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TITLE: GRID MAINTAINANCE
LOCATION: WANXINGDA GROUP
MISSION: PLAY ON MY PHONE
DATE: 2011-10-21
Today there was an all-day power outage due to planned maintenance of the power grid. It is done in sections and today the turn had come to the area atound the group headquarters. The power apparently went out sometime around seven this morning (I can remember Bai Zhoutong quitely cursing while shaving) and didn't come back until half past six in the evening. Since the outage was expected I decided to spend the day downtown at Hongchang, which lies in an area that isn't scheduled for maintenance until later (a whole day without Internet won't do when writing a thesis). The evenings are getting dark very quickly nowadays, and boy was it dark when I got back to the dormitory after dinner! This was the absolute brightest picture of my room that my camera could muster while handheld. Fortunately my iPhone had quite a lot of battery left, so I could at least entertain myself for the hour or so in complete darkness until the power returned. In the first picture you see the fleet of "business cars" that Wanxingda commands, all black with dark windows of course. They are used for picking up customers and driving management around. The last generation must have been the Volkswagen Santana, because you see them EVERYWHERE and they all look the same. Today high-end Audis, Toyotas and Buicks are among the most popular for driving in style. I had a small epiphany today when I realized that I can have the chef at Heping customize dishes to my liking. How about some 地三鲜 with carrots instead of eggplant? M-Mmm! I get hungry just thinking about it. Also, the chef is from now on no longer putting coriander in my food. \[^_^]/ When the power came back I went down to Mrs. Zhao to pick up a couple of bottles of water. Bottled water is really handy in the event of a power outage, as you become waterless too. Mrs. Zhao lives together with her daughter in the back of the store, I learned today. She is not working at Wanxingda like her mother, but in Anshan selling clothes in her own little shop. Finally, a photo of Wangwang, the adorable stray dog Mrs. Zhao adopted a few years back.