The Future Of Guangzhou And Chuck

No future for Chuck in Guangzhou. Moving on.

George and I were in a cab when he got a call from his boss saying that he'd be transfered to Beijing. Bummer. Our least fave of the big Chinese cities. FUCK! We gloomed momentarily, recounted our past five days of apartment hunting, friend making, city exploring and realized it was all in vain. Now to figure out how to get all of George's crap we had just moved from Jinan to Guangzhuo to Shanghai all within his moving budget of pennies. It was looking like I'd eat the airline ticket I had bought to help George move and to check out our new home city. Actually, it still looks like I'm eating it. Ugh. Every yaun spent draws my departure from China closer. We decided what we needed was a huge expensed meal, so out on the town we went. And it was out on the town that George had gotten another call from his boss to let him know that things have changed yet again. No big surprise that things change in China. Our plans change pretty much on a minute to minute basis, whatever, it keeps us guessing and I wouldn't want it any other way. The boss man lets George know that he is now being relocated to Shanghai. SHANGHAI! FUCKING SWEET! ROCK! METAL! I fricken love Shanghai! It's my favorite city in China so far. Night life. Old scholl alleys with drunken old men yelling about how stupid George Bush is. ROCK! SWEET! SWEEEEET! So after dinner we celebrate by staying in and watching a movie. George's new favorite past time. Now that he's an old man with a real j-o-b (although he hasn't even started yet) getting him to go out and whoop it up is like trying to push a cow across a metal grate. You know, those metal grates that cows won't pass. Yup, that;'s what those things are...I think. Or that could just be wind coming from my butt sounding like it knows what it's talking about, who knows.
The next day I saddle up on a train and head to Hong Kong about two hours from Guanzhuo. I have about 2 weeks or so to get my passport stamped or else! I'm not exactally sure what the "or else" is, but I really don't want to get kicked out of China. I call my new pal in Shenzhen, Barbara, the hot Russian chick and make plans to hang out with her for the day after I get stamped in Hong Kong. In Hong Kong I can get my passport stamped free of charge except of course the 80 yaun train fare each way from Guanzhuo and the 20 Hong Kong dollar subway ride each way and the 30 Hong Kong dollar unresistable Starbucks coffee. Mmm. My favorite place on earth in China. Better than Disneyland.
I was told, in broke ass english that I wouldn't have to leave the train station in Shenzhen, that the border is actully inside but I'd still have to buy a subway tolkien and I just needed to get to the other side of the tracks. When I got to the platform there were a boodle of people waiting to hop the subway. I walked all the way down the platform but I couldn't find the way to the other side of the tracks. I was lookinf for a bridge or a tunnel, something. The train came and let the people off one side but kept the doors shut on my side. Through the window of the closed door I watched everyone exit, than watched their door shut than a moment later our doors open. Everyone got on the train, except me. I had heard that Hong Kong was super expensive, the highest rents in the world I had heard just a few days before on the tv. I didn't want to get on that train. I mean, what if I got on that train and Hong Kong somehow took all my money. Then what? Homeless in Hong Kong? I don't think so. I let the train leave without me. I was alone on the platform. A large group of Chinese toursits in matching hats were coming up on me. All being led by a flag weilding tour guide. I watched them line up and wait. Another train came then they boarded and then they went. How the scratch am I going to get over there? Without going broke? The next train came and I boarded. I rode it to the next stop, hopped off, bought another ticket and rode it back. I had beaten Hong Kong. Charlie 1 Hong Kong 0. Nice.
I met up with Barbara and seeing as it was raining pretty good we decided to head to a big mall where I wanted to shop for a new camera. Instead of camera shopping we went to the movies. Spiderman 3. I really didn't want to see it. I knew it would suck, it did. But I did want to see it in Chinese. A couple weeks earlier I had seen a Mark Wahlberg movie called The Shooter in Chinese with no english subtitles. That was fun! Real fun! Any crappy movie is good in Chinese. The only thing that could ruin a movie like Spiderman is understanding whats going on and unfortunatly for me it was only playing in English. Suck. We watched it, had a blast, had some laughs talked through the whole thing, like loud. The chinks in that theatre must of been pissed.
After the movie she saw me to the bus that would take me to the train station where I would catch a train home.
While I was standing in the line to buy a ticket this old guy, 60 or so, turned to talk to me while he was munching on some sort or crumby muffin roll food chinese weirdness thing. "Are you going to Guanzhuo?" he said spraying me with crumbs from his old mouth. "Yup." I replied trying to keep from dropping into a fit of uncontrolable laughter. "Can you get a ticket?" he said while he was nonchallantly picking crumbs from my shirt. "I guess," holding it back. "I'll get it." he said as our turn came at the window. He started speaking in Chinese to the woman selling the tickets and he seemed to talk for 5 minutes than the lady looked at me and I figured it was time to hand her some money, so I did. And I had a ticket. And a new friend, Michael. Michael offered up one of his muffin things to which I delined and he began walking with me. We had an hour to kill before the train so I asked if he'd join me for some dinner, to which he agreed.
We sat and talked over some crappy train station Chinese food that looked nothing like the picture to which I pointed in the menu to the waiter. Michael put up a bit of a fuss, but I told him it was no big deal and he let the smiling waiter go. I come to find out that Michael is a retired Hong Kong police chief on his way to Guanzhuo to meet up with his 35 year old girlfriend. Cool. Real cool. He has a son that's an engineer and I decided not to ask about the mother. I wanted him to tell me stories and instead he starts giving me advice. "In China," he starts off every bit of advice with, "In China you watch out for the women." I look at him questionably. "In China the women will bring you to the hotel and they will have someone waiting there for you and then..." he makes a throat slicing motion with his finger. Shit. Yikes. "In China, you don't want to gamble or get involved with the drugs or else." There's that "or else" again. I ask if he knows about my favorite Chinese actor, Chow Yun Fat. He coyly smiles and says "He is like a brother to me." Fat is an action movie star who has worked with the likes of famous Hong Kong action movie director John Woo and had studied being a police officer with Michael to prepare for his roles. At this point I bowed and claimed my not worthiness.
The bill came and Michael sprung for the meal. Too cool. And we left for the train.We sat facing each other in the waiting room. I saw him start fishing through a backpack than he said,"Charlie." smiled at me and pulled a plastic toy doll from his bag. Unclothed with penis. I went into hysterics as did he. As the tears ran down my face I noticed everyone around us starring. I tried to imagine what they must have thought as my laughing died down. He then fished around again through his bag and pulled from it my gift, a winnie the pooh pin. I looked at Michael questionably, again, and he said "give it to a girl. You will get a kiss." I have yet to redeem it. Meeting Michael brought back great memories of an old friend, Al.
The seating assignments were different although we bought our tickets one after the other so we made our way to the dining car so we could continue our conversation. We plopped down alongside each other in a booth that was occupied on one side by a female train attendant and started chatting it up. Michael started telling me about his girlfriend and that he could only now go once in a night. Ok. You just said that didn't you. I told him he must be psyched to have such a young gf. He said "I too am young. I'm 30. Twice." After a half hour or so he got up said thanks for talking and went about his life. So cool.
I got back to the hotel and the room was quiet. George was off on his cool new bike tearing up the city. I hopped in the shower, hot and muggy in Guanzhuo, and was rinsing off when there was a knock at the door. I opened the door for George, nude, and hopped back in the shower to finish myself off when George asked me if liked riding motorcycles. "Yeah. I'd say I like riding motorcycles. Why do you ask Geaorge?"
"Because Nokia just approved our budget. We got the job."
Sweet. Real Sweet.