Tag Archives: Beijing

David Wolf – remembering a China hand

Posted on April 8, 2023 by Will Moss

In June 2004, I quit a perfectly good job at a little PR firm in Singapore and went to Beijing to do a three month language program. Eight years in Singapore had made me a bit stir crazy and China, … Continue reading →

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I’m leaving China and it doesn’t mean a thing

Posted on November 26, 2012 by Will Moss

It started with the oven. In Singapore in 2001 I bought a used Sharp R-8H50(B)T Rotisserie combination microwave and convection oven from my buddy, Tuck Wai, for S$200. Say what you will about the Sharp Corporation, which is struggling, but … Continue reading →

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The Devil’s Air Conditioner and Other Tales of Woe

Posted on May 15, 2012 by Will Moss

Sometimes life in Beijing is like one of those Japanese game shows where they see how much torture people are willing to endure for surprisingly mediocre prizes. Picture the following and you’ve more or less got it: “Mr. Ishihara, for … Continue reading →

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In defense of the fuzz

Posted on May 2, 2012 by Will Moss

For many years I lived in Singapore, which is right on the equator and has roughly two seasons: slightly more rainy, and slightly less rainy. Otherwise, it was pretty much hot and humid throughout, which always used to freak me … Continue reading →

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In which I finally hire a car and driver

Posted on July 1, 2011 by Will Moss

After seven years of taking taxis in Beijing I finally crossed the Rubicon of bourgeois colonialism and hired a car and driver. I now have two full time domestic employees, which seems somehow wrong. In the back of my mind … Continue reading →

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Physics in the gaze of a thousand grannies

Posted on January 27, 2011 by Will Moss

Imagethief was an indifferent student in high school. My success in any given class was dictated by my level of personal interest in the topic. So I did OK at biology, which I liked, great in English and composition once … Continue reading →

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Not enough radiation in your skull and other problems with retail

Posted on December 21, 2010 by Will Moss

Modern Beijing, as distinct from the leafy, 1960s loufang neighborhoods and the hutongs, is an unlovely town at the best of times. No acreage of hanging glass curtain walls can make up for the viscerally alienating nature of the razor-edged, … Continue reading →

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Journey to the planet of the electro-squids

Posted on July 5, 2010 by Will Moss

It’s time to move. We’ve been in the same place for nearly three years. It’s been good, but Mrs. Imagethief’s business is growing, I’m spending some of my time working at home, and let’s not even get into the whole … Continue reading →

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Poorly thought out adventures in commuting

Posted on June 12, 2010 by Will Moss

In the grip of my darkest and most bourgeois moments I actually considered buying a car and hiring a driver. So, it’s come to this… I thought, as I hovered over a digital map of Beijing. I have to get … Continue reading →

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The zombie-slugging toy police car

Posted on March 12, 2010 by Will Moss

Imagethief’s son, Zachary, turned two this week. I’m amazed we made it. By this I mean I’m amazed that Mrs. Imagethief and I made it. If the boy’s engine room telegraph is stuck on “full-speed-ahead”, Mrs. Imagethief and I are … Continue reading →

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