Personal post:

• The job is going well. We're in the run-up to midterms, so I have a huge pile of homework on my desk and spent all day Saturday writing up a couple of test papers. And they still have to get reviewed by the math department head, and then I have to proctor other peoples' tests and grade my own, as well as write report card comments for all 30 or so students in my three classes. I teach two sections of 6^th grade math, and a statistics class which is not officially an AP class but is being taught at a level slightly higher than your average AP course. It's nice teaching in an English language environment, finally teaching something I can get excited about, and I love smacking down the line "Oh, so you teach English?" with "No, I'm a math teacher!" The students are disciplined, but one class still drives me crazy and lets me know that I have a long way to go as a teacher.

• This Sunday, Jodi and I arrived at the 巴黎婚纱 (Paris Bride) at 7:45am and stayed until about 8pm at night. What for? Wedding photos! It's something of a Chinese tradition, at least in Shanghai it is, for the couple getting married to take "wedding" photos sometime before the wedding to display around the house and at the ceremony itself. From a more practical point of view, it's part of the bargaining process between the bride's and groom's families. But enough with the sociology, we spent 12 hours changing clothes, hairstyles, makeup and and backdrops, even shuttling over to a park by Shanghai Circus World for an outdoor shoot. Talk about exhausting! We should have results in a few weeks; for now, the best I can do is put up some cellphone pics (more coming).

• We got a surprise call from our landlady last night. Because her son decided to live abroad long-term, she wants to sell the house earlier than she had planned. So she's asking (politely!) to break the contract, and when would be a convenient time for us to move. Due to various circumstances, that is sooner rather than later, so we'll be apartment hunting in the upcoming weeks. We're looking for someplace convenient to metro lines 1 and 2: maybe Zhongshan Park, People's Square, or Xinzha Road metro stop near Suzhou Creek. We're aiming for a two bedroom place at the RMB 1500 mark in decent condition and a nice neighborhood, but we may be dreaming.

• Jodi is taking the train back home this Wednesday to apply for a passport. I wanted her to fly, but she was more comfortable with the train idea. It was sooooo much easier to buy a train ticket (sleeper! bottom bunk!) now than at the Chinese New Year. Hopefully the application process will go smoothly. It'll be nice that she gets to see her parents. Myself, I'll be running errands, apartment hunting, and hanging out with friends.

• In fact, this weekend looks to be a busy one: Shanghai Weblogger Meetup on Wednesday night, possible dinner with friends on Thursday night, Shanghaiist party at Shuffle on Friday, and then running around apartment/neighborhood hunting on Saturday and Sunday.