Quick hits...

I couldn't figure out why my apartment seemed significantly colder last night than previous nights, especially since the heat is now on and working. As I was getting ready this morning, I walked into my "office" (which I mainly use for laundry), and the window was wide open. Ayi must've been airing out the place when she came in this morning and neglected to shut the window. It's winter. Sheesh.

Speaking of heat, the KFQ district is officially providing heat nearly 10 days earlier than last year! Hello, Inefficient Radiator Heat! Goodbye, Drafty Cold Rooms!" Or, maybe only, "So there, Drafty Cold Room! That will make you less potent!"

In China (or, at least in the cities), the government controls/approves the time at which apartments and houses can begin providing centralized heat to their apartments. It's much different than back home where everyone has their own little temp control. Much different. Since most of the heat comes from burning coal in the country, the country delays the access to coal-generated heat. This year, we got lucky... the heat kicked in last week already! Last year, it was November 15th, and it stopped on February 15th. I was not a happy camper when I came back from the tropics after my winter vacation. Of course, you can use electricity to heat your house through space heaters but they're generally not too efficient and can make your electric bill skyrocket. Whatever the case, thank you China for making me slightly less cold than last week.

In non-heat business, it's about 6:24am and fireworks have been firing nearby for about 20 minutes. I wonder if China will ever institute noise laws. Probably not... fireworks manufacturing is probably controlled by the state.

In animal news, I was at the Dirt Market in Beijing and guys were walking around trying to sell animal skins that were slung over their shoulders. Some of them looked eerily like domestic dogs. Not sure... just sayin'.

Off to school. Ciao.

T