On the way to work today, my cabbie got in a tiny, miniscule, diminutive little accident. I should have identified him as trouble the way he was driving, really impatiently, cutting people off here and there. Right in front of 商品 Off-Price he was trying to squeeze by a bus when it lurched forward and clipped his side mirror. Or maybe he clipped it; I'm not sure, I didn't even feel it.
Pissed, he swerves around it, blasting his horn for a good 30 seconds, then swerves in front of it, stops, and, in the middle of traffic, he yanks on the parking break so he blocks the bus--the engine is still running--gets out of the car, walks to the bus and starts yelling at the bus driver. I can't understand a word he's saying. Nonplussed, the bus driver gets out and follows the cabbie to the right side of our cab to inspect the damage.
I watch as the two men argue in the street, cars weaving around them, and some other dudes come out of nowhere to join the argument. From what I could tell, the damage must be tiny because I can see the cabbie rubbing it with his thumb. I'm like, are you kidding, you are stopping traffic and raising hell for a one-inch scratch on your car!? I look around for other empty cabs, thinking I might just jump out of the car and flag another one down because I don't know how long this argument is going to take. But something keeps me from fleeing the car.
After like 10 minutes -- during which time, by the way, the traffic in front of us has not moved because the traffic light is so dang slow--two of the men pull out these big wads of cash and hand them over to the cabbie. I look: they are mostly Y10s and Y1s, totaling MAYBE Y100, USD $13. I couldn't believe it, but this seemed to satisfy the cabbie, and he gets back in the cab and starts driving again.
At the end of the ride, he apologizes for wasting my time and gives me a Y2 discount. I'm like, great. I'm down 10 minutes but up by a whole $0.26!
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My mom got to Beijing today and for her first meal I took her to one of my favorite restaurants, 中八楼, this beautiful, minimal-modernist, zen-like and theatrically lit Yunnanese place near the apartment. It was my fourth time there, but my convalescing tummy could only take the mildest food and with every bite I prayed it wouldn't act up again. I downed tons of this excellent chrysanthemum-apple-chamomile tea, and my mom enjoyed the spicy chicken on top of thin slices of lotus root and a bed of taro mash:
And then, the star of every meal at this restaurant, the grilled veal accompanied with grilled apples and special mushrooms flown in from Yunnan. So tender and flavorful:
Pissed, he swerves around it, blasting his horn for a good 30 seconds, then swerves in front of it, stops, and, in the middle of traffic, he yanks on the parking break so he blocks the bus--the engine is still running--gets out of the car, walks to the bus and starts yelling at the bus driver. I can't understand a word he's saying. Nonplussed, the bus driver gets out and follows the cabbie to the right side of our cab to inspect the damage.
I watch as the two men argue in the street, cars weaving around them, and some other dudes come out of nowhere to join the argument. From what I could tell, the damage must be tiny because I can see the cabbie rubbing it with his thumb. I'm like, are you kidding, you are stopping traffic and raising hell for a one-inch scratch on your car!? I look around for other empty cabs, thinking I might just jump out of the car and flag another one down because I don't know how long this argument is going to take. But something keeps me from fleeing the car.
After like 10 minutes -- during which time, by the way, the traffic in front of us has not moved because the traffic light is so dang slow--two of the men pull out these big wads of cash and hand them over to the cabbie. I look: they are mostly Y10s and Y1s, totaling MAYBE Y100, USD $13. I couldn't believe it, but this seemed to satisfy the cabbie, and he gets back in the cab and starts driving again.
At the end of the ride, he apologizes for wasting my time and gives me a Y2 discount. I'm like, great. I'm down 10 minutes but up by a whole $0.26!
________________________________
My mom got to Beijing today and for her first meal I took her to one of my favorite restaurants, 中八楼, this beautiful, minimal-modernist, zen-like and theatrically lit Yunnanese place near the apartment. It was my fourth time there, but my convalescing tummy could only take the mildest food and with every bite I prayed it wouldn't act up again. I downed tons of this excellent chrysanthemum-apple-chamomile tea, and my mom enjoyed the spicy chicken on top of thin slices of lotus root and a bed of taro mash:
And then, the star of every meal at this restaurant, the grilled veal accompanied with grilled apples and special mushrooms flown in from Yunnan. So tender and flavorful:
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