The line up has changed a bit since I saw them last at The Zhejiang Dream Factory back in April for their CD release party for Seeds in the Ground. Now the lead singer, Lin Di’s husband Seppo is playing bass (definitely not a negative). One of things I noticed this time out is that CFL’s new stuff seems to emphasize the Chinese instrumentation more — Lin Di’s pipa seems to come out much stronger and the band’s drummer can rival Hedgehog’s Atom for how hard he pounds the skins — both in traditional Chinese and jazz drumming fashions. In fact he seemed to break into a lot of drum solos last night in between songs that were just amazing.

Probably the best part about their new year’s eve show is that the band played it more like an evening with Cold Fairyland than their traditional shows. I don’t know from looking at the attendees how many people knew of CFL before the show. I think not many. Winnie and I showed up at about 9:15 (CFL was supposed to hit the stage about 10 but started closer to 10:30) and the Melting Pot was packed with people who’d come for their NYE buffet — mostly older expats and dice-playing Chinese (who kept playing dice during CFL’s set) not the typical CFL fans.

There was also, I’m sorry to say, annoying cover band called the Pilgrims opening up for them. It looked like a group of bored/laid-off European bankers who had decided to start a band for extra cash. They got very little applause when they played. But once CFL hit the stage the Pilgrim’s lead singer, who seemed like he got drunk long before he came to the bar, was giving nothing but praise to CFL. And you could tell that people really got into the music (and the contests) and I am sure a few new CFL fans were converted last night.

To me the best thing about the night was everyone was just there to have a good time and be about the music. I know that sounds cheesy but it’s true. Ruby, one of the Melting Pot’s owners made sure that free champaign was given out at midnight and was really making sure that everyone was having a good time.

Me, last night I was able to forget about my troubles and just enjoy the start to a new year. Hopefully 2009 will be a much better year for me.

J.

• Adam is producing a series of videos of his 93-year-old Chinese teacher,  Teacher Gui as she recounts her life in Shanghai. Very interesting stuff.
• Adam also posted an interview that UVic’s radio station did with former Shanghai expat Aric S. Queen about his time and escape from Shanghai. It’s about 30 minutes but well worth the listen as Aric is just an amazing guy.

I hope these stories brighten up your Sunday.

J.

Today, I’m just trying to relax. I spent about an hour and a half this morning doing job hunting and right now I just feel exhausted and still full of food from last night. I’m going to take it easy for the rest of the day. I usually don’t relax very well so I always have to have something on the go, but today I just need to take sometime for myself. So I’m planning to spend the rest of the day with a book. 

I hope your Christmas was equally fun and your plans were equally relaxing.

J.

The Olympics appears to be at fault for this. The import bans the government issued before the Olympics meant that Optima had to be imported from the US via Guangzhou and sit in a non-climate controlled warehouse where bacteria was allowed to grow on it.  I don’t know what to say except this is another supply chain failure for China as well as causing a lot of personal pain for many dog owners.

Roger is one of the lucky ones, he isn’t affected but that’s because our pet store doesn’t carry Optima.

J.

I was also listening to the Hold Steady’s Stay Positive. It’s perfect music for a Sunday morning. Maybe it’s because the Hold Steady is like the bar band that made it big but still sounds like a bar band. Listening them on a Sunday morning reminds you of the events of the night before.

But I didn’t go out last night. Instead, we went for brunch at Malone’s for breakfast and then headed over to the friend’s place for the afternoon. The girls made cake and the guys, well we sat and drank beer and watched DVDs before we enjoyed the cake.

Right now it’s dark and windy outside and I’m at home in my office and I don’t want to leave. I’m warm and drinking fair-trade English tea from Marks and Spencer. CBC Radio’s The House is pumping out through my iPod’s speakers.

Maybe I’ll read some psalms later. I don’t know why — I haven’t been to church in a while — but I feel that in this time of struggle for me I am getting closer to my spiritual side. Maybe it’s because I have time to stop and reflect on things now. I was getting really agitated and anxious this week, because my job prep wasn’t really going my way. My Friday interview for a magazine editing job went well, but the job isn’t guaranteed yet. Another job that I had interviewed for about two months ago, even before I left my present company, fell through. I wasn’t surprised as it had taken them so long to make a decision but I was still disappointed about it, hence my shitty Friday.

I am not going to let things get to me this week though. I’m still going to keep job hunting but I am also going to take time and sit back awhile and reflect, read and write a bit more. Hopefully that will keep my nerves on an even plain.

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday.

J.

I haven’t exactly firmed up where I’ll be heading to next but I am going through the interview process with a number of companies. It’s a little unnerving not knowing where I’ll be working in a couple of weeks but it is exciting too. Particularly because I’ve made it one of my goals to get back into journalism. In fact most of my interviews have been for positions either writing or editing magazines. I’ve been considering this for awhile and while economically things are tough right now for many people now just felt like the right time for a change. 

So until I have a new position confirmed I’ll have a bit more time to blog and I will keep everyone up-to-date on my adventures.

J.

On a more positive note though, Winnie and I did watch the 2008 Beijing Olympics opening ceremonies on Friday with some friends at a Greek restaurant in Gubei. It was simply awesome especially the fireworks. I do hope that this put a lot doubts to rest about whether China was ready to host the Olympics or not. I’ve also been watching the Olympics on and off all weekend. As of right now, China has six gold and two silver medals.

It was sad to hear about the murder of an American at the Drum Tower yesterday. My thoughts are with the family, but I am wishing deep in my heart of hearts that there is no backlash against China for it. It sounds like it was just a deranged man and the family was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Look for posts again soon.

J.

When it happened I was sitting at my desk working on my computer. I felt a little dizzy and I thought it was just from some eating some bad food at lunch. Only when my colleagues rushed by saying in Shanghainese that something had happened did I know it wasn’t just me. Within a minute my Twitter Feed jumped to life with people asking if anyone else felt the earthquake in Beijing. It was then that I knew something was up. A few minutes later we evacuated the building.

But we were given the all clear 15 minutes later. When I got back to my desk I was able to follow everything on Twitter and answer questions from different colleagues as the people on my feed fed information on the earthquake from all over the country. And we were able to help each other and filter out rumours. People who had access to televisions were able to keep people like me, who were in offices and working, up-to-date with the latest developments.

I can really tell that Twitter is coming into it’s own in China. Today really proves it, especially since the Chinese media did not release news right away and there is very limited access to foreign news sources such as CNN — I’m lucky in in that I have a satellite dish that gives me foreign programs but it’s on the fritz at the moment. Twitter filled the gap for me today and thanks to crowd sourcing I think that it’s pretty accurate. Two articles on the situation can be found on Danwei and China Herald.

As much as I feel happy for the role that Twitter played in the event, I fill sorry for all those dead and injured in the quake. My heart and prayers go out to them.

J.

Update (May 17th 2008): I sent a note to Jesse Brown, the host of CBC Radio’s Search Engine about Twittering the earthquake. They featured me on their blog here and here.