously and avoiding collision courses.

 

Riding in Shanghai is a skill that is just like air traffic control!  You're watching for multiple things and you are responsible to avoid the accidents.

 

In this sense, shoulder checking is useless because it is a habit designed to look out for *single* hazards.  During that split second you're turning your head to look at a potential hazard, you are not focusing on the other 6 hazards that you need to keep your head straight in order to see them all.  Back in Vancouver where the population is sparse and you have the space to focus on one thing at a time, then shoulder checking works.  Here in densely populated Shanghai that habit is actually very dangerous.

 

On the other hand, there are transferable skills, and I don't regret the Pro-Ride course at all.  The two most useful skills are emergency braking drills, and braking in a curve.   The mantra they taught us of 'look straight to brake' applies well here, and I routinely practice this drill in the parking lot as they told us to. 

 

I got a chance to apply this today when some dumb-fangled moron riding an electric bike proceeded to do a wide turn in front of me during rush hour, and go straight on a collision course.  Like a flash I did my emergency braking drill as I learned during the course, and missed this idiot within inches.  He took off, my bike stalled out.  Then I proceeded to give him the finger and yell at the top of my lungs, but he was gone like the wind.

 

Bikes, Bikes, Bikes

Today's weather:  High = 26  Low = 20

Sunny and couldn't be better

 

This is really the best time of year to visit Shanghai and it'll remain so for another few weeks before it starts getting cold.  Already the sweet pleasant osmanthus flowers are beginning to bloom

 

The Yamaha YBR125 bike is nice to have these days again :-)  I was tootling arond on it the last few days and noticing something finicky with both the chain and the clutch.  Especially throttling at low RPMs the chain would slip.  Pretty much the same as what my buyer (the German guy) was.  Not a big problem, but it was feeling a little rough and a quick trip to the shop made the bike feel like running almost new again!
 
Basically they shop relaced the chain entirely as they mentioned it's a good idea after 10,000+ km.   The old chain was not greased properly (my fault for that) and it was too long.  They couldn't pull it back anymore as it was already too loose and the whole thing needed a replacement.   So it was a brand new chain with front and rear sprockets installed. 
 
The clutch was also replaced as the inside rings were worn out pretty ragged.After these repairs, it runs in real smooth shape man!  Holy moly, was testing it out and it felt like brand new again

 

The German buyer is getting a really good deal on this.  He bought it, lent it back to me for National Day, and now he'll have the bike returned in better shape. 

 

Ironically, the shop guy who fixed the bike today wanted to buy it off me for 5500 RMB.  He kept upping the ante after I showed little interest since I alredy sold it to a German guy.  Damn it, well it's too late as I already sold it for 4500 RMB but that was too low an offer in hindsight.  Anyways, I would never do something like sell it again, make more money, screw the German guy and take off, although it's incredibly tempting. 

 

In a society with no morals such as China, a local would jump at a deceitful opportunity such as this and not think twice about it.  But that's precisely why there is no trust in China.  So to counter this fact, I will be the first to act honestly, and maintain the trust.

 
Besides I like this German guy and he deserves to have the Yamaha as I know he's taking good care of it.  The clutch and chain slip-up are my fault actually as I didn't maintain that enough.  Meanwhile, the German guy put some additional work into the bike on his own dime, so I don't want to charge him for the work I did on it  (around 500 RMB or so)

 

Another thing, I ran into another contact for new YBR250 bikes, which I'm almost certain I'll be getting, but am going to wait until after Spring Festival as money is too tight right now and I still need to legalize my Chinese license.
 
This contact says he can get the bikes for around 23,000 RMB plus 8000 RMB for the HU-C suburban plate.  Probably cheaper if buying in bulk.  I'm teaming forces with the German guy and others to see if we can get a better deal.
 
As for the Jialings or the CFMOTO650 I've heard things about them, not necessarily bad, but I'm simply not sold on the idea of buying Chinese bikes.  Would rather pay the extra cash and get a Japanese bike because of the quality assurance, even if it means scaling back a bit on the CCs.  Actually another German guy I was talking to seemed pretty happy about the YBR250 and said it can maintain a nice cruising speed on the highway.  He's even taken it to Huangshan, quite a long trip.

Sad News About Cyclist Killed by Car

As many of you, I'm both an avid cyclist and motocyclist.  I've done several tours on both modes of transport and follow these websites regularly.   If I'm not doing tours of my own, then I'm surely reading about others who are doing them.
 
http://www.mychinamoto.com     Motorcycle stories in China
 
http://www.crazyguyonabike.com    Global bicycle touring
 
One of the blogs I followed regularly was by Catherine Sheehan from NZ.  She had just wrapped up a 9-month long cycling trip through China, Thailand, and other countries and was on her way back to New Zealand.  While in transit in KL Malaysia  (Kuala Lumpur)  she was hit and killed by a cager, that is to say a car driver.
 
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10750730
 
It is very sad news indeed, especially as I enjoyed her humorous and humble style of writing and interaction, and she was clearly doing something she loved.   In addition to that, she had survived landsides, scary tunnels, monsoon rains, tropical diseases, and a whole host of other obstacles while in China.  It is terribly injust that she would die while in transit in a Malaysian city, and even worse, by a cager.   I had very little respect for cagers to begin with, and now, I have none, zero, zilch.  
 
Be careful out there!   Yesterday was car-free day, which basially meant squat in Shanghai, as these beasts still rule the world. 

Back on the Steed

Today's weather:   High = 23  Low = 16

Sunny

 

Last school year I frequently tootled around on a Yamaha YBR125 commuter bike, and then sold it to a German guy in June.  Interestingly, he's now letting me "borrow" the bike while he's off to Singapore for National Day.  So it's back on the steed!

 

As predicted, pretty much all safe driving habits learned over the summer went out the window as I'm now back riding on Shanghai streets.  However, I still cancel the turn signals.  

 

What is most shocking is that everything they taught me about dominant lane positions is absolutely useless in Shanghai because the car driers (aka cagers) drive like total maniacs and have disregard for smaller vehicles.  As it stands, might makes right, and the damn cagers think they have the might.

 

Maintaining habits like dominant lane position and other "safe driving" techniques learned in Vancouver is actually very DANGEROUS here because the aggresive cagers will try to swerve around, and also speed excessively if the motorcyclist, aka me, is in the dominant lane and thus blocking their path.

 

In fact, I quickly abandonded this habit as a rich selfish moron in a black BMW nearly pummeled a pedestrian as he was roaring along beside me trying to overtake while I was in the dominant lane.   

 

Ironically, dangerous driving is the way to be safe around here in Shanghai, and safe driving habits from Vancouver are actually dangerous.

 

 

Foreign Spazzes Out at Parking Attendant

Today's weather:  High = 23  Low = 16
Sunny
 
While heading to the subway this morning on my way to work, I saw a guy yelling and screaming obscenities at a nearby bike/motorbike parking attendant.  Basically it's a huge street-level parking area for people wanting to ditch the bikes and take the subway.  Unfortunately, I am sure that theft runs rampant there, and the security is not very good.
 
At first I thought the guy yelling and screaming was a Chinese guy, as it is a common sight in Shanghai.  But upon closer look, he was actually a foreigner and was screaming in *English* !!    Let's just say the words 'You piece of ____ '  and 'You are a _____ ' were repeated over and over in English.  The parking attendant yelled back in Chinese, and a few middle finger gestures were exchanged, but nothing more.
 
Who knows what caused the foreigner to spazz out.  My guess is that his motorbike was left overnight (a stupid decision) and it was stolen overnight.  Then the guard said he knew nothing, or couldn't help do anything.  Then the foreigner screamed and cursed.  It's only my guess, and we'll never know.
 
At any rate, regardless of what happened, do not EVER leave a bike parked overnight next to the street in Shanghai or in otherwise low-security parking arrangements.  Make sure it is put underground and out of sight, with 24/7 security.  In low-security parking garages, the guards leave in the evening and there is no overnight security.
 

Yikes! Potential For Apartment Lock-ins

Today's weather:  High = 32  Low  25

Sunny

 

If anyone has lived in China for any length of time, you have no doubt had experiences with door locks in apartments failing to work as they should.  Maybe they just break down due to typical low quality, the key gets stuck im the lock, the whole lock falls out, or worse, you somehow get locked in.  The last part has happened several times, but not recently.  It means a frantic call to the locksmith, basically.

 

Well today I discovered that my current apartment has the easy potential for me to get locked in if somehow I absent-mindedly left the keys outside in the lock after opening the door, and then closed the door from the inside.  The way it works, you need the key to open the door from the inside, even if it's not actually locked with a deadbolt.

 

If such a scenario happened, it would be a disaster ... it almost did tonight, thinking that I misplaced my keys but they were quickly found.  This was an unintended experiment and shocking discovery that even an unlocked door won't open from the inside wihout any keys.

 

Given my propensity for losing and misplacing things, this is just a disaster waiting to happen.  For that reason, I'm calling the lockmisth and replacing the locks to get something more normal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Commute Comparisons

Today's weather:  High = 31  Low = 25

Partly Cloudy

 

Referring to the last two summary posts on 'crazyguy' about my past commuting experienes on the outskirts of Shanghai.

 

The whole saga of working in the boonies and using complex commuting methods that I did 3 years ago is enough material to write a book on.  As much as I want to stop blogging about this topic, I can't, as it is fascinating.  There is always something more that comes up.

 

Trooping about on semi-abandoned Chinese farm roads, or planning elaborate and complex scooter routes around police checkpoints was not something I did on the first day.  In fact, I was oblivious to the whole concept of provincial and city borders and their importance in China, and didn't really learn about it until around 2008.

 

This post will focus on the why, that is why on earth I would do those kind of crazy commutes to begin with.

 

When faced with the fact that the school I worked at was 60km from the city center and I wanted to spend time downtown Shanghai on the weekends, I figured it would be a similar problem as when I worked in Dalian from 2006-08.  At that school (Maple Leaf), it was also 60km from Dalian center, and I also spent a lot of time downtown on weekends.  It took about 90 minutes to do this commute, mainly with the 'qing gui' -- light rail train.  A long trip, yes, but if you timed it right this is how it would work:

 

1.  Walk to the qing gui station, wait -- 20 minutes total.   Take a taxi to the station from Maple Leaf if you are in a rush.  8 RMB.

2.  Catch the train downtown -- 50 minutes.    Cost 8 RMB

3.  Walk to the destination -- 20 minutes

 

Coming back was much the same way.   In the event the train wasn't running, then share taxis would get you to a midway location called Kai Fa Qu for a cheap price of 15 RMB.  Once in Kai Fa Qu, you could cough up the cash for another cab, around 50 RMB, or else time it with the school's twice-weekly shopping bus returning in the evenings, say, on Friday night.

 

So yeah, Maple Leaf is isolated, much the same way Sino Canada is.  But the key difference is that Maple Leaf is still within Dalian "province" which means the transport links are at least functional.  Let's compare and contrast, based on the past transport context.

 

Maple Leaf:    midway town is Kai Fa Qu.  Many teachers lived there and commuted.

Sino Canada:  midway town is Qingpu or Songjiang.  No other teachers besides this idiot (yours truly) lived there and commuted.

 

ML:  cabs cost 100+ RMB from Dalian as a last resort

SC:  cabs cost 300+ RMB from SH as a last resort

 

ML:  light rail train, regular links from midway to Dalian.  Semi-regular links from midway to school

SC:  many bus and train links from midway to Shanghai.   Sketchy links from midway to school, i.e. the 'chicken bus'

 

ML:  no provincial borders crossed

SC:  provincial borders crossed

 

ML:  twice a week shopping bus provided

SC:  once a month shopping bus provided

 

ML:  school development fits into the overall 'beach resort' and massive regional construction

SC:  school development is more or less isolated, not tied to other regional themes or construction.

 

Both schools:   teachers had option to live on campus, rented out, i.e. no allowance

Both schools:   cabs were used frequently in the evenings

Both schools:   active 'black taxi' market near the school gate

Both schools:   teachers often used private contacts to arrange rides and negotiate prices / times / etc.

 

So the way I went about the commuting was to use everything I knew from the Dalian situation and apply it locally.  That simply didn't work.  During the first few cab rides, I quickly learned that most drivers hadn't a clue about how to reach the school or refused to go there.  Those that did would pass two highway toll booths and end up paying twice.  This was a real shock, because how could you pay for a toll, then immediately pay for another one just a mere 1km away?  Even the cab drivers thought this was insane.

 

The double-punch of toll fees was due to the fact that you would pay at the provincial border for the Shanghai section, and then pay the minimum charge for the Jiangsu section as you exited a mere 1km past the border.  Drivers compained about this nonsense to no avail, they still had to pay.  Driver pays first, then passenger pays back at the end.

 

The total price was about 60 RMB and of course, the drivers would demand return tolls.  Many would up the ante because they were angry at the toll situation, and by law, the passenger has to pay tolls.  It was not a good situation.  Actually I can recall a few horror stories when teachers would get into cabs, the driver would discover how complex and costly it was to reach the school, and then charge extortion on arrival.  It got to the point where one teacher (female) had to call in security as the driver threatened assault.

 

After quickly realizing that the cab or bus situation wasn't going to work, I then started breaking the commute up into chunks, using multi-modes of transport, living in multiple apartments, and well the rest is history.

 

Snapshot History of my Sino Canada Days

This weekend was a trip down memory lane from when I worked at Sino Canada from 2008-09.  All my past blogs were deleted on that, but I went for a bike ride to get a snapshot of the memories and have posted it here.  Let's just say never again.

 

http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/?o=1r4vFZo&page_id=259586&v=4N

 

http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/?o=1r4vFZo&page_id=259745&v=2N

 

Biking Shanghai: Easy Does It

http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/?o=1r4vFZo&page_id=259586&v=3J

 

This recent post I made on the biking website summarizes the 2008-09 teaching year rather well, complete with pictures of where I used to live and work.  It was a very difficult year, and I blogged extensively about it, but then made a decision to delete the entire blog.   The summary post, 3 years after the fact, is a much better representation.

 

Shockingly, I learned a couple days ago that the Hebrew writing for the words 'grumble' and 'complain' also make up the root word for 'Satan'.  That is to say, if I grumble and complain all the time, I'm essentially telling Satan 'whats up bro'.  Not exactly a pleasant thought, so I think it's high time to put a stop to the complainig.

 

However, yesterday's bike ride made me sick.  This isn't complaining but a statement of fact.  The air in Shanghai is much more polluted and noxious than in Thailand.  Heavy breathing and fitness means my lungs get filled with the bad air and it has a nauseating effect.   I managed to recover alright, but in future will seriously have to ease up on the biking or scrap the rides in the local countryside.

Bicycle Trip Around SH Countryside

With a short weekend, why not get on the bicycle and ride around the countryside for the day. 
 
Through a website I'm eager to check out yet another road that bypasses various border checkpoints between Shanghai and Jiangsu province.   I explored the heck out of this area 3 years ago while working at a school over there, i.e. Sino Canada.  Figuring out how to get in and out of Shanghai province was key information as I went there every weekend on a scooter -- the only reliable means of transport as it's in a remote area across provincial borders.  But since scooters were illegal then, and they still are, figuring out how to dodge the checkpoints around border areas was a matter of necessity.
 
It seemed rather obsessive-compulsive to do this every single day at times.  But it was necessary as I slipped up one afternoon.  Out of laziness and not wanting to do the whole effort of plotting routes around checkpoints via farm roads, I took my chances and tried to blow through the border directly on the #318 Hu Qing Ping highway.  That didn't work, I got stopped, and then detained for at least an hour while I of course played the role of being apologetic and giving face to the cops.  Eventually they let me go.
 
On a side topic, Sino Canada used to be the massive site of Frobelland Amusement Park, a project that failed in the 1990s.  There is a ton of mystery behind this project and given the remoteness of the area, I doubt we will ever know what happened at Frobelland, what sorts of demons lurked inside the compound, and what caused it to fail.

http://www.mychinamoto.com/forums/showthread.php?3061-Heads-up-on-the-Huqingping-(Shanghai)&p=33400#post33400

What we do know is that the owner of Sino Canada acquired the land at an excellent (read:  cheap) price and built a Canadian offshore school on it, as well as a massive hotel resort called Zplashes, with a project in mind called Vancouver Resort.  This started in the early 2000s.  So far his 'Vancouver Resort' project of duplicatig a Robson Street behind the hotel has failed to live up to his Lotus-Land visions of how the Chinese see Vancouver in general.  But it is fair to say that the hotel and school are doing successfully and are not failing like the former amusement park did.
 
That being said, the issue of provincial borders and inter-provincial communication in Shanghai hinders any decent transport links and that's probably why the land is so cheap over there.
 
 

Back to the Bicycle

The irony is that I worked my butt off for a motorcycle license back in Vancouver this summer, got the license, and am now riding a bicycle in Shanghai.

The riding is actually bringing back a lot of memories when I first came to Shanghai some 10 years ago and it was an exciting way to zip around the city. Then and now! The benefits are good exercise, it`s fun, saves money, no worries about cops anymore (compared to riding an unregistered motorcycle) and amazingly it is still faster than a car for short to medium distance trips.

The biggest change in Shanghai now from 10 years ago is the sheer number of cars on the road. Despite efforts by the government to limit car plates through the market (on average they now cost $50000)and to increase road capacity, the traffic jams have only gotten worse, and worse, and worse.

In many ways the bicycle is just as good now to get around as it was 10 years ago. After leaving a dinner party last night I got home on my bike before some of my colleauges had even managed to find a taxi. An impossible ordeal on a Friday afternoon or evening to find a Shanghai taxi. Don't even attempt.

Mid-Autumn Festival Holiday

Today's weather:  High = 26  Low = 21
Cloudy
 
This is a traditional Chinese holiday marked by a 3-day weekend, also coinciding with Teachers Day.  You gotta love this start to the school year.  Next up soon enough will be the National Holiday in October.  However, the main deterrent with Chinese holidays is that everyone else is traveling.  Having gone through his numerous times now, the way I see it there are only two options
 
1.   Make it a staycation.   This is best done for the shorter holidays
2.   Travel to a SE Asian country.   Best done during the longer holidays.
 
Of course, if you have the luxury of getting holidays when the masses are working, then China travel becomes more of an option.  For those stuck on fixed public holidays like myself, there is really no way of that happening.

Math Post: Pre-Calculus

The idea of the first two weeks in this school year of teaching calculus is to spend some time doign pre-calculus. 

 

In previous years I didn't bother with that and lunged right into the calculus content.  One of my colleagues at that time went against the grain and actually did pre-calculus at first.  As a result, he got behind the rest of us for a substantial time, but his argument was that he work would pay off later.  Actually he was spot on and I'm now applying that wisdom.

 

One of the key pre-calculus topics I want to cover is that of function compositions.  In so doing, I figured out that I can help students deal with the dreaded *chain rule* that they will encounter later on.  The chain rule is a real hurdle for stuents in an intro calculus class, and they tend to hit the wall once introduced to it.

 

However, it just occured to me that doing function compositions where each function has a *linear* slope, or a constant slope, can introduce the major conceptual thrust of the chain rule without actually doing any calculus.

 

It is then a simple matter of being able to show that when you compose the two linear functions and look at the slope of the composition, the effect is to multiply the slopes of each function.  That is the thrust behind chain rule, except in calculus of course the functions are not necessarily linear. 

 

Why this isn't found in any pre-calculus textbooks is a mystery to me, as it seems a perfect thing to include.

Air Raid Drills: I'll Have No Part in This

Got this from today's Shanghai daily.  Headline is entitled, "Get Ready for a Air Raid Drill"

 

I would entitle it, "Get Ready to Vacate the City" and that's what I'll plan to do on the Sept 17 weekend.

 

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LOCAL residents from every corner of the city, except for the two airports, are requested to take part in an air defense drill on September 17, the Nationwide National Defense Education Day, the Shanghai government announced today.

The warning will start at 11:35am and last until 12:03pm and local authorities will then inform people about the warning through TV and radio stations and cellphone short messages.

Once the air defense warning stops, local residents are expected to participate in fire escape drills in their neighborhoods.

----------------

 

To that end, I would say make me.

A Temporary Motorcycle Break

Today's weather:  High = 26  Low = 22

Cooling down nicely, air-con no longer needed

 

It's rather ironic that I clocked up nearly 50,000km of illegal motorcycle and scooter riding in China, then finally decided to go back to Vancouver and acquire a legal motorcycle license in my home country.  Then I worked my butt off in July and paid big bucks for professional training and rentals in order to pass the road test and obtain the license!  I got it successfully, but at the absolute total last minute.  In fact I nearly missed out due to an administrative error by the motorcycle training company in booking my road test, and ended up going down to the test center at 5am by myself on standby to nab a last-ditch opportunity!

 

With the license finally acquried, it's rather ironic that I haven't ridden a motorcycle since.  Part of it is that the license isn't actually in hand yet  (it's in the mail, and let's hope it arrives).  But with the Shanghai subway only taking 30 minutes to get to work, or back home, there hasn't been much of a need for the bike.  Well, so far at least.

 

The way I see it, I'm taking a temporary break from the riding.  The fact that I haven't had an accident on the road in China with all those kilometers is like a miracle, and I'd rather take the break and enjoy more relaxing commutes on the subway before getting back in the saddle and cheating death. 

 

Based on the calculations, I only save 10 minutes by riding the motorcycle to work in morning rush hour, but the surface traffic is total madness at that time.  Let's just say that the adrenaline experience in the morning is not a fun way to start the day, and it's a constant state of getting ahead of the crowds to avoid being stuck behind LOOONNNNGGGG traffic lights that Shanghai is famous for, and which suck away your precious time.

 

Meanwhile, locals keep saying that the 13-line METRO system is efficient and the best way to get somewhere on time as you avoid the delays and traffic jams..  I've found this to be true, but three conditions need to be met:

 

1.  You live close to a subway station, and your work is close to one

2.  You are taking the Metro for medium-distance trips, or bypassing majorly congested surface areas 

3.  You minimize the number of transfers between lines

 

The plan to live where I have is really paying off because all three conditions are met, and the commutes are only taking half-hour tops.  It seems far where I live, and it's a different district than my work, which explains the huge decrease in the rents.  Nearly half of what I was paying last year.  Meanwhile, a 30-minute commute on the subway is a small price to pay.

 

This isn't to say I've given up on bikes.  More to come on this soon.

Being a Math Guy Pays Well

At least in Shanghai it certainly does! Rolling off the last post, it's not much of a surprise that my ability to clue into social dynamics and sensitivities is rather limited. But whatever, I'm not a total social misfit and have attained a level of communication skills I feel comfortable with and can get me through the day, not to mention teach math classes which earn me piles of cash. And who can complain about making money through math skills?

Speaking of which, 3 of my students in a trial AP Calculus tutorial all got full marks worth of 5. This is fantastic news and they deserve those marks for all the work they put into the course. Meanwhile the agreement we made was that the tutorials were free but if they got 5s on the AP test then they would pay tuition fees after the fact. Let's just say that cash is coming.

I Confess I'm a Math Guy

Mild mannered as I am it may not appear that I'm passionate about a lot of things but I am and one of them is mathematics. That being said I'm still trying to figure out what it means to be math guy and to accept that. The idea is to inspire others to also enjoy mathematics, and teaching classes is the best way to do that.

For better or for worse, the stereotype of math guys being socially clueless or unable to clue into the political group dynamics holds true for me. It all gets so confusing and frustrating when people say or act one way but I can't read their intentions from their behavior. And then I'm made to feel stupid from them for not being able to do this.

In the mathematical universe, what you see is what you get. Sure it gets complex but there is always some fundamental basis of order or some principle that you can fall back on. The beauty and elegance of mathematics is found in its order and its literal nature. If only human behavior could be like this.

The majority of people may claim to suck at math but be socially gifted, while I just have to accept the opposite and deal with this transgression that has caused my own society to turn its back on me. But at least in China I'm valued for being a math guy so that's where I will stay for many more years

Work: Off to a Furious Start

Pretty much par for the course when a school year starts.  10-12 hour days have become the norm for this week, and it is expected to continue next week and for quite some time now.  The summer break was surely needed.  These work days have become very intense in the mornings.  The time flies.  Meanwhile, next holiday is National Day which is a week in October and am going to make this a staycation for sure.  None of this traveling with the masses.

 

I'm already thinking of next winter and summer break.  Although way too hectic for my liking, going back to Vancouver in July was necessary to take care of a bunch of tasks that, now, can effectively give me smooth sailing abroad for at least another 4 years.  Next time I go back I am not going to repeat the same thing.  However, with the drivers license story finally coming to a conclusion, I can put that one to rest.

 

Meanwhile I'm making sure to keep fit and keep off the weight lost from the Thailand biking trip.  I lost 10 pounds in total and people are noticing the difference.  Even when I'm exhausted after work now, I still drag myself to the gym and hit the weights and treadmills.  The benefits are quite good in that I feel more alert after the work out.  I am still in good physical shape from the bike trip and it's relatively easy to keep the momentum going.

 

Back in Wuhan I made the big mistake of working long hours at the office and then crashing on my couch at home right after work.  I stayed there all evening and night in front of the warm air conditioner, without even enough energy or motivation to venture on my scooter and grab street food.  That kept up last year in Shanghai also when I would get home from work and then veg out on the couch in front of the flatscreen watching DVDs for hours on end.

 

Now I'm trying to put a stop to that kind of laziness.  The idea is to bring my workout clothes and bag to work, then immediately hit the gym after school while there is good time.  After that I go home and do lesson planning or masters degree courses.  When it's all been done, I then veg out and watch the DVDs.

 

The time management system I've developed, thanks to my Blackberry phone, has been invaluable.  Even with a busy Shanghai schedule, it is amazing how much unproductivity there is, for example a two-hour spare block where I surf the internet at work.  Now it's completely understandable why the corporate types I'm friends with in Shanghai may work 14 hour office days, but not all is useful.  For example, let's take a guess as to how many of those hours are spent on MSN. 

 

In China it's all about face time and killing time, even though it appears productive.  Let's put a stop to this laziness and have exercise time instead.