I've been shopping for groceries at the Jingkelong grocery store on the corner of Gongti Beilu and Gongti Donglu for months now. Now that I live nearby I am in much more regularly. Every time I go in there is at least one man in a SWAT uniform, often walking around in a hurry, as if he just popped in to pick something up on his way to a crisis, but sometimes just standing around, watching.
The final exam for my business statistics class will be tomorrow. I needed a study break, and I was out of good portable snacks to eat during the exam, so I went to Jingkelong for a late night grocery run.
Tonight there was a whole SWAT team in the store. Most of them were standing around looking bored but a few were guarding the entrances.
I know this neighborhood has a lot of embassies, but is the grocery store really that much of a target? Really?
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Monday, October 20, 2008
Banking Frustration
The world we live in is not yet quite as paperless as it could be.
J.P. Morgan Chase let's me do most of my banking online - moving funds between accounts, paying bills, an a few other things. I just looked at a credit card statement and saw something that I didn't recognize, phrased in a way that is ambiguous enough that I'm not sure if it is valid or not, so I called the credit card company, via Skype, to investigate further.
I was quickly connected with a man with an Indian accent. He wasn't able to give me much more information about the charge but offered to start dispute proceedings. He put a note in the computer system and then said he would mail me a form to complete. I quickly told him that I would need to receive the form via email, since I am in China and am not receiving ground mail. He doesn't have the option to send the form via email. Instead, I have to call back later, when the fraud investigation department opens, to discuss how to proceed.
J.P. Morgan has my email address. I know, they send me email regularly. I even had to agree that anything sent via email has the same legal weight of anything that would have been sent via U.S. postal service. Sending me a form via PDF should not be a problem.
This is part of why I do most of my banking with ING nowadays. They are much more electronically inclined. As an added benefit, ING also pays higher interest rates.
J.P. Morgan Chase let's me do most of my banking online - moving funds between accounts, paying bills, an a few other things. I just looked at a credit card statement and saw something that I didn't recognize, phrased in a way that is ambiguous enough that I'm not sure if it is valid or not, so I called the credit card company, via Skype, to investigate further.
I was quickly connected with a man with an Indian accent. He wasn't able to give me much more information about the charge but offered to start dispute proceedings. He put a note in the computer system and then said he would mail me a form to complete. I quickly told him that I would need to receive the form via email, since I am in China and am not receiving ground mail. He doesn't have the option to send the form via email. Instead, I have to call back later, when the fraud investigation department opens, to discuss how to proceed.
J.P. Morgan has my email address. I know, they send me email regularly. I even had to agree that anything sent via email has the same legal weight of anything that would have been sent via U.S. postal service. Sending me a form via PDF should not be a problem.
This is part of why I do most of my banking with ING nowadays. They are much more electronically inclined. As an added benefit, ING also pays higher interest rates.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Voting
My official absentee ballot has not yet arrived so I'm filling in my write-in absentee ballot.
I wasn't certain which offices, other than President/Vice-President, are up for election in my district this year, so I started by going to the New York State Board of Elections website to look at the list of general election candidates. When I vote in person I just have to choose from the names on the ballot but I have to write the names in on this ballot. My handwriting is not usually clear so I took my time time and wrote slowly and carefully, to make certain it would be legible.
I'll be near a FedEx office today so will send my ballot from there - FedEx is sending U.S. ballots for free. It's a wonderful example of corporate social responsibility.
I wasn't certain which offices, other than President/Vice-President, are up for election in my district this year, so I started by going to the New York State Board of Elections website to look at the list of general election candidates. When I vote in person I just have to choose from the names on the ballot but I have to write the names in on this ballot. My handwriting is not usually clear so I took my time time and wrote slowly and carefully, to make certain it would be legible.
I'll be near a FedEx office today so will send my ballot from there - FedEx is sending U.S. ballots for free. It's a wonderful example of corporate social responsibility.
Computers
My next class, Business Statistics, starts on Saturday. The textbook comes with a PC full of Excel data files and PHStat2 software. My computer can read the Excel files without a problem, but there's a small issue with the statistics software. It's written for Windows based computers, and my computer is a MacBook.
I love my MacBook, and I've even created complicated Excel spreadsheets on it, but have not needed to do any statistical computing so have not had this issue before.
I'm not going to buy a new computer for one class. Instead, I made a few phone calls. One friend is traveling right now but has an extra PC laptop, with all software in Italian, in his Beijing apartment just in case his main laptop fails. I now have it sitting in my living, though the charger is with him in Tibet (due to a packing mistake) so I would need to go to a computer market and find one that works in order to be able to use it. Another friend has a PC laptop that she is willing to loan me, with all software in Chinese, that she is going to leave at her office for me to pick up tomorrow.
I'm going to take the statistics software with me when I go to get the laptop, so that I can ask someone in her office for help if the computer asks me something in Chinese as a I load it. Other than that, I should be fine.
In an ideal world all software would run on a Mac. I don't live in an ideal world though, so it's nice to have backup plans, and friends who are willing and able to loan me extra computers.
I love my MacBook, and I've even created complicated Excel spreadsheets on it, but have not needed to do any statistical computing so have not had this issue before.
I'm not going to buy a new computer for one class. Instead, I made a few phone calls. One friend is traveling right now but has an extra PC laptop, with all software in Italian, in his Beijing apartment just in case his main laptop fails. I now have it sitting in my living, though the charger is with him in Tibet (due to a packing mistake) so I would need to go to a computer market and find one that works in order to be able to use it. Another friend has a PC laptop that she is willing to loan me, with all software in Chinese, that she is going to leave at her office for me to pick up tomorrow.
I'm going to take the statistics software with me when I go to get the laptop, so that I can ask someone in her office for help if the computer asks me something in Chinese as a I load it. Other than that, I should be fine.
In an ideal world all software would run on a Mac. I don't live in an ideal world though, so it's nice to have backup plans, and friends who are willing and able to loan me extra computers.
Beijing Taxis, Chp. 8
Kindness comes in many forms.
This evening I had to take cabs to and from a distant neighborhood that is not well served by public transportation. As usual when I'm taking a cab by myself, I sat in the front passenger seat. My cab driver didn't seem very interested in chatting so I called a friend to clarify when we would see each other next and tell her my frustration du jour, about software compatibility. We laughed through much of the phone call, most of the conversation in English but occasional phrases in Chinese, and my cabdriver was amused by my laughter. When I ended the phone call he asked if I was English, I clarified that I'm an American, a New Yorker, and confirmed with him that he is Beijingren (a person from Beijing).
When my driver dropped me off I asked for a copy of the fa piao (receipt) when I paid him. I use the receipts to help me track my spending. Many other people, especially expats, collect receipts because part of their compensation is reimbursement and they can only receive it if they submit receipts. Some people buy receipts on the black market for a fraction of their face value, to be reimbursed at the full value. People have asked me for my receipts when I've left grocery stores, especially large ones frequented by foreigners on expense accounts. Some people just save receipts they don't need and give them to friends who can use them - I've been at lunch and dinner gatherings where one person pulled out a pocketful of receipts to give to another.
When my driver gave me the receipt it was still attached to several others, from previous passengers. I went to rip them off to give them back, so that I would only have my own. No. The driver insisted that I keep them. It was a form of generosity.
And a form of kindness. One I don't think we would recognize in the U.S.
This evening I had to take cabs to and from a distant neighborhood that is not well served by public transportation. As usual when I'm taking a cab by myself, I sat in the front passenger seat. My cab driver didn't seem very interested in chatting so I called a friend to clarify when we would see each other next and tell her my frustration du jour, about software compatibility. We laughed through much of the phone call, most of the conversation in English but occasional phrases in Chinese, and my cabdriver was amused by my laughter. When I ended the phone call he asked if I was English, I clarified that I'm an American, a New Yorker, and confirmed with him that he is Beijingren (a person from Beijing).
When my driver dropped me off I asked for a copy of the fa piao (receipt) when I paid him. I use the receipts to help me track my spending. Many other people, especially expats, collect receipts because part of their compensation is reimbursement and they can only receive it if they submit receipts. Some people buy receipts on the black market for a fraction of their face value, to be reimbursed at the full value. People have asked me for my receipts when I've left grocery stores, especially large ones frequented by foreigners on expense accounts. Some people just save receipts they don't need and give them to friends who can use them - I've been at lunch and dinner gatherings where one person pulled out a pocketful of receipts to give to another.
When my driver gave me the receipt it was still attached to several others, from previous passengers. I went to rip them off to give them back, so that I would only have my own. No. The driver insisted that I keep them. It was a form of generosity.
And a form of kindness. One I don't think we would recognize in the U.S.
Beijing Taxis, Chp. 7
Last night was the birthday of one of my amici italiani (Italian friends), celebrated by a birthday dinner in a western-style cafe and restaurant in a hutong near the Lama Temple. Getting there required a taxi (or an hour and a half walk), at one of the busiest times.
When I left my building I head to a street where it's usually fairly easy to get a cab, then stood on the corner and watched taxis driving past with passengers. There was a man in front of me, who had been waiting about the same amount of time, and as an empty cab drove by he waved for for me to take it. Yes, I wanted the cab, but I didn't want to leave someone who had been waiting longer standing there. I asked if he was sure, he said yes. Then I said where I was going and asked if he was going in the same direction. After a short back-and-forth I convinced him that it was ok to share the taxi.
Usually my taxi language lessons come from conversation with the driver. Not this time. The man with whom I shared the cab speaks no English, is from Beijing, has lived in Shenzhen but now lives in Xi'an. He's here now visiting his parents. He's heard of New York, has never been to the U.S. but has visited Germany and speaks some German.
We had a pleasant 20 minute conversation, in Chinese. It was very repetitive, and basic, and there were long silences, but it was good.
When I left my building I head to a street where it's usually fairly easy to get a cab, then stood on the corner and watched taxis driving past with passengers. There was a man in front of me, who had been waiting about the same amount of time, and as an empty cab drove by he waved for for me to take it. Yes, I wanted the cab, but I didn't want to leave someone who had been waiting longer standing there. I asked if he was sure, he said yes. Then I said where I was going and asked if he was going in the same direction. After a short back-and-forth I convinced him that it was ok to share the taxi.
Usually my taxi language lessons come from conversation with the driver. Not this time. The man with whom I shared the cab speaks no English, is from Beijing, has lived in Shenzhen but now lives in Xi'an. He's here now visiting his parents. He's heard of New York, has never been to the U.S. but has visited Germany and speaks some German.
We had a pleasant 20 minute conversation, in Chinese. It was very repetitive, and basic, and there were long silences, but it was good.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
A Choice
Autumn is now here and this past Sunday I was able to participate in one of my favorite Beijing activities: rowing on a dragonboat on Houhai. As the weather gets colder our activity on the water will be cut back, so it was one of the last times this year I'll be able to row.
I'll miss this week and next because of school. The following week there is going to be a dragonboat competition, in Ningbo, south of Shanghai. It's the same weekend that Kanye West is going to be performing in Beijing, a five minute walk from my apartment. I'm not a huge Kanye fan but it would be fun to attend his show here.
I have to choose. Argh. Right now I'm leaning towards the dragonboat competition.
I'll miss this week and next because of school. The following week there is going to be a dragonboat competition, in Ningbo, south of Shanghai. It's the same weekend that Kanye West is going to be performing in Beijing, a five minute walk from my apartment. I'm not a huge Kanye fan but it would be fun to attend his show here.
I have to choose. Argh. Right now I'm leaning towards the dragonboat competition.
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