Over the past week I’ve noticed something that seems to have gone viral here in Beijing. It’s something that’s not uncommon, but I only now seem to be seeing it everywhere I walk. Nail clipping. Seriously, what possesses people to cut their nails in public? Last week, outside the Science and Technology museum, I sit [...]

I don’t often get the opportunity to cook much these days, but when I do I like to make sure I’m spending my time cooking something nice. After a terribly long day in meetings yesterday, I found myself walking home from the subway early in the evening with the feeling that I could devour something [...]

I’m kind of all over Instagram at the moment, so if you would like to follow some of my photos (well… there’s only two there at the moment) my user name is dehere or just try my email (dehere(at)iinet.net.au). And yes, I do need to post a lot more, just so busy with life. Everything [...]

I don’t even know where to start with this one… so I’m just going to let the story read for itself. Chinese police have seized more than 3,200 tons of a new type of "gutter oil" made from decomposing animal fat and internal organs, said the Ministry of Public Security. Previously, the phrase "gutter oil" [...]

Yesterday was of course White Day in both Japan and Korea, 30 days after Valentine’s Day. I’ve talked about White Day in the past, but traditionally it was a time where partners do something nice for each other (although I noticed it was more or less for the men to make up for screwing up [...]

The other night Em and I went out to dinner with a group of people to say goodbye to one of my good workmates. She was one of the people who really looked after me at the job when I first started and was an inspiration for me to really put  my best into the [...]

My damn freaking eye. Over the last few months my right eye has been causing me some trouble. Every now and then, usually in the morning after my shower, I feel like there is a sharp piece of grit in it that I can’t get out. The more I try, the worst it gets, to [...]

I really love my smart phone. It’s not an iPhone, nor is it a pricey Samsung, but a very modest Motorola 525 that does everything I need. I can make calls, surf the web from almost anywhere, and stay in contact with both home and personal contacts when on the move. Not to mention some [...]

With winter coming to slow close I’m very happy to see the temperature creeping back up and out of the below freezing range. Life is a lot nicer when I don’t have to wrap my head in scarf just so my face doesn’t freeze off with frostbite. However somebody had forgotten to tell our building [...]

One of the things I’ve had to deal with since changing my position is handling schedules, especially when it comes to arranging meetings. I’ve always been one of those people that arrives to everything early, or at very least will get there early and then wait around to the starting time. I’ve always seen it [...]