Day 159 - Police and Deportation

Friday, July 15th, 2016

Smog

? AQI

If today was a game show, it would be called "Will he or won't he?" with “puke” as the opening category. I decided to choose the "he will" option. The power of fingers compels you!

You'd think 7ish hours later, I wouldn't have chuan spices in my stomach.

You'd think that said spices would make vomiting taste worse.

You'd be wrong on both counts.

Back to bed.

I’m supposed to meet Shimou over in her part of town for her last friday at this job. It’s a nice area of town, she says, but it’s 1-2 hours transit away, so I’ve never bothered. Yeah, I’m a great boyfriend.

Anyway, today I actually make the venture, having not eaten, nor showered, and still feeling blah. On the subway, one woman walks from woman to woman, showing them pictures of something and getting brushed off. Ouch. Been there.

Waiting around the mall for Shimou to get off work, we end up having a very frustrating game of Cat and Mouse. I was supposed to take exit E, but there was only A-D. Well, D is the closest to E…

Passing Time People Watching*

While waiting for Shimou to find me, I watch a businessman trying to chat up a woman many years his junior. She appears to be his business colleague, and while he seems to really be trying to be impressive, she's not having it. Every time he shows her a picture or attempts to close the gap between them, she would maintain it. Little-to-no body posture mirroring, and she was even grabbing fistful of her ankle-length skirt in what appears to be an attempt to relieve some internal anxiety. Yet the exchange persists. She’s younger and more attractive than him. If I had to guess, he's probably her a superior, if not a direct boss. 6:30 on a Friday night, not near anywhere a cab can access, anchored to a busy sidewalk. They’re not looking around, so they're probably not expecting anyone else to join them. it seems like such a non-starter. What're they waiting for?**

Police and Deportation

I know of a friend of a friend, a singer, who got deported. She was supposed to headline the concert that Dan had been organizing, but was picked up by the cops. She didn’t have her paperwork on her, so they brought her to the station. They discovered that her paperwork was not 100% in order, was left, chained to a chair for 2 days, and then deported. She’s now banned from the country for 5 years. She had been here for 8ish years; her whole life had been here. Shit that sounds terrible.

Another friend had found ¥500 in ¥100-dollar bills, and thought it would be considerate to give them to the bank, reporting the forgeries. He ended up being brought to a side room, the police were called, and he was pelted with the word “Cooperate!” He was trying to, eventually being released without repercussions. 

Can you see why I’m really putting the pressure on to learn the language as quickly as possible?

*Notice how "watching people" sounds creepier than "people watching"

**Yeah, this is my people watching. Analysis and predictions.

Words of the Day

English - Mandarin [pronunciation]

Police
jǐngchá
[jee-ung chah]
Deportation
fàng zhú
[fah-ng jew]

Editing Music
It All Starts Here
Magic Man