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* went to bed last night at midnight - actually early for me
* 15 million safe work hours gift - day glow orange winter jacket with company logos - looks like something a policeman or fireman might wear - all sizes ran large, my medium seemed more like a large but the sleeves cinch up with velcro straps so it's not bad - not sure when i'd ever wear this, maybe for bicycling for maximum visibility
* becoming qq friends with dai nana (one of the fan dancing girls) after helping her get a copy of all the new year ceremony photos. she's actually the translator for one of the contract construction companies. she said i had a cool chinese name and once more said she loved the sound of my fluent english.
* taking a work break in the afternoon with xianglian, chatting outside in the courtyard. she told me she's been living pretty much on her own since age 5, because her parents were never around. in fact, this chinese new year is the first time in more than 10 years since they all spent chinese new year together, because usually only one parents return from their construction jobs in zhejiang. we talked about gardening and dogs. xianglian was shocked that my sister lets her dog sleep on the bed with her.
* taking the medium bus after work, bus leaving at 5:52, arriving in town around 6:15. i actually fell asleep a little bit on the bus because i was so tired. after dropping off my gift jacket, i went out again and walked to ancient changshou to see if they lit up anymore lantern sculptures. all of them were lit this time except for the giant peaches. for some reason they turn off all the lanterns at 7:30 - maybe to conserve electricity. they actually lit the bonfire in the plaza tonight, it was kind of scary and mesmerizing watching all these chinese people performing synchronized dancing around a burning cauldron.
* i had some lamb kabobs (10 for RMB$10 but there was just a little meat and not that good) then walked home (20 minutes) while watching an episode of sherlock on my smartphone. i made rice porridge for dinner, skyping with my parents while i ate with my hands and chopsticks.