hi, i'm jenn

we’re in lijiang’s old town. it’s the opposite of shanghai. i keep sayign to lori it’s like being in some chinese theme park.

we also got ripped off for the first time (well, at least knowingly). we got in a cab, and after he drove away from the airport told us it would cost 80RMBｔｏ　ｇｅｔ　ｗｈｅｒｅ　ｗｅ　ｎｅｅｄｅｄ　ｔｏ　ｇｏ．　ｗｅ　ｔｒｉｅｄ　ｔｏ　ｂａｒｇａｉｎ，　ｏｒ　ａｔ　ｌｅａｓｔ　ｐｕｔ　ｏｎ　ｔｈｅ　ｍｅｔｅｒ，　ｂｕｔ　ｈｅ　ｗａｓｎ＇ｔ　ｈａｖｉｎｇ　ａｎｙ　ｏｆ　ｉｔ．　ｓｏ　ｗｅ　ｈａｄ　ｔｏ　ａｄｍｉｔ　ｄｅｆｅａｔ．　ｔｈｅ　ｇｕｉｄｅ　ｂｏｏｋ　ｓａｙｓ　ｉｔ＇ｓ　ａｂｏｕｔ　ａ　６０ＲＭＢride, so for the 20RMB　（ａｂｏｕｔ　＄３）it’s not the end of the world.

we’re staying in a naxi guest house that took forever to find, and i kinda miss our hotel. there’s a pretty courtyard, but the showers/bathrooms are shared. and the bathrooms are squatters without doors. or walls between them. or flushing ability. here’s to roughing it!

but there’s a tibetean restaurant with english menus and vegetarian food. after taking a flight that served us pork wtih rice or pork with noodles, and then another that served us pork in a bun, it was a nice lunch outside on their patio. in the sun. glad i brought a hat.

the old city, where we’re staying, is a literal maze of cobblestone roads with gift shops and restaurants and cafes… it’s amazing.

now we’re working out the details of our hike that starts tomorrow. the logistics with making sure we’re back in lijiang in time to get our flight are a little complex. but we should be gone for 2 days… if you don’t hear from me by friday then you should be concerned. teehee.

thanks to baron for fixing my blog. he’s my hero.

too bad i’m now going on a two day hike so will be radio silent. oh well.

so the internet at the hotel won’t let me post to my blog. nothing about the government watching me, but posts just won’t go through. pretty frustrating after writing a great one and then losing it completely. so i’m getting my mom to post them on my behalf.

today lori and i are walking from one end of nanjing street to the other. it’s the 5th avenue of shanghai. there’s a huge square with a park — called People’s Square — at about the halfway point. the weather is a beautiful and sunny spring day so we decided to sit under a tree and enjoy our apples which we stole from the breakfast buffet. some young chinese kids started talking to us. they’re visiting from a province in eastern china and spoke amazing english. they were really excited to talk to foreigners – was almost like being back in japan. one of the girls, jing jing, decided to call lori sister because she looks like her brother’s (actually they call cousins brothers/sisters here) girlfriend. and so tonight we got tickets to see acrobats with them. they got kinda shrieky after a bit, so lori and i split back up from them but we’ll see them later tonight. will be good that we’re seeing what the locals see rather than what the tour books tell us. and now we’ll continue walking.

a conversation with my father about my upcoming trip to china:

dad: have you got your visa yet for china?
me: yes.
dad: is it single entry or multiple entry?
me: single entry.
dad: then make sure you don’t leave china.
me: okay dad. um, dad, where would i be going?
dad: well, if someone invites you to hong kong for the day, say no.
me: okay dad.

on second thought, maybe he just thinks i’m stupid

i’m verbally dyslexic.

i hope next time there’s an eclipse it’s not as cold out.

then maybe i’ll go outside for more than just a peek.

Dear Rachael,

I watch your show each morning while I run on the treadmill at the gym. Your upbeat personality is generally a cheerful way to start the day, and I enjoy getting recipe ideas for that night’s dinner.

Monday was an exception. You gave your audience members an HD Tuner Stick with a cute baby remote from buy.com. I thought this was really cool. You then remarked how the ladies in the audience would need to have a guy set it up for them. That was really *not* cool, and made me quite angry.

I am a women, and I love technology. I can set technical things up, sometimes even better than the men I know. For example, on the weekend I had to set up a television for my father who couldn’t figure out how to get the Digital Cable working. He had been going at it for an hour. My mom and I had it set up within 5 minutes. So while some women might not be able to set up their HD tuner sticks, I’d bet there are quite a few others that will be just fine without a man’s help.

As a female in technology, the lack of women in my field is something I am reminded of every day. And it’s misconceptions such as that women are not good with technology that contribute to the problem.

When positive female role models like yourself propagate these stereotypes, you worsen the problem.

Thanks for listening, and enjoy your HD Pro Stick! Let me know if you need any help setting it up.
Cheers,

jenn

I am a girl.

I like technology.

It’s frustrating when companies think that all they need to do to make a product appealing to a woman is paint it pink.
There’s way more to it than that. It’s nice to read about some companies that seem to finally be getting it. One of my favourite tech blogs had an interesting article about an event HP held on the topic. It gives me hope.
But if a product I like comes in a pink version, count me in. And if there’s a hello kitty version, that’s even better.

i’m a huge fan of puns, so when i saw the term nodcast i figured someone was talking about a boring podcast.

nope, turns out nodcasts are no joke at all! in fact they’re quite clever. i think i might download one to see what it’s about.

but i’m not sure what travelodge is getting at with its hi-tech pjs. though i would totally wear a pair if i was staying there.