I had a very leisurely day today, even though I started out in a foul mood.  I intended to go into Beijing and apply for a replacement passport, since mine was lost/stolen in Beijing on Thursday.  By the time I got to the train station, it was almost two and the embassy closes at 4pm, so I walked down the river towards Binjiang Dao looking for a bank.  I found a very nice <em>air-conditioned</em> bank, HSBC to be exact.  I pulled out a sizable sum of money, which will secure me for a while.  Then I settled down in a comfortable chair in the Ocean Pacific (?) hotel next door, which was also a/c'ed and enjoyed a cucumber juice while I read John Grisham's <em>The Testament</em>.

Binjiang Dao was not too crowded on a Saturday afternoon.  Most Tianjin residents were playing it smart, staying out of the heat and humidity.  I thought about catching a movie.  The movie theater was showing a Jean Reno movie that I just bought on DVD and a documentary about 9/11.  Not in the mood for a movie, I kept walking and followed my stomach into the Food Alley.  This place, I'll admit, is a little dirty.  Shirley refused to eat there.  It's a bunch of booths flanking both sides of a covered walkway, which is filled with cafeteria-style benches and hawkers offering you rice, noodles, veggies, kebabs, all sorts of good food.  The best way to choose a meal is to watch what other people are eating, and point it out.  Nothing simpler:  no Chinese needed.  I ended up repeating at a place I ate with months ago; they specialize in Korea food.  Their curry rice in a hot metal bowl is excellent, and at RMB 5 it can't be beat for value.  A bottle of apple soda brought the total up to RMB 9, about one US dollar.

I caught the bus back to the McDonalds by the school and got in some good reading time.  The DVD store is air-conditioned, I found out by stopping there on the way back.  Several new DVD's joined my collection:  Conan the Barbarian, a Japanese movie with Takenouchi Yutaka, and God of Gamblers 1 and 2.  I also picked up Sterelab's <em>Sounddust</em>, some live sessions by Prodigy, and Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness.  Right now I"m listening to Daft Punk's homework, which I picked up in Beijing recently.

It turned into a good day.