A very happy Xmas

Well, Christmas turned out really well, despite some of us (including me) getting completely lost and showing up to the pub an hour or so late. Not my fault, of course. Went to a place called Yin Yang first which was nice in a traditional mahogany table sort of way, and then moved on the Madam Zung's which had a 50 yuan (US$5) cover, which seemed almost outrageously expensive to me, considering how used to Chinese prices I already am. Still, beer prices were reasonable, about US$2.50 for a pint of Steinlager, one of the few places where I can get it. Stayed for a few hours, danced a bit and went home slightly lighter in the wallet. Slept at 5am, knowing I'd have lots of time to recover from my drinking binge. Except I didn't have all that much time at all. Was awoken at 10am by the phone, telling me to get my ass into gear for Christmas lunch at Holiday Inn at 11. Needless to say, the festive mainstays of green and red soon disappeared with my turning the air blue. Managed to get there on time and gorged myself stupider on turkey, spuds and salmon before collapsing into a contentedly bloated doze on my chair. One of my co-workers, the guy who invited me to the xmas dinner, gave me and my other co-worker a mug of candy each, which I was pretty touched by. Really nice thought. A little too out of it to blog right now. Hi there to any readers from China, who should now be able to access my blog. Now I just want to sleep and snuggle up in my new electric blanket...aaahh, luxury (best enjoyed while employing a Northern English accent).