The makeup store job is not enough to supplement my lavish lifestyle (daily roasted chestnuts, for one), I better work somewhere else too. On the bulletin board at a Chinese supermarket here, I saw an ad that doesn't seem too seedy, though it says "no experience required." If it's in anyway massage-related, I'll just have to run fast.

The acupuncture clinic is situated ground-level on a small side-street off of a main thoroughfare downtown. I was buzzed in but couldn't see anyone at the front desk at first. There is the ubiquitous bamboo plant. I don't see how a mutilated plant, being made to grow in a spiral pattern, is going to bring any good "chi," but I'm not going to argue with Feng Shui. There are some medical licenses and degrees on the wall; I tried to discreetly check out any spelling errors, in case there are any online university degrees.

"Here for the translator ad?" The speaker is a woman dressed neatly in a pair of black slacks with a berry-colored sweater, probably in her 50s. Looks mid 40s though, maybe could even pass for late 30s from the back. Asian women could get away with lying about their age far more aggressively than other races, I've found. She must be one of those who gets regular sheep placenta cell injections before Americans even started the whole Botox craze.

I was grilled about my English experience by Dr. Zhou. My years of working of at that multi-national corporation must have impressed her. It's not as if I'm interpreting at an international tribunal court here, I can't imagine anything more strenuous to say than "One capsule three times a day."

I start there tomorrow, after my makeup-hawking gig ends.

Dan Ming is not talking to me. Trying to appease him, I made some deep-fried stringy apples. This sounds disgusting when described in English, but the taste is amazing.


Deep-fried stringy apples

Ingredients:
1 Apple
1 Egg
Sugar
Corn starch
Toasted black sesame seeds

1, Mix corn starch and beaten egg together into a thick paste, dip cubed apples into the mixture until thoroughly coated.

2, Heat oil in work until oil is hot. Add apple chunks to wok and fry until they are golden. Carefully move the apple chunks around so they don't burn.

3, Make suger glaze by heating oil, sugar, and a little bit of water in wok, use medium heat until glaze is light gold in color and stringy.

4, Add apples to glaze and coat apples completely.

5, Serve with sesame seeds tossed on top.