Hey Hey and a Big I'M SO OVER FOOD AND BEER G'Day toya,
 
I bet you never thought I would ever put that in writing did you!
Believe me, just the thought of another Big Dinner that includes a ton of beer makes me want to jump on my bike and go live in the fields for a few weeks.
 
Argh, don't take me seriously.
I'll be over by the morning.
Ha Ha!
 
So hey, did I tell you, I've just celebrated my third birthday here in wonderful China!
Sadly that also goes the opposite way as it is my third birthday away from my family and friends.
 
At least I hope it's a sad thing for them.
I'm sure it would be?
Wouldn't it?
 
Um?
 
I got more emails and calls this year than the last two so maybe people really are beginning to miss me.
 
They would be wouldn't they?
I'm sure they would be?
Wouldn't they?
 
Um?
 
To be serious there was a huge gig on at the Tote Hotel in Collingwood where several friends bands played and I was assured there would be plenty of cheers, birthday wishes along with much love and happiness spread all over the hotel floor by at least 4am!
 
Several of the bands haven't actually played for a number of years so here's to The Meanies, Rootbeer and the newbie's TTHX (The Travis Hooper Experience).
 
I'll take the night as my own!
It was for me wasn't it?
Surely it was?
Wasn't it?
 
Um?
 
So, back to me hey.
 
This is my Travelblog after all and it was my birthday after all and after all I am a male living in China so that makes it 'all about me!'  GOT IT!
 
Can you believe that I have just celebrated my THIRD birthday here in China! Seriously, who ever thought I'd actually celebrate three of them. I was hoping to stay as long as possible but never actually dreamt that it would actually happen.
Well dreams do come true!
 
I'm writing this on Tuesday the 16th October and my birthday was actually last Friday, being the 12th. After the Young Pioneers Parade Friday afternoon the school took The Canadians and I out for a big birthday dinner at a swisho eatery where we all munched away on awesome food and covered each other with a ton of icing that covered the cake.
 
Seriously, Chinese birthday cakes are so covered in cream and icing that you actually begin to wonder if there is a cake in there at all!
 
After dinner we all rocked on to a rather swisho KTV (karaoke) place where we met up with Joyce, Candy and a few others. Here (after many beers) they came face to face with the legend my voice really is. I'm serious! It's been compared to Pavarotti on acid breaking wind and my gawd did I sing up a storm that night.
 
In fact we all did.
It was such a great night!
Thank you every one.....sniff sniff!
 
Saturday night, after spending many hours riding through the fields and up and down mountains I headed upstairs to Jo & Rob's apartment (The Canadians). They wokked up a huge birthday feast for me and both Joyce and Candy joined us for food and a DVD. If anyone wants a beautiful movie to watch that has some of the most awesome scenery in it that will help you understand a lot of my living and travels through out Guangxi Province you really must watch 'The Painted Veil'.
 
From Rotten Tomato.com
 
A labor of love that took the better part of a decade for producer Edward Norton and screenwriter Ron Nyswaner, THE PAINTED VEIL is a large, complex, and visually sumptuous production that employed a primarily Chinese crew on its intense location shoots. Norton's passion for the material is on full display, as he turns in another solid performance as the mild-mannered Walter. Naomi Watts, however, who portrays an unfaithful wife, is the heart of the film, all bee-stung lips and sweat on porcelain skin. Romantic, escapist entertainment in the best sense, THE PAINTED VEIL is yet more proof that there is an endless pool of silver screen potential in the classics of literature.
 
After a big sleep in I headed back out on the bike for a few hours Sunday afternoon and then met my friends Yan and Yu Wen Ji. We headed to Yan's parents house where we sat for yet another huge feast. Many of Yan's friends dropped in to raise their glasses and say Happy Birthday in Chinese.
 
We watched several DVD's before I headed home so try and sleep off more food and beer.
 
Monday, just as I was running home to jump on my bike to try to ride off some of the beer and food, received a call that one of my student's parents wanted to have a turn at piling more food and beer into my already bloated stomach. So several other teachers and I all headed to a small eatery where we had a wonderful evening together (even though it felt like we were all squeezed into a tiny caravan).
 
So that was the quick version of the rather lengthy celebrations for my 37th Birthday.
 
I'm doing my best to celebrate one in each province. If I stop celebrating so much then maybe I'll complete the task in another thirty years! Seriously, I really did have a wonderful time and as usual I can never thank my Chinese friends enough for making me feel so at home in their wonderful country.
 
It's just a pity my family couldn't all jump on a plane and drop by for a few weeks.
Argh such a lovely dream!
 
Happy Birthday Beers N Noodles toya.....shane
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The soundtrack to this entry was The Black Crowes
The album was their wonderful 'The Great Southern Harmony and Musical Companion'
A totally awesome release from one of the world's greatest bands EVER!
It's a big call but hey I'm happy to call it!
I still put 'Amorica' at the top of the Black Crowes list though.