Winner!

I'm excited to announce that Glen will be my first visitor!  He will be touring around China and stopping by Beijing for a few days.  Yippee!

Glen is traveling on business class with his miles... lucky guy.  I didn't even get business class for my flights.  I got to pick the airline though, which was good enough because I got a whole row to myself on the way here. 

When Glen called me the other day on Skype, he said, "Wow, you sound like you are right next dwahr!"  I almost cried hearing that familiar accent.  Never thought I would admit that I miss it.  It's funny how that works.  Although I enjoy my time in Beijing, I do miss everyone back home.  I miss the rhythm of work and play.  In some ways, it was too rhythmic and predictable.  However, I have gone to the extreme opposite and now my life is like a Eliot Carter piece, full of surprises and complexity. Is this what I really wanted?  I can't really answer yet. 

Today I got to witness for the first time what a Chinese-style work meeting is like.  The usual suspects were all there: the client, in this case, the power plant owner; the architect; the mechanical; the structural; and the acoustical.  It's funny how you can tell who the structural engineer is, they always have this serious, scholarly look about them, no matter what country you are at.  I guess it's because they carry a lot of responsibilities. Then there is the lazy mechanical engineer (sorry) that does not want to change his design for noise even though the architect needs additional space and is pushing us to cut back. 

What is different is how the discussions went today.

Our main acoustical engineer prepared a really nice presentation with all the issues and solutions for the project.  Everyone except for one person came on time.  The owner strolled in 30 minutes late and sat right next to me.  He reeked like an alcoholic. Without listening to the presentation, he started rambling about how these solutions better work, or else this and that.  He had this low, boisterous voice, and it stirred everyone else when he complained about something.  The next thing I know, everyone is yelling across each other over the conference table.  Since the room is all plaster, pretty soon it sounded like a pound with a lot of dogs barking at each other.  What was supposed to be a civilized presentation turned into a build-up of noise.  People cut each other off while they are still talking, and an hour later I wasn't sure how much was accomplished by yelling. 

You want a build up of tension with dissonance and end with a bang?  You've got it.

I'm not done yet. 

After the meeting, some of us went out for dinner.  Our manager invited one of the power plant designers.  Big mistake.  He loves to hear his own voice, although I do have to admit that he tells great stories.  He talked about politics.  Actually, almost every conversation I've had over dinner with anyone (especially with some liquor) involved politics and/or history.  There are a few common points regardless of the person:
1.  They always asks me what I think of Obama
2.  They asks me why America has to be involved in other people's business (regarding Libya)
3.  They like to tell me that Taiwan and China are like brothers, and that they are part of the same family.  They also think that America should not be involved in our family business.

After a long tirade and the whole table seemed tired except for this guy, I saved everyone by telling him that I've got to tend to my US clients by going back to the office.  Lucky me!

I should go to bed.  I've had sensory overload for the last few days and have had trouble falling asleep. 
This is going to be an interesting year indeed.

The disappearing Flying Pigeon

Most of you are familiar with my beloved Gazelle Classic, and know how I refuse to get on a faster, lighter bicycle because I love riding my Gazelle in the city.  I love it so much I even got one when I was in the Netherlands two years ago working at DHV.  Although I struggled up the hills on Martha's Vineyard last summer, I still didn't regret riding my Gazelle. I thought about getting the Chinese Gazelle-equivalent here in Beijing, called the Flying Pigeon. 

But I hesitate.

Beijing was and probably still is the city with the most number of bicycles in the world. Once upon a time, the Flying Pigeons were so high in demand, that one would need personal connections to acquire one.  Today, the Flying Pigeons are quickly disappearing and replaced by motorcycles and cars.  When I was here back in 2007, I still thought there were a lot of bicycles.  People would somehow float on the road with their bikes en masse, as if they were in a large group of fish.  I wasn't sure how one would exit out of the pack to make a turn, but they somehow manage.  

What I see now are cars crowding the streets, filled with new drivers that barely know how to drive.  Imagine a sea of teenage drivers.  They barely stop for pedestrians, so why would they be stopping for bicycles?  How safe would one feel riding on the bike lane that is also now used by the motorcycles and cabs?

I found a good piece of writing on Bicycling Magazine about the Flying Pigeon worth the read.  At the end of the article, it talks about a bride and groom riding off their ceremony on a Flying Pigeon and sidesaddle.  Not too bad of an idea :)  I can imagine Sarah and Michael riding off on a tandem bike or something like that.  Ha!  (Michael you know you want one)

Another vehicle that I notice on the streets is the passenger tricycles, aka the Flying Coffin.  These are not as well known as the Flying Pigeons, but apparently the locals and the visitors all agree on the name.  Some Flying Coffins are motored, but there are still some pedaled by man power.  It's somewhat similar to an old school rickshaw, except that it has three wheels.

The reason these are called Flying Coffins is because they are so dangerous, even the locals do not like to ride them.  I often see a group of Coffin owners hanging out at a busy street corner playing cards, waiting for customers.  The only advantage?  They maneuver fast.  They can ride on the sidewalks, or even ride down the wrong direction on the street.  When you wait for a bus or get stuck in traffic for hours in a cab, sometimes this is the only option to be at a place on time.  As many suggested, only ride it when you are desperate.  At least you are facing backwards and can't see the insane course that the driver takes you through.

Surprise Weekend!

I was going to hang out around Beijing last weekend, so on Friday night I got connected to the local cable and watched a bunch of Chinese TV series.  The cable box guy came and installed the setup within 30 min. (wayyyy faster than the Comcast guy).  It works like a Tivo box, which is really nice.  3 hours later at 2AM, I was all in tears from the drama on TV (yeah I'm lame, I know).  I cry very easily when I watch TV and movies.  I even cried watching 127 Hours. 

The next morning I woke up by the ring on my phone.  Hunter and I were going to go hiking on Sunday but then he told me that he couldn't.  I called him and gave him a hard time.  

What else could be more important than getting out of Beijing for a hike?  I said.
Sorry, my friends told me last night that we were going climbing instead. We will be gone for the whole weekend, he said. 
What?  That's even better!  Why didn't you tell me?  You don't remember that I'm a climber?  I asked.
Oh, that's right, I forgot.  Like I said, it was totally unexpected and I only found out at midnight, he replied sheepishly.

After figuring out that I could meet up with them by bus and a cab ride, I packed my climbing gear and ran out the door.  I was so excited about the prospect of climbing outside that I didn't really care how cold it was, and how long it might take me to get there.  The trip looked something like this (almost faster than going to the climbing gym in Beijing):

Subway (30 min) -----> Waiting in line for the bus (30 min) ----> Express Bus ( 1 hour) -----> Taxi (45 min)

The taxi guy stared at me when I sat on the passenger seat and fastened the seat belt.

You don't have to fasten your seat belt, he said.
I said, Thank you, but I think I'm ok with the seat belt fastened.

Going through the mountain roads at 80 km/hr, I was rather glad that I made that decision.  The driver takes up both lanes as he makes the turns, honking as a warning to make sure that the other side won't come colliding.  Exactly the same experience that I had in Sichuan a couple years back.  It was pretty scenic despite of the horrific driving.  I even saw some remnants of the great wall along the way.

After about 45 minutes, the taxi driver dropped me off by the river called Baihe (White River) in a small village.  I saw a few people climbing across the river, and the adrenaline seems to rush in a bit just looking at the rock faces. 

The taxi

I found Hunter and his friends by the river in one of the crags.  There was a guy name Mantou (steamed bun) and his girlfriend Gaga.  And another guy name Daxue (big snow).  I don't know why everyone has nicknames here, but that's all I know about them.

Mantou leading

Mantou is clearly the strongest climber of the group, and he lead most of the climbs that we did.  His girlfriend Gaga is also an amazing climber, and they have only been climbing since last summer!  Sigh - I need to work on my techniques.  Big Snow is really out of shape and currently a bit overweight, so he really couldn't get up much.  It was Hunter's first time climbing outside, and really his first week climbing, but he weighs only about 10 lbs more than me and climbed up most of the 5.10 climbs relatively quickly.  We all agreed that he's got talent, and that he should really join us and be as obsessed as we are into climbing.  Ha!

The rocks are relatively slick and I needed a lot of adjusting.  Although we were all freezing our asses off in the cold, it was a great first weekend out climbing.  I'm super psyched to have met these people, and I hope I will be able to make time to come out every weekend with them to Baihe!

New gym and new buddy!

Here is the new gym that I have been to twice since I've been in Beijing.  It takes me 1.5 hours to get to the gym, even though it's really not that far away.  They seem to be more into bouldering than walls, and they are actually extremely good at it.  Everyone trains like they are training for the Olympics.  Very humbling.  I can't even do most of the V3s (even harder than the California gym I visited.) 

There is a group of strong boulderers that train here, and I really am not good enough to even hang out with them.  I guess I have to climb with white people, haha.  The first day I tried to talk to some French dudes in English, and they replied in Chinese.  WTF?  Stubborn.  Then last night I met some Aussies and I told them to harden the fuck up and get up the wall.  They liked my fake Aussie accent (thanks Caty the HTFU!)

It's never this empty.  You think Metrorock is bad?  Try this place

Here's also my first friend that I met outside of work.  His nickname in Chinese is Hunter, so we'll just call him Hunter here.  Hunter is from the south, also just moved to Beijing.  He took me to try donkey meat last night, which was pretty tasty.  They say that the best meat in heaven is dragon, and the best meat on earth is donkey.  So there.

Introducing my new apartment...

Sarah requested some photos of my apartment.  So here it is.  I live within a stone throw away from work, which is awesome!  The rent is very expensive in local currency (feels like a $2000 apartment to them), but the real cost in USD is about $650.  It's a pretty small brand new apartment complex, almost like a hotel.  My room is just a bit larger than a hotel room.  Anything bigger is more suitable for families. This place kind of reminds me of an apartment I rented in Amsterdam two years ago.  It's on the 11th floor, very quiet facing an inner courtyard.  When I'm in the apartment, I forget that I'm living right in the middle of Beijing.

Window looking into the courtyard

Apartment comes with the furniture and even a TV.  Not too shabby, eh?

Kitchen with a washing machine.  Much nicer than my Somerville apartment

Sofa and table facing the TV

I feel like I'm in an IKEA showroom, all brand new furniture. 
So... who wants to come and visit me?

Better than Whole Foods!

After a week of eating out, I was ready to make my own dinner.  I had to take a day off today to go to Ikea and buy all the necessities.  It was ridiculous how packed the place is.  One of the staff told me that it is almost always that busy, and a lot worse on the weekends.  Don't people work here?  I could barely find a seat in the cafeteria.

At least that's all done and now I have utensils and linens so I'm no longer in my sleeping bag.  The supermarket at the basement of our office was better than most grocery stores in the US that I have been to.  Maybe the only better one is Wegman's.  I actually found brown rice!  How amazing is that.  There is one thing I do not understand about food in the United States.  I know that Boston is pretty much one of the last stops for produce delivered from Florida and California.  I find the vegetables and fruits generally mediocre at the grocery store, except for the local veggies from the farm.  Beijing has pretty much the same weather as Boston, and I'm sure vegetables are also grown somewhere else and then shipped to the area.  Then why is it that when I walk by the fruit stand on the street every morning, that I can smell the sweetness of the pineapple?  And the steamed corn on the cob from the street vendor?  Even the oranges at the supermarket smell ripe, with aromas that make your mouth water.

One of my biggest pet peeves at the grocery store is buying tomatoes.  Some of you know my obsession with fresh, ripe tomatoes.  No matter the type: Roma, Heirloom, Beefsteak, or Cherry.  They taste like a fruit without soul, where the only reason it still taste like a tomato is its texture.  Well, I got a taste of the tomatoes here.  It was even from the grocery store.  I got some pink-colored cherry tomatoes, which looked somewhat like mini Pink Ladies.  Surprisingly, they taste like they were picked from the farm that morning, filled with the soul that was missing in the US tomatoes and completely ripe!  Love it.

So despite of some of the disadvantages of living in one of the biggest cities in China, the food so far has made up for the losses.  

 @ RMSkitchencreations

For you Hello Kitty fans - here is another one that I found in one of the bakeries here.

Hot date

Hah!  I got you with the title of the post!

I had a very hot date with Reid online.  Yeah yeah.  Now that he is single.  Look what he is doing to flirt with me.  Brace yourself...

Reid in his boxers.  Super shameless. He doesn't even care that I'm posting this. 

Today was almost like a day in The Office.  First was the lunch allowance drama.  Like I said last time, we get 7RMB from headquarters for lunch.  Right now they reimburse the employees in cash, regardless of whether or not you eat lunch or bring your own.  But now HQ wants to prepay the lunch box guy directly so that the employees don't get the 7RMB.  This got our receptionist extremely furious.  She talked to HQ on the phone for at least an hour about this issue, and made the managers here sign some sort of form (petition?)

Then the real estate agent for my apartment came to our office to sign the lease.  Since the office was paying for it, it was such a hassle.  We must have been in the conference room for at least 2 hours discussing the conditions (even though it was already all typed out).  They had told the landlord that they would pay for half a year in cash.  But then they realized today that you can only take out so much from the ATM machine.  Totally unprepared.  So in the end they only gave the landlord 2 months rent, and wrote some other complicated contract notes that took way too long to finish. 

the real wonton soup

Then comes the real estate agent fee.  This is typically paid by the landlord, but for some reason, since our rent was 'so cheap', that our office had to pay for the one month rent as the agent fee.  So then there was a lot more argument, haggling, and lots of lahs. 

We proceeded to the apartment, which is conveniently located next to the office.  The landlord owns two properties, and I couldn't decide which one to take.  I liked the IKEA bed in unit 1047, but the lighting and furniture were more appealing to me in unit 1148.  So I suggested swapping the mattress.  Bad idea.  Bad idea because we realized after dragging the mattress to the other floor that not all full size mattresses as the same length.  WTF?  So now I'm stuck with the Chinese super stiff mattress.  So stiff that I would rather sleep at the campground without a mattress pad. 

But hey!  I now have a new home!

Sunday in the office

I'm sitting in the office not because I love to work, but it's quiet over here and hopefully I can concentrate better. Plus the internet connection here is much faster than the hotel.  Upon arriving at our office entrance, I see something completely out of place at the corridor:

It looks like someone is trying to save some electricity and decided to charge their scooter on our floor.  So Chinese.


This past week has been really hectic with the apartment search, getting over a jet lag, and trying to work but not overwork.  I think I've overcome the apartment troubles.  Yesterday we finally put down a deposit at the apartment building right next to work, and hopefully by Wednesday I can move in.  But guess what?  I'm flying to Chengdu sometime around Wednesday to give the employees here a talk about Acentech.  So I'll be staying at a hotel once again.  I guess that's fate. 

I've eaten more white rice this week than I had all year in the US.  My pants are already getting tight.  I think it's also because most of the food here are really salty, and so I drink more water too.  Whatever. 

Last night a fellow acoustician originally from Taiwan took me out to eat.  I guess he wanted to make me feel at home.  So he took me to Pizza Hut.  Yup.  YUM.
Pizza Hut is doing extremely well in Asia, but also for a good reason.  Unlike McD and KFC, which dominate the low-end western fast food market here, Pizza Hut is actually a classier option.  The decors are much more upscale, in fact people eat with forks and knives here, and the floors are not greasy like they are in the US.  So while the food is still as terrible as the average Pizza Hut in the United States, at least the ambience is above average.  The final bill came to a whopping 150RMB, which could also buy you a very nice meal like this one:

Sesame sauce with Chinese writing!

 

My awesome coworker who helped me find the right apartment!

Here are some random things that got me through the week:
1. Professionally, they refer people by their last names.  So since I'm an engineer and coming here to 'teach'.  They call me Prof Su or Engineer Su, both of which I don't really respond to even after they call me for a few times.  In Taiwan, we mostly refer to each other by their first names.  So finally I told them to just call me Kuan-Yu, even though they find it somewhat disrespectful.
2. Some American expressions do not get translated into Chinese, but rather they end up producing the same tones as the actual English word.  These are generally saved for company names, such as McDonald, Dell, etc.  The best one I heard this week was using the expression dink, like doulbe income no kids.  The guy that used that expression didn't even know that it was originally an English expression.  We were both laughing so hard it was ridiculous. 
3. Every work day, the company provides their employee 7RMB for lunch, which is 7RMB more than what we get at Acentech.  My new colleagues find it amazing that US companies do not typically reimburse their employees for lunch.  What can you get for 7RMB?  Almost nothing.  Well actually, for 10RMB, the lunch guy (I'll talk about this another day) can provide you with a little lunch box of goodies with A LOT of rice.  Or one can go down to the food court and spend about 15RMB to 20RMB for a typical lunch meal.
4. I finally got sick of Chinese breakfast and decided that I wanted some bread.  There are a lot of Taiwanese bakeries here in Beijing that sell much better baked goods than what you can get at the typical Chinatown in the US.  I call them Taiwanese bakeries but they are basically western pastries, similar to Iggy's.  I found out this morning that they also sell American coffees, which actually tastes pretty close to DD's.

Take that, Iggy's

 

Got salt?

The Chinese government will probably shut my internet down for this, but I think it's worth posting anyways.

The earthquake in Japan has affected a lot of citizens in Rikuzentakata, as well as other neighboring town. The pictures look devastating, and they seem to handle the natural disasters so well. I pray for the safety of the survivors- battling to find adequate emergency supplies and food from the government.

The impact the earthquake in Japan has also caused the sea water near this area to be unsafe due to the nuclear power plants that still needed to be continuously cooled in order to prevent overheating. What does this mean to the Chinese? Sea Salt. Yes, you heard me right. People are panicking and rushing to get their share of salt. I didn't realize that it was such an issue, but apparently it is in the countryside. The city will not be affected by this, at least not right now. My coworker was giggling in his office and so I went over to check out what he was laughing about. This is the picture of people lining up for sea salt in the countryside.Crazy isn't it? I thought so to. But then again, salt is so important. I wanted to read this book about salt but never got to.

The first few low points...

Yesterday was my first real day at work. I got picked up in the morning since I didn't know where I was going. The office is located at a relatively convenient location right above a major subway stop. After being here for a few days already, yesterday was also the first time that I saw some foreigners, white and Arabic. I saw them at the coffee shop (not Starbucks, but similar). I love coffee, but I think I will have to give it up for now. A cup of cappuccino cost at least 25 yuan, and it tastes like a latte. A bowl of noodles I had yesterday costs16 yuan, for comparison.

I took the bus / subway home yesterday. The subway system is actually very nice, very similar to the one in Taiwan. The bus is also quite new, but here is a little problem. I didn't know how to the ride the bus properly. Apparently you had to swipe your card as you enter as well as as you leave. You can only get in from the middle entrance and you have to leave from the front or the back. If you look white and made the mistake, they would probably just forgive you. Well, it doesn't work with me. Since I look like everyone else, I got yelled at, but I didn't even know they were yelling at me at first.

So that wasn't even the lowest point of the story. I was super excited to get out of work in the afternoon because I was planning to go check out the climbing gym. I found it online, and it looked like a great one (it said where all the locals hang out). So I grabbed my climbing gear and headed over there. Unfortunately, I didn't find this climbing gym. The security guy told me that it has been closed for at least 7 or 8 years. I was really disappointed at this news. I took a walk instead and walked along the bus line that I was supposed to take to go back to the hotel. I probably walked for 1 to 1.5 hours, and probably inhaled a ton of smog since it was rush hour.

There were more upsetting stories after I got back to the hotel, but I'm not going to bore you with it. I complained to the office today and told them that I am sick of being in the hotel, and that I'm ready to stay in an apartment. So we went to look for an apartment this afternoon. The first place we saw was so terrible that even the office guy told the agent that it was not acceptable. We haven't picked one yet, but what I am sure of is that it will be relatively tiny, probably a studio space or a one bedroom.

Sigh. I need a hug.

Sigh.

It's a sunny day at Beijing

I can tell you what I really miss already -

1. Basic dining etiquette. Seriously people, stop clearing your throat already. I got the point that you are not feeling well. I am not feeling well either just listening to you. It makes my food taste so much better when I don't have to hear you.

2. Toilet paper that tears off easily. It's really difficult to rip the squares off from the roll with one hand. All I want is Scott. Also, the hotel rolls are about 1/3 of the size of the regular roll of paper. Which means that I have to call the front desk multiple times to get my daily stash of toilet paper. Do they not go to the toilet as much as I do? What if they have to shit 6 times a day like Max?

3. Tissue paper. Tissue paper is a hot commodity here (also sometimes in Taiwan). Please refer to #1 above for the reason why they do not need tissue paper in Beijing. In Taiwan, it's more because they run out of toilet paper in the public restrooms. I'm sick, and I just want to blow my nose, and I'm having a hard time tearing off a little piece from the roll (see #2). OK I'm just whining, but whatever.

4. Butter or bread knife. I am thankful that they have some form of toast at the breakfast buffet, along with traditional Chinese style breakfast. However, they only serve the food with chopsticks and soup spoon. I have been spreading the butter on my toast with the back of the spoon.

It was indeed sunny yesterday (and today) in Beijing. So here is a picture for you.

the great firewall of China

I'm in Beijing! I knew I was here when I woke up this morning to the national anthem of China blaring from my next door neighbor's TV. I tried to go back to sleep with my earplugs on, but it was too late. Daylight had started to creep into my hotel room, as well as the car horns on the street.

I tried to log on to this blog to add an entry, but have discovered that the great firewall of China does indeed work. I have no access to this site, and I do not have access to FB either. So I'm adding this entry via some long-winded method through my US desktop. It's a lot slower, but at least I still can express myself. We take freedom of speech for granted.

The laptop seems to have a mind of its own, where the curser seems to move around while I am typing, adding my writing anywhere it please.s So I'm not going to bother adding an image for now, it's just too tedious. I'm supposed to do some work today anyways, but I don't have to go into the office yet.

Ciao.

Hello Kitty Airport Gate

Yes you heard me right. There is a Hello Kitty gate at the airport in Taipei. Look how adorable it is. I feel like I'm 10 again! It's kind of the same feeling that many of you have for Transformers and Barbies.

Isn't it adorable? You don't have to agree with me if you don't want to. I swear I'm done with Hello Kitty. I actually liked Kerokerokeroppi better anyways.

Right before returning to the airport after a 16-hour layover, I stopped by my old neighborhood in Taipei. A lot has changed since I was last here two years ago. Most of the retail stores are different. It's the economy, said the receptionist at the hotel. However, there are a few things that haven't changed, such as the street food I had today. It's simple, cheap, and delicious. Everything you can order in on the white slip, which you fill out on your own. Then they bring the food over within 2 minutes, speedy. Take that, McDonald!

Flight booked for Denver in May!

Max and I just booked our flight for May! On my way back from China, I'm going to stop over LA for a night and continue to Denver. We are planning to go climbing at Indian Creek. I can't wait! Hope some of you guys can join us too.

Here is our schedule:
May 3rd, arriving at DEN around 9:30AM
May 8th, leaving from DEN around 5:30PM

Miss you all,
RM

no iPad 2 :(

I never imagined myself to be one of those that line up at Apple when they have a new product launch. For some reason, the iPad2 lured me into the Apple store yesterday when Seb and I were roaming around. They were sold out at Pasadena and also Santa Monica, so no luck for me for getting one before I leave for Asia. The store told me that they will start having iPad2 at international locations two weeks from now (probably at a jacked up price). We'll see if I get lucky in Beijing.

We also did not end up going bouldering outside today for two main reasons:
1) I really did not want to have a broken leg before I leave for an international flight, and this was likely because I don't really know what I'm doing when I'm bouldering outside.
2) I did not check my flight properly and thought I was leaving at 6PM or so when I really was leaving at 4PM. (typical me)It was a shame, I know. But I'm sure I'll have other opportunities to climb outside when I get there. Plus, it was such a sunny day in California! I was in my t-shirt! Then again, there were others on the street wearing winter clothes, even though it was at least 65 degrees outside.

the aftermath of a wild card game

Seb decided to contribute to my blog efforts by taking this photo of me. The best sleep I had in the last 48 hours. Right here, on this nice sofa.

Caty had to leave this morning for a 3-day geology trip before she goes on her Chile trip. So I'm glad I got to hang out with her this weekend.

We checked out their local gym yesterday at Arcadia Rock Climbing, which was extremely humbling. Not by Seb and Caty's choice (so they say), it's a bouldering-only gym. Actually they said the closest wall gym is on the other side of town and it would take too long to go there after work. We were working on some of the hardest V3s that I have ever worked on, and we couldn't even finish them! Why would they have 3 of those brain-looking slopers in a row for a V3? I think that is a V5 already at Metro.

Seb and I are going to try to visit some real rocks today if we get enough motivation. Apparently there are a surprising number of crags around LA withing a 2-hour drive. No J-Tree though :(

After a brief session of bouldering at ARC, Seb grilled up some yummy peppered steaks for us. Two of their climbing friends came over (because climbers only hang out with other climbers) and we played card games. I have to admit I'm not a big card/board game player, but trading beans on Bohnanza was actually a lot of fun. You really get to see the true side of people.

Seb is back from dropping Caty off at USC, so I'll continue on the updates later.

BOS ---> LAX

Off I went this morning at 6:15AM! At the airport, I ran into the quiet carrot-top guy that we always see at the gym bouldering, whatever his name is.

Going to SLC to go snowboarding, he said.

I'm going to Beijing for two months, I said.

That's nice, he said.

And that was pretty much the end of the conversation.

Big thanks to Dave and Max for reminding me to take my neck pillow. While my neighbors were bopping their heads like crazy, I was drooling all over my inflatable pillow (yum). The flight was completely full, but thankfully with no delays to LAX, one of the most congested airports ever.


It's 61 degrees over here. I'm wearing just my t and sweating like a pig while I carry my near 60-lb suitcase up the wooden steps to Seb and Caty's. They are still at school so I'm just trying to do some work over here on my laptop. That proved futile after spending about 2 hours on the phone with the IT guy, who ran out of things to tell me and mentioned that he was about to pull out all 4 wisdom teeth tonight. Lovely. Real lovely. So they claimed that the internet service is too slow for proper connection to the work network. I'M IN LOS ANGELES! I haven't even got to China yet.

You are going to China? I heard the internet connection is actually faster in China, Andrew the tech guy said.

Really? Well then what am I waiting for? What have we been doing for the last two hours, chatting for fun?

While waiting for Andrew to fix my VPN connection, I took a few random photos in Seb and Caty's apartment.