Feb 7th, 2008 - New Year's Eve Was A BLAST!!!

Firecrackers, Roman Candles, and Whirly-birds are going off in every direction you look. We have the perfect view from our downtown apartment building. I can turn my head in any direction and there are fireworks, firecrackers and explosions galore! One of the displayswould have easily cost $10,000 in Canada probably cost about $10 here in China, the birthplace of Fireworks.

The blatant disregard for people's homes and the rest of humanity gave me a chuckle. Since we are downtown, and the buildings are quite close to one another, fireworks are bouncing off the windows and going all over the place. Just now, one bounced off my window, right in front of my face. It's a good thing I didn't open the window to get a better view, or my face would be lit up like a birthday cake.

Down on the street, there are long snakes of firecrackers, 20 or 30 feet long. cracking away, as little kids wave sparklers in the air. What a sight! This is going on all over China simultaneously. Anybody who can afford a firecracker has shelled out for the occasion. We bought a big bag of fireworks for later. I'm gonna try not to blow my hand off in the process. This is my 2nd New Year's celebration of 2008. I could get all philosophical about that, but I won't. The funny thing is, it's only 7:00! Just wait till midnight, my wife tells me.

5 Hours Later

It's midnight, my ears are ringing, and I just got handed a 16-shot Roman Candle. This is awesome! I've had a few Hapi's so my aim is a little off. I aimed one at the ground 10 feet in front of me, just for fun. Unfortunately with all the firecrackers going off, the paper left behind caught on fire! I ran over to stamp it out, and a few "duds" that didn't go off the first time around were exploding under my feet. I just started a highly explosive brushfire, and no matter how hard I dance on the spot, it won't go out. Finally, my wife comes over and helps me get it under control. I can see the headlines now "Harbin city burned to the ground -White man to blame."

Everyone is coming outside now with their fireworks cache, so I'm going to retreat back to the 18th floor to watch. Now for another New Year's Tradion - after midnight, you have to eat dumplings! Yum Yum!