KTV and small villages

There is a small chance I won't be able to get online for awhile after this. I doubt it, but I'm just throwing it out there.

We leave tommorow at 6:30am for the mountains. It'll be a two week retreat with Chinese English teachers. I'm told it's very beautiful out there, hopefully I'll be able to get better pictures than I've gotten in this ugly grey polluted city. It's a nice place, don't get me wrong, it's just very polluted and not photogenic. Today, for instance, I couldn't even see the sun at 2pm. It's a constant gray blanket overhead. Really... I haven't found a single thing worth taking my real camera out for. Maybe the street vendors, but that will take some audacity. I would get some of the crumbling old buildings as per my norm, but I've already been told that's one of the few social taboo's here - to take pictures that obviously make China look undeveloped.

Tonight most of the Tianjin office went out to KTV, which is the big multi-national brand for karaoke. I must admit it was hella fun singing along with our 60 year old CEO. After a few beers I pulled off an amazing homage to Jacksonville and our music scene... "Simple Man." I scored a 98/100 [though the machine doesn't score anyone less than 90].

A quick lowdow of KTV - it was above the Carrefour supermarket and was drasticly expensive compared to everything else (well, maybe not Mexican food in China). There were two hallways leading out of the main lobby. One was weird with white walls and multi-colored frames and whatnot. It looked out of some new Jim Carrey movie. Our hallways was Alien themed, as in the movie. It was a forest with Alien's hiding everywhere. There were about ten rooms. Some were large and supported parties of older couples dancing along. Ours was a bit smaller, a lounge ringed with comfortable leather chairs with TV's aft and in the front sprouting lyrics both English and Chinese. In the center was a table with all our drinks. I must say the crowd here drinks substantially more than I do. There really are no social taboos with drinking in China so long as you're not smashed and wandering the streets making a scene.




Me singing Lynard Skynard's "Simple Man"




Me, David, and Dru




The weird Alien themed hallway our room was on