I have an awful headache. Neither the large cup of coffee, nor a good lunch, nor the seventeen and a half glasses of water I've had as of yet have done diddly squat, so I took something.
I love Chinese. I went with gameyy to the Chinese meeting on Sunday and it was so awesome. Loved it. I had convinced myself it was going to be impossible to read Chinese because enough squigglies in a very small shape all look similar after a while, right? WRONG. That made me happy, and I started to notice more characters throughout the rest of the meeting. I spent a few hours last night and a few nights previous making flashchards. Instead of having a 3x5 with one word written horizontally and it's translated equivalent on the opposite side, flipped horizontally to view, I have a diferent method. I USUALLY divide the 3x5 into five sections vertically, so I can write five words. Then, flipping ~end over end~ (vertically) the translated equivalents go on the opposite side, so the word at the top in English is still at the top in Chinese. However, these flashcards are not a one-to-one translation. I have the English, Chinese, and pinyin, all of which I need to learn, but don't want to be dependent on the pinyin, so I had to make them work in all directions. So here's what I did. Instead of having five sections on the front and back, I divided the front five vertically so that there were ten boxes: the five on the left are for English, the five on the right are for the pinyin. The backside still has only five boxes, with the Chinese characters listed. So what I can do is fold the card vertically so that it's English-to-pinyin (or vice versa) or can leave it opened so that it's English/pinyin-Chinese (or vice versa). I think it's smart.
4.18.2007
4.13.2007
...when pianos try to be guitars
It's been two years now, and she's at it again. May 1 is just around the corner, and I preordered my copy today. I love a good concept album. 
4.05.2007
I left my heart in Hong Kong
...too bad Hong Kong doesn't have as many syllables as San Fran/cis/co. Oh well
I'm looking over the pictures I still have yet to upload, and I'm deciding which to put up, etc., and it's (depressing is too strong a word)(so is disheartening)(and sad) strange, to see a place like Guilin in pictures, where you see so far beyond what is actually there, since you remeber not only the sights, but the smells, sounds, etc., and miss it so much. I know some people on our tour weren't terribly pleased with Guilin, but I loved it. I'm working on backfilling stories from Guilin into the pictures I've uploaded, and it'll take a little while, so even if there isn't any new content, please peruse them occasionally, as I think linking to them here is too redundant unless they're outstandingly interesting.
That having been said, I posted the pictures from Guangzhou, some of which I was very happy with, and I don't even remember taking a lot of them. Cool city; it didn't make a huge impression on me, though, as we saw two places and had lunch. I hear a lot about it, and it was too bad we couldn't have explored. Oh well. Next is Hong Kong, and even being there was bittersweet, because I had expected it to be the crown jewel of the trip even before I left, but getting closer to arriving there, it was also my cue that the trip was coming to a quick end. It's been a week since our last full day in Hong Kong, and depressing is not too strong a word to use here to describe my feelings for having left Hong Kong (not that I had any choice to stay), and realizing that a week ago (local time) we were doing this thing, or that thing, and what an excellent time I had. So, this leads us to two things:
1. I'm not going to post the pictures of Hong Kong all willy-nilly like I did of the other cities. This is not only because I want them to be good, but also because it's going to take some preparation to look at them and reminisce on what's at least a week old and look back on it all (as corny as it sounds), and
2. I am suddenly moved to write nostalgic emails to some of the people on the trip that I grew close to, just to commemorate the trip, and finish up some stuff that was too corny or cliche to do face to face. Also, this is an effort to ensure that everyone understands we ARE NOT simply going our separate ways and never speaking to one another again.
I did not mean for this post to be some sob story about coming home; it was more 'hey I put up more pictures,' ostensibly. It's been a long day.
I'm looking over the pictures I still have yet to upload, and I'm deciding which to put up, etc., and it's (depressing is too strong a word)(so is disheartening)(and sad) strange, to see a place like Guilin in pictures, where you see so far beyond what is actually there, since you remeber not only the sights, but the smells, sounds, etc., and miss it so much. I know some people on our tour weren't terribly pleased with Guilin, but I loved it. I'm working on backfilling stories from Guilin into the pictures I've uploaded, and it'll take a little while, so even if there isn't any new content, please peruse them occasionally, as I think linking to them here is too redundant unless they're outstandingly interesting.
That having been said, I posted the pictures from Guangzhou, some of which I was very happy with, and I don't even remember taking a lot of them. Cool city; it didn't make a huge impression on me, though, as we saw two places and had lunch. I hear a lot about it, and it was too bad we couldn't have explored. Oh well. Next is Hong Kong, and even being there was bittersweet, because I had expected it to be the crown jewel of the trip even before I left, but getting closer to arriving there, it was also my cue that the trip was coming to a quick end. It's been a week since our last full day in Hong Kong, and depressing is not too strong a word to use here to describe my feelings for having left Hong Kong (not that I had any choice to stay), and realizing that a week ago (local time) we were doing this thing, or that thing, and what an excellent time I had. So, this leads us to two things:
1. I'm not going to post the pictures of Hong Kong all willy-nilly like I did of the other cities. This is not only because I want them to be good, but also because it's going to take some preparation to look at them and reminisce on what's at least a week old and look back on it all (as corny as it sounds), and
2. I am suddenly moved to write nostalgic emails to some of the people on the trip that I grew close to, just to commemorate the trip, and finish up some stuff that was too corny or cliche to do face to face. Also, this is an effort to ensure that everyone understands we ARE NOT simply going our separate ways and never speaking to one another again.
I did not mean for this post to be some sob story about coming home; it was more 'hey I put up more pictures,' ostensibly. It's been a long day.
4.04.2007
So, How 'bout this weather we're having...
Wow... The sky just got dark and started rumbling, and for some reason I am so looking forward to this thunderstorm. It hasn't started yet, but I hope it pulls through.
The weather in Guilin was very similar to Hawaii (from what I remember and from what my TC says), and also to what I imagine any more southeast Asian country would be like: lush, warm, a little humid, wet, but lush is the keyword. I'm so sick of 'vegetation,' like pine trees and pollen and grass, although the dogwoods are awesome, and look like some of the blossoms we saw in Asia. Very cool, but as much as I despise, abhor, resent and loathe hot summer weather, the Guilin, Guangzhou, and Hong Kong (the 'lush' was lost after Guilin) climates were not that bad. Guilin was somewhat muggy, yes, but I loved it. The Li river ran through it, and I don't know if that made it better or worse, but I could've gotten used to it. Guangzhou was more citified and a little too muggy (with nothing to show for it) for my taste (albeit a cool city), and Hong Kong is on the coast, which makes it totally awesome. Guilin reminded me a little (and it's NOT just because I enjoy it way too much) Goa, India, in the Bourne Supremacy, where people were laid back, and it had a cool lively yet rural feel, with the markets and huts and booths, etc. Excellent. I don't know how all of this came about because of some thunder. Sorry.
Looking through the Xi'an pictures, and I hope H'n'B has some incredible ones with her zoom lense, because mine are blurry or grainy or far away or generic, and I'm trying to find some 'artistic' ones to post. They'll be up by Thursday, hopefully. That's all.
The weather in Guilin was very similar to Hawaii (from what I remember and from what my TC says), and also to what I imagine any more southeast Asian country would be like: lush, warm, a little humid, wet, but lush is the keyword. I'm so sick of 'vegetation,' like pine trees and pollen and grass, although the dogwoods are awesome, and look like some of the blossoms we saw in Asia. Very cool, but as much as I despise, abhor, resent and loathe hot summer weather, the Guilin, Guangzhou, and Hong Kong (the 'lush' was lost after Guilin) climates were not that bad. Guilin was somewhat muggy, yes, but I loved it. The Li river ran through it, and I don't know if that made it better or worse, but I could've gotten used to it. Guangzhou was more citified and a little too muggy (with nothing to show for it) for my taste (albeit a cool city), and Hong Kong is on the coast, which makes it totally awesome. Guilin reminded me a little (and it's NOT just because I enjoy it way too much) Goa, India, in the Bourne Supremacy, where people were laid back, and it had a cool lively yet rural feel, with the markets and huts and booths, etc. Excellent. I don't know how all of this came about because of some thunder. Sorry.
Looking through the Xi'an pictures, and I hope H'n'B has some incredible ones with her zoom lense, because mine are blurry or grainy or far away or generic, and I'm trying to find some 'artistic' ones to post. They'll be up by Thursday, hopefully. That's all.
4.03.2007
Progress
Posted pictures all the way thru to Beijing, which I just finished. Very few are titled or commented about as to where taken, and when, etc., but I'm going to backfill all of that before starting the upload of the Xi'an pictures. Enjoy what's up there now, and comment, because a few of you were there and don't need to be informed. Anyway, I'm working on it, and it'll come along in the next few days, along with the Xi'an and Guilin pictures... see you soon.
4.01.2007
En Route to Asia
So, I realized in uploading some of my photos to My Flickr that it may be a bit redundant when I upload them here, so what I’m going to do is link to the photos, and then elaborate on some of the stuff that I said more briefly (or not at all) on Flickr. Sound good? Okay. (Also, please let this be your warning that there are tangents aplenty related to these photos, so you’ll get all the scoop on those HERE, not on Flickr.)
We’ll start with THIS ONE and THAT ONE. The one of the cards is a game of rummy about to begin. On the plane on the way out there, since it was supposed to be night time (in the time zone we were coming FROM, as I recall, but not in the air at the moment) they closed all the shades and cut the lights, making it all dark and sleepy. It was also ‘movie time’ as one of the flight attendants said, and was it ever… boring. So we played cards for a long time. Rummy, it was, and it was pretty even I think. We had a running game going, and had all intentions of keeping up with it at later times on other planes and in other terminals, but somewhere along the way the tally was lost, so we kept a mental note. As I said on Flickr, that was before LF caught the death and was completely and entirely miserable. He looked to me to be sleeping, but later said he didn’t for even a second, which made me feel even horrible-r for him… Anyway, the flight out there was miserably long (I speak of it only mildly since I wasn’t dying), but I DID spill water all over myself and was thankful for a change of clothes. It seemed so much longer going out than coming back, but I didn’t know that on the way there, so it was surprisingly less dreadful on the return, which was nice, because I was in no mood for anything else to be unhappy.
The second photo is one of a foreign exchange student sitting at the window a seat over from me. The girl between us was the one I got to talking to that explained that she and 21 others were foreign exchange students coming back from some college in Illinois. It was super cool because she wrote down her name in Japanese, and we talked about where she lived and what it was like to be in Japan, what they did for fun, where they went on vacation, etc. They (all of them) were so timid and peaceful, and it was really enjoyable to talk with them about things. I felt like the world’s biggest goofball for not speaking any Japanese, because they struggled with English, but did the best they could and we communicated fine. At one point, when I said we were visiting China as well, she asked me if we were going to see “in China, they… they have a big… a big… um, a long castle….” And I guessed the Great Wall. She was so thrilled to get that across, and it made me laugh, not at her, but because it was awesome. More to come later.
We’ll start with THIS ONE and THAT ONE. The one of the cards is a game of rummy about to begin. On the plane on the way out there, since it was supposed to be night time (in the time zone we were coming FROM, as I recall, but not in the air at the moment) they closed all the shades and cut the lights, making it all dark and sleepy. It was also ‘movie time’ as one of the flight attendants said, and was it ever… boring. So we played cards for a long time. Rummy, it was, and it was pretty even I think. We had a running game going, and had all intentions of keeping up with it at later times on other planes and in other terminals, but somewhere along the way the tally was lost, so we kept a mental note. As I said on Flickr, that was before LF caught the death and was completely and entirely miserable. He looked to me to be sleeping, but later said he didn’t for even a second, which made me feel even horrible-r for him… Anyway, the flight out there was miserably long (I speak of it only mildly since I wasn’t dying), but I DID spill water all over myself and was thankful for a change of clothes. It seemed so much longer going out than coming back, but I didn’t know that on the way there, so it was surprisingly less dreadful on the return, which was nice, because I was in no mood for anything else to be unhappy.
The second photo is one of a foreign exchange student sitting at the window a seat over from me. The girl between us was the one I got to talking to that explained that she and 21 others were foreign exchange students coming back from some college in Illinois. It was super cool because she wrote down her name in Japanese, and we talked about where she lived and what it was like to be in Japan, what they did for fun, where they went on vacation, etc. They (all of them) were so timid and peaceful, and it was really enjoyable to talk with them about things. I felt like the world’s biggest goofball for not speaking any Japanese, because they struggled with English, but did the best they could and we communicated fine. At one point, when I said we were visiting China as well, she asked me if we were going to see “in China, they… they have a big… a big… um, a long castle….” And I guessed the Great Wall. She was so thrilled to get that across, and it made me laugh, not at her, but because it was awesome. More to come later.
Back Home
Hello from the same place I always post. There was very little online contact in Asia, so I didn't post. I am however, currently conquering the mass of media I brought home with me, and am trying to find a reasonable way to share a moderate amount of it without getting out of control. For those of you that want out of control, LF and I will catch up with you in person and relate everthing down to the finest detail (as is my nature). That having been said, I cannot currently relate to you (especially in this environment [my dreary office looking over my dreary street where everything is the same], one so different from mine the past three weeks of kind, gentle, compassionate, helpful people and beautiful scenery) the absolute elation, joy, and deep sense of internal change and paradigm shift the past three weeks has brought me. There is no worthy attempt to begin any semblance of telling stories about every little five minutes of awesomeness that I spent with specific people here or there (and to you people I owe deep gratitude for sharing all of this experience and to continue to be willing to do so, Thank You), so I have decided on something. It's going to take efforts on more than one front to accomplish this, so I'll be using this blog (considering devoting an entirely brand new one to the trip, but since it's all post-travel, i don't know) as well as my Flickr to relate it piece by piece. Each (probably not) day (but more like semi-weekly) I hope to share (on the blog) a single photo (or maybe two) of something in particular and the story that goes with it. These will be in chronological order, and will begin in Atlanta, thru Detroit, etc... I will also be uploading pictures onto Flickr, and these will be only the neat looking ones, with cool stuff or scenery, or whatever. For those of you that want the whole gamut, email me, because i'm not posting all 2,000 pictures, especially of people, and group photos, etc. There is some sense of anonymity that i still cherish. I will also NOT be sharing the most intimate, deeply felt changes that Asia has effected in me and all that I am. I know it sounds corny, but it's more than true. For those details, drag me to Starbucks and buy me a coffee. That should get you a few hours of deep, heartwarming, soul-searching conversation that may, in fact, change your life as well. I'm signing off now to finish organizing pictures, and you may get the first installment of these by Monday. We'll see. Thank you all for reading.
3.09.2007
A very good song
Youtube can quickly become the bane of anyone's existence, but I found this, and it's worth watching, because it's a really good song. I know H'n'B won't like this, but it's too bad. I actually favor another performance she did of this better, but it's still an awesome song, and it's dedicated to someone in both versions.
3.08.2007
Smooth(ie)!
I made a smoothie today for breakfast, and although the components may not sound appealing all together, they worked out really well. Started with a banana (I hate bananas), a handful of frozen blueberries, some strawberries, a cup of strawberry/banana yogurt, a little honey, and orange juice to mix. I added a few ice cubes, but those contribute neither any flavor nor nutritional value. It was delicious. Only problem is, I’m freezing my tookus off (how does one spell tookus? Tuckus doesn’t cut it, but tookus is too Dutch).
I have almost finished packing, but will completely un- and re-pack before Sunday. I have decided to remove a few things and add some others, etc. and this will aid me in being more aware of how everything fits anyway. So, as a shoutout to H’n’B, whom I called in a sedated nervous breakdown:
1. Everything now fits in the security pouch when I take out the $50.
2. Weight limit was bogus. LF assured me its closer to 40 lbs.
3. I’ll be buying a suitcase of some sort in Hong Kong and will be checking luggage on the way home. Good thing I won’t be getting a suit made until the last city on our trip so I’m not schlepping that along.
Pleased with how everything fits. Extra pair of shoes was going to be a worry, but I managed them. All seems to be going well, and I think I’m finally coming to the realization that I’m going to Asia. Last minute to-dos:
1. razor blades (for shaving)
2. deodorant (trying to hunt down something in particular)
3. a few more spandex/non-cotton items
4. (Not an errand) camera battery charger should be arriving today.
5. One last load of laundry
6. deciding on what actual book(s) I’m going to read
I’ve got a short-list, but realized that although the list is based on that top-100 thing I love to read by, most of them are early 20th century soap opera womanhood love stories… We’ll see… I’ve gotta come up with something….
I have almost finished packing, but will completely un- and re-pack before Sunday. I have decided to remove a few things and add some others, etc. and this will aid me in being more aware of how everything fits anyway. So, as a shoutout to H’n’B, whom I called in a sedated nervous breakdown:
1. Everything now fits in the security pouch when I take out the $50.
2. Weight limit was bogus. LF assured me its closer to 40 lbs.
3. I’ll be buying a suitcase of some sort in Hong Kong and will be checking luggage on the way home. Good thing I won’t be getting a suit made until the last city on our trip so I’m not schlepping that along.
Pleased with how everything fits. Extra pair of shoes was going to be a worry, but I managed them. All seems to be going well, and I think I’m finally coming to the realization that I’m going to Asia. Last minute to-dos:
1. razor blades (for shaving)
2. deodorant (trying to hunt down something in particular)
3. a few more spandex/non-cotton items
4. (Not an errand) camera battery charger should be arriving today.
5. One last load of laundry
6. deciding on what actual book(s) I’m going to read
I’ve got a short-list, but realized that although the list is based on that top-100 thing I love to read by, most of them are early 20th century soap opera womanhood love stories… We’ll see… I’ve gotta come up with something….
3.07.2007
Beautiful Day
I had some time between errands on Saturday that I put to good use; I had to pick my brother up at the local library, and there were almost two hours of down time until that happened. What did I do? Well, of course, I parked my car behind a chiropractor’s office and my camera and I strolled around another old town here in the area (more industrial than mine). (My town is unique in that it is one of the only old town/village things anywhere near here that has been in existence for almost 100 years, (therefore still existing) and has never had a railroad.) Anyway, check out my Canton Street photoset. I got some I’m pretty happy with, and there are some that I rushed through that I could have done a better job with. I don’t understand how H’n”B (and others, I’m sure) make it taking pictures of stuff, because I’m not tall tall, but even I feel like I should carry a step ladder with me to get good shots on occasion. Anyway, the weather was beautiful and I was able to get some photos that I’m very pleased with. As the sun started to go down, I got some silhouette photos I really liked, and it was a great day. It’s amazing how atmosphere can be created. I usually don’t think of this street as being highly sensory, or stimulating, but I got there and there were people coming and going (not enough to make too much noise that would ruin the ambience), there were incredible smells from these quaint French and Italian restaurants, and one of them was playing Norah Jones in the background. It was bright and sunny, and the scenery was beautiful; everything was awesome. I planned my walk so I would double back very little, and it was very enjoyable. So what this amounts to is little more than shameless plugging… Not really, it was just so incredible.
3.02.2007
The Best of...
...me!
In my efforts to get a messenger bag that 'works,' I spent some time at Old Navy and Target, more to look at stuff I WON'T want to buy so I'll have an idea of what I DO want to buy. Well, the first stop was Old Navy, and I bought a bag there. I liked it, but was a little skeptical. I felt like I was wasting time, so I decided to get it. The size is great, and the material is rugged, but I didn't know if it had enough pockets, etc. I broke down and went to the cashier expecting to fork over the $25 it was going to cost. Turns out, my total was just barely over $6. Six!!! That thriled me. It wasn't until this morning that I realized the little journal I bought for the trip fits swimmingly into the little interior pouch. It wasn't until this morning as well that I noticed some extra pockets and pouches that fit my mp3 player, pens, etc. and that thirlled me.
That having been said, I was happy with my purchase, but strolled into Target to finish up some other odds'n'ends. I saw a lady shelving women's shoes, and her nametag read 'Lana.' I asked her a question I already knew the answer to, and she responded with rolled r's and non-English vowel qualities. I asked her where 'Lana' came from, and she said 'It's Russian.' Need I relate my ecstasy? We talked for probably fifteen minutes, and (maybe it was just the coffee, but) I was as comfortable and conversational as I've ever been. We discussed our families and backgrounds, and she wanted to know where I grew up in Russia. She laughed when I told her I was American, and then apologized profusely when she realized I was serious. She speaks German as well, but not very much, so we continued in Russian, but I was on top of my game and kept my cool. I have her contact information and will be ~following up~. I didn't discuss the reasons for our foreign language interest, but she lives in our territory, so we'll see. It was amazing.
Things are almost completely finished coming together for Asia. Holy crap: it's just over a week away.
In my efforts to get a messenger bag that 'works,' I spent some time at Old Navy and Target, more to look at stuff I WON'T want to buy so I'll have an idea of what I DO want to buy. Well, the first stop was Old Navy, and I bought a bag there. I liked it, but was a little skeptical. I felt like I was wasting time, so I decided to get it. The size is great, and the material is rugged, but I didn't know if it had enough pockets, etc. I broke down and went to the cashier expecting to fork over the $25 it was going to cost. Turns out, my total was just barely over $6. Six!!! That thriled me. It wasn't until this morning that I realized the little journal I bought for the trip fits swimmingly into the little interior pouch. It wasn't until this morning as well that I noticed some extra pockets and pouches that fit my mp3 player, pens, etc. and that thirlled me.
That having been said, I was happy with my purchase, but strolled into Target to finish up some other odds'n'ends. I saw a lady shelving women's shoes, and her nametag read 'Lana.' I asked her a question I already knew the answer to, and she responded with rolled r's and non-English vowel qualities. I asked her where 'Lana' came from, and she said 'It's Russian.' Need I relate my ecstasy? We talked for probably fifteen minutes, and (maybe it was just the coffee, but) I was as comfortable and conversational as I've ever been. We discussed our families and backgrounds, and she wanted to know where I grew up in Russia. She laughed when I told her I was American, and then apologized profusely when she realized I was serious. She speaks German as well, but not very much, so we continued in Russian, but I was on top of my game and kept my cool. I have her contact information and will be ~following up~. I didn't discuss the reasons for our foreign language interest, but she lives in our territory, so we'll see. It was amazing.
Things are almost completely finished coming together for Asia. Holy crap: it's just over a week away.
2.27.2007
Hello, Tokyo
So I’ve come to the realization (as have two of my travel partners here and there) that this time two weeks from now, I will be on the other side of the Pacific Ocean. As already mentioned in one of the links, when I got my visa, welcome letter, passport, etc., it hit me: I’m actually going to be walking around and rubbing shoulders IN CHINA! Not the little part of NYC, but the REAL CHINA. Not the little part of San Francisco, but the REAL JAPAN. Wow.
Chores as of late? I finally got the spare camera battery and a 2GB SD card for DIRT cheep. I also need to get the wall charger for my camera so I don’t have to schlep the cradle and cable that go with it for to synchronize it on the… how you say… computer I won’t have with me?
I spent some extra cash on some non-cotton stuff that’ll dry quicker and be easier to handle while there: some t-shirts and socks and stuff, but I’m still a little nervous about how heavy and bulky my jeans, etc. are going to be, despite that you can wear jeans more than once, drying them once seems to take days… so I’m not sure about that. I already have the world’s coolest khaki jacket with all sorts of zippers and pockets and stuff. That makes me happy.
Concerns: are H’n’B and I going to want to spend a half hour on every reddish leaf that has fallen to the concrete and a pool of water, thus making ourselves the object of hatred by every other member of our travel group? Certainly not. I guess I don’t have many concerns… or ones that can be discussed at any constructive critical length, but that phrase just solved another one…
What books will I be bringing? Hmmm. That last phrase was a quote from J.D. Salinger’s “Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction.” His books are always a joy to me, and I don’t think I’ll be reading anything like what I’m currently working on, since it’s somewhat depressing and also bulky. Seems appropriate, and somewhat cliché, I know, to bring this book along, but I always carry Jack Kerouac’s “On the Road” with me when I am. I read it in California, and Savannah, and other places, and it’s enjoyable. We’ll see. Any suggestions? I was thinking “The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter” or something very character driven.
I’ve also decided I’m learning Persian at the expense of Turkish and some of my German. Someone asked me yesterday if I had considered giving up the other three I was learning to focus on just one. “No.”
Looking back, I wish this post was somewhat more organized and thoughtful. At least as succinct as H’n’B (I’ve never been succinct) or as literary as LF’s, but I’m in a hurry and haven’t had so much as a smell of coffee yet. I’ll get back to this and write some literary monologue about my thoughts and concerns on some deep level of consciousness, with a literary style matching that of James Joyce (in his early days, of course, before ‘Portrait’ or ‘Ulysses’).
Tootles.
Chores as of late? I finally got the spare camera battery and a 2GB SD card for DIRT cheep. I also need to get the wall charger for my camera so I don’t have to schlep the cradle and cable that go with it for to synchronize it on the… how you say… computer I won’t have with me?
I spent some extra cash on some non-cotton stuff that’ll dry quicker and be easier to handle while there: some t-shirts and socks and stuff, but I’m still a little nervous about how heavy and bulky my jeans, etc. are going to be, despite that you can wear jeans more than once, drying them once seems to take days… so I’m not sure about that. I already have the world’s coolest khaki jacket with all sorts of zippers and pockets and stuff. That makes me happy.
Concerns: are H’n’B and I going to want to spend a half hour on every reddish leaf that has fallen to the concrete and a pool of water, thus making ourselves the object of hatred by every other member of our travel group? Certainly not. I guess I don’t have many concerns… or ones that can be discussed at any constructive critical length, but that phrase just solved another one…
What books will I be bringing? Hmmm. That last phrase was a quote from J.D. Salinger’s “Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction.” His books are always a joy to me, and I don’t think I’ll be reading anything like what I’m currently working on, since it’s somewhat depressing and also bulky. Seems appropriate, and somewhat cliché, I know, to bring this book along, but I always carry Jack Kerouac’s “On the Road” with me when I am. I read it in California, and Savannah, and other places, and it’s enjoyable. We’ll see. Any suggestions? I was thinking “The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter” or something very character driven.
I’ve also decided I’m learning Persian at the expense of Turkish and some of my German. Someone asked me yesterday if I had considered giving up the other three I was learning to focus on just one. “No.”
Looking back, I wish this post was somewhat more organized and thoughtful. At least as succinct as H’n’B (I’ve never been succinct) or as literary as LF’s, but I’m in a hurry and haven’t had so much as a smell of coffee yet. I’ll get back to this and write some literary monologue about my thoughts and concerns on some deep level of consciousness, with a literary style matching that of James Joyce (in his early days, of course, before ‘Portrait’ or ‘Ulysses’).
Tootles.
So I’ve come to the realization (as have two of my travel partners here and there) that this time two weeks from now, I will be on the other side of the Pacific Ocean. As already mentioned in one of the links, when I got my visa, welcome letter, passport, etc., it hit me: I’m actually going to be walking around and rubbing shoulders IN CHINA! Not the little part of NYC, but the REAL CHINA. Not the little part of San Francisco, but the REAL JAPAN. Wow.
Chores as of late? I finally got the spare camera battery and a 2GB SD card for DIRT cheep. I also need to get the wall charger for my camera so I don’t have to schlep the cradle and cable that go with it for to synchronize it on the… how you say… computer I won’t have with me?
I spent some extra cash on some non-cotton stuff that’ll dry quicker and be easier to handle while there: some t-shirts and socks and stuff, but I’m still a little nervous about how heavy and bulky my jeans, etc. are going to be, despite that you can wear jeans more than once, drying them once seems to take days… so I’m not sure about that. I already have the world’s coolest khaki jacket with all sorts of zippers and pockets and stuff. That makes me happy.
Concerns: are H’n’B and I going to want to spend a half hour on every reddish leaf that has fallen to the concrete and a pool of water, thus making ourselves the object of hatred by every other member of our travel group? Certainly not. I guess I don’t have many concerns… or ones that can be discussed at any constructive critical length, but that phrase just solved another one…
What books will I be bringing? Hmmm. That last phrase was a quote from J.D. Salinger’s “Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction.” His books are always a joy to me, and I don’t think I’ll be reading anything like what I’m currently working on, since it’s somewhat depressing and also bulky. Seems appropriate, and somewhat cliché, I know, to bring this book along, but I always carry Jack Kerouac’s “On the Road” with me when I am. I read it in California, and Savannah, and other places, and it’s enjoyable. We’ll see. Any suggestions? I was thinking “The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter” or something very character driven.
I’ve also decided I’m learning Persian at the expense of Turkish and some of my German. Someone asked me yesterday if I had considered giving up the other three I was learning to focus on just one. “No.”
Looking back, I wish this post was somewhat more organized and thoughtful. At least as succinct as H’n’B (I’ve never been succinct) or as literary as LF’s, but I’m in a hurry and haven’t had so much as a smell of coffee yet. I’ll get back to this and write some literary monologue about my thoughts and concerns on some deep level of consciousness, with a literary style matching that of James Joyce (in his early days, of course, before ‘Portrait’ or ‘Ulysses’).
Tootles.
Chores as of late? I finally got the spare camera battery and a 2GB SD card for DIRT cheep. I also need to get the wall charger for my camera so I don’t have to schlep the cradle and cable that go with it for to synchronize it on the… how you say… computer I won’t have with me?
I spent some extra cash on some non-cotton stuff that’ll dry quicker and be easier to handle while there: some t-shirts and socks and stuff, but I’m still a little nervous about how heavy and bulky my jeans, etc. are going to be, despite that you can wear jeans more than once, drying them once seems to take days… so I’m not sure about that. I already have the world’s coolest khaki jacket with all sorts of zippers and pockets and stuff. That makes me happy.
Concerns: are H’n’B and I going to want to spend a half hour on every reddish leaf that has fallen to the concrete and a pool of water, thus making ourselves the object of hatred by every other member of our travel group? Certainly not. I guess I don’t have many concerns… or ones that can be discussed at any constructive critical length, but that phrase just solved another one…
What books will I be bringing? Hmmm. That last phrase was a quote from J.D. Salinger’s “Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction.” His books are always a joy to me, and I don’t think I’ll be reading anything like what I’m currently working on, since it’s somewhat depressing and also bulky. Seems appropriate, and somewhat cliché, I know, to bring this book along, but I always carry Jack Kerouac’s “On the Road” with me when I am. I read it in California, and Savannah, and other places, and it’s enjoyable. We’ll see. Any suggestions? I was thinking “The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter” or something very character driven.
I’ve also decided I’m learning Persian at the expense of Turkish and some of my German. Someone asked me yesterday if I had considered giving up the other three I was learning to focus on just one. “No.”
Looking back, I wish this post was somewhat more organized and thoughtful. At least as succinct as H’n’B (I’ve never been succinct) or as literary as LF’s, but I’m in a hurry and haven’t had so much as a smell of coffee yet. I’ll get back to this and write some literary monologue about my thoughts and concerns on some deep level of consciousness, with a literary style matching that of James Joyce (in his early days, of course, before ‘Portrait’ or ‘Ulysses’).
Tootles.
2.21.2007
The Posse...
Check this out. Huge news for all of you, I’m sure. May 1 cannot come quickly enough. Bring it on
2.20.2007
Fun Filled Day
I spoke to people in five languages yesterday (yes, one of them was English). I wouldn’t call them conversations necessarily, because some of them only consisted of “Hello. How are you? I don’t speak [language]. Thank you. Goodbye,” but they were what they were. They were as follows:
1. English
2. Russian- talked to a Ukrainian waitress at a swanky bar-type Mexican restaurant in Russian, as well as another character below.
3. Turkish- cashier at Marshall’s. Name was Sima; asked if it was Persian. She said yes, but that her parents were Turkish. Started talking; she said she didn’t really speak it, but she still had an accent. Maybe she couldn’t understand me at all, so I said ‘My Turkish is bad.’ (Turkcem kötüdür.)
4. Romanian- Employee at Target speaks Romanian. Said the very little I could say, but amounted to a small teeny tiny conversation. Asked her if she spoke any other languages. She said Russian, so I all but attacked her with Russian, and then she told me that despite her having studied it for 12 years, she doesn’t like it, so she hasn’t learned it. However, she did say she speaks…
5. French, and asked me if I spoke it, and I said coolly: ‘pourquois pas?’ and finished off with the other somewhat incoherent things I could say in French, and I’m sure she saw right through it, but she smiled and that was it.
All in all, those escapades made my day. What ISN’T making my day is the STUPID issues I’m having with my media player screwing up my fauxPod. For some reason it thinks I told it to remove tons and tons of my media at random, and it isn’t getting put back into the list of ABSENT media files to sync NEXT TIME, and now my library has gaping holes in it. It ALSO saw fit to create doubles (and sometimes triples) of highly unnecessary photos I never intended to carry around with me, like one of mom’s friends wedding showers. (Good thing I had triples of 100 pictures of a bunch of women standing around candles and cake, right? Cuz that doesn’t take up 2GB of storage unnecessarily.) So now I’m (hopefully) rebuilding the stuff and filling in the holes without adding quads of stuff I’ve already got on there. Sorry, WMP 11, although you’re cool with some new awesome features, you’re also a forerunner of Vista: I just think you’re unnecessary, and it’s too bad you lost some of your totally awesome features, like the ‘jump to artist/album’ from the search function, etc. You’ve lost some awesome features, WMP 11, and some new ones that you have are about as useful as a RadioShack in an Amish village, (or redundant/useless item of choice in compromising situation of choice).
For the love o’ Pete…
1. English
2. Russian- talked to a Ukrainian waitress at a swanky bar-type Mexican restaurant in Russian, as well as another character below.
3. Turkish- cashier at Marshall’s. Name was Sima; asked if it was Persian. She said yes, but that her parents were Turkish. Started talking; she said she didn’t really speak it, but she still had an accent. Maybe she couldn’t understand me at all, so I said ‘My Turkish is bad.’ (Turkcem kötüdür.)
4. Romanian- Employee at Target speaks Romanian. Said the very little I could say, but amounted to a small teeny tiny conversation. Asked her if she spoke any other languages. She said Russian, so I all but attacked her with Russian, and then she told me that despite her having studied it for 12 years, she doesn’t like it, so she hasn’t learned it. However, she did say she speaks…
5. French, and asked me if I spoke it, and I said coolly: ‘pourquois pas?’ and finished off with the other somewhat incoherent things I could say in French, and I’m sure she saw right through it, but she smiled and that was it.
All in all, those escapades made my day. What ISN’T making my day is the STUPID issues I’m having with my media player screwing up my fauxPod. For some reason it thinks I told it to remove tons and tons of my media at random, and it isn’t getting put back into the list of ABSENT media files to sync NEXT TIME, and now my library has gaping holes in it. It ALSO saw fit to create doubles (and sometimes triples) of highly unnecessary photos I never intended to carry around with me, like one of mom’s friends wedding showers. (Good thing I had triples of 100 pictures of a bunch of women standing around candles and cake, right? Cuz that doesn’t take up 2GB of storage unnecessarily.) So now I’m (hopefully) rebuilding the stuff and filling in the holes without adding quads of stuff I’ve already got on there. Sorry, WMP 11, although you’re cool with some new awesome features, you’re also a forerunner of Vista: I just think you’re unnecessary, and it’s too bad you lost some of your totally awesome features, like the ‘jump to artist/album’ from the search function, etc. You’ve lost some awesome features, WMP 11, and some new ones that you have are about as useful as a RadioShack in an Amish village, (or redundant/useless item of choice in compromising situation of choice).
For the love o’ Pete…
2.16.2007
Addiction in kind
For those of you that haven’t been in close company with me lately, I have a new addiction as well. (This seemed an appropriate answer to H’n’B’s post about her football addiction) Mine is more substance related, though… substance sounds so shady and illegal when paired with the words ‘addiction,’ ‘abuse,’ ‘dependence,’ … you get the idea…
COFFEE!!! I’ve had coffee experiences lately, and there are too many to relate, but they involve baristas and stuff… need to know basis.
It all started a few hours before the Superbowl. Picture it: a nice cool afternoon before going to (what can arguably be called) an old friend’s house for the party. I’ve made plans to meet some friends at Starbucks before heading over there. I get there early and peruse the shopping center where I find a Persian restaurant. I went in to get a menu and their hours of operation, and to my pleasant surprise, they had a Persian newspaper!!! Having gotten the desired information from the (not unattractive hostess) I strolled out with my newspaper and to go menu. Seeing fit to order my coffee before they arrived, I decided to get a size that would last me long enough that I wouldn’t be finished when Affie and her friend got there late. I strolled in to order my coffee and asked what they had. My past experience with Starbucks coffee has been not so pleasant, and I never did have a taste for it, but I thought for some reason I’d give it another try (my subconscious was so right). I can’t remember how it happened, but instead of ordering a plain medium coffee or doppio, (I think it involved the mind-numbing headache I had) I decided to pull out the big guns and order the ‘bold’ brew they had. Was I ever pleased…
Incredible. It’s an Indonesian thing, and dark, heavy, and almost thick. It’s got a bite to it, and is really delightful. Funny thing is, I would have never been able to drink something like this before. I suddenly love it.
You see, black coffee has been one of those things I’ve wanted to like for a long time. (We all have things we want to like, be it social reasons, chic factor, but there are things we do not like that we try to, and for me it was coffee.) I could drink black coffee, but only with some trepidation and slow going, or a handful of sweets by my side. That’s over. I was also never able to taste the ‘aromas,’ or ‘flavors,’ or ‘hints,’ of flavor that people describe in anything, be it coffee, wine, sand… but I’m noticing them now. So, as corny as it sounds to describe the coffee above as earthy, bold, spicy, (even nutty), and almost entirely non-acidic, it’s what I get from it. Delightful.
This has started a kick for me. Like a kid in a candy store (or a linguist in an international airport), I’ve been jumping around to get my hands on all the Starbucks brews and coffees. I welcomed home my first pound of coffee last week, ground for a drip brew. It was a pound of the Komodo, mentioned above. But since then, my other favorites have been Gold Coast (awesome, but not nearly as earthy and pungent as Komodo, since it’s got more Latin and Italian blended in with it; still super bold, but a little sweeter) and especially the Sulawesi (very similar to Komodo, but more elegant, less in-your-face, and smoother; not as big, but with even less acidity; it’s amazing). The Ethiopian Sidamo tastes like a blender full o’ flowers and perfume (yuck), and I’m not impressed with the Café Verona because it’s too acidic for my taste, despite that it’s supposed to be their most popular… Estima, Guatemala Antiqua, Yukon are some others I’ve tried. I’m still waiting to try Sumatra and Kenya, as well as the Espresso and French Roasts. Obsessive? Maybe. Expensive? Sort of. Delicious? Absolutely. I realized when I dig through my pockets for change enough to buy a $1.60 coffee, it can be considered a dependency. I have been getting these afternoon headaches, though, between 2:30 and 4, and the caffeine does the trick. I don’t drink sodas or anything, and the coffee is much better, so that’s been making me happy. That is all.
(~What’s that haunting aroma?~ a la Will Ferrel in ‘Kicking and Screaming.’)
تحيات حارة
COFFEE!!! I’ve had coffee experiences lately, and there are too many to relate, but they involve baristas and stuff… need to know basis.
It all started a few hours before the Superbowl. Picture it: a nice cool afternoon before going to (what can arguably be called) an old friend’s house for the party. I’ve made plans to meet some friends at Starbucks before heading over there. I get there early and peruse the shopping center where I find a Persian restaurant. I went in to get a menu and their hours of operation, and to my pleasant surprise, they had a Persian newspaper!!! Having gotten the desired information from the (not unattractive hostess) I strolled out with my newspaper and to go menu. Seeing fit to order my coffee before they arrived, I decided to get a size that would last me long enough that I wouldn’t be finished when Affie and her friend got there late. I strolled in to order my coffee and asked what they had. My past experience with Starbucks coffee has been not so pleasant, and I never did have a taste for it, but I thought for some reason I’d give it another try (my subconscious was so right). I can’t remember how it happened, but instead of ordering a plain medium coffee or doppio, (I think it involved the mind-numbing headache I had) I decided to pull out the big guns and order the ‘bold’ brew they had. Was I ever pleased…
Incredible. It’s an Indonesian thing, and dark, heavy, and almost thick. It’s got a bite to it, and is really delightful. Funny thing is, I would have never been able to drink something like this before. I suddenly love it.
You see, black coffee has been one of those things I’ve wanted to like for a long time. (We all have things we want to like, be it social reasons, chic factor, but there are things we do not like that we try to, and for me it was coffee.) I could drink black coffee, but only with some trepidation and slow going, or a handful of sweets by my side. That’s over. I was also never able to taste the ‘aromas,’ or ‘flavors,’ or ‘hints,’ of flavor that people describe in anything, be it coffee, wine, sand… but I’m noticing them now. So, as corny as it sounds to describe the coffee above as earthy, bold, spicy, (even nutty), and almost entirely non-acidic, it’s what I get from it. Delightful.
This has started a kick for me. Like a kid in a candy store (or a linguist in an international airport), I’ve been jumping around to get my hands on all the Starbucks brews and coffees. I welcomed home my first pound of coffee last week, ground for a drip brew. It was a pound of the Komodo, mentioned above. But since then, my other favorites have been Gold Coast (awesome, but not nearly as earthy and pungent as Komodo, since it’s got more Latin and Italian blended in with it; still super bold, but a little sweeter) and especially the Sulawesi (very similar to Komodo, but more elegant, less in-your-face, and smoother; not as big, but with even less acidity; it’s amazing). The Ethiopian Sidamo tastes like a blender full o’ flowers and perfume (yuck), and I’m not impressed with the Café Verona because it’s too acidic for my taste, despite that it’s supposed to be their most popular… Estima, Guatemala Antiqua, Yukon are some others I’ve tried. I’m still waiting to try Sumatra and Kenya, as well as the Espresso and French Roasts. Obsessive? Maybe. Expensive? Sort of. Delicious? Absolutely. I realized when I dig through my pockets for change enough to buy a $1.60 coffee, it can be considered a dependency. I have been getting these afternoon headaches, though, between 2:30 and 4, and the caffeine does the trick. I don’t drink sodas or anything, and the coffee is much better, so that’s been making me happy. That is all.
(~What’s that haunting aroma?~ a la Will Ferrel in ‘Kicking and Screaming.’)
تحيات حارة
2.06.2007
O The Things You Can Think
My Goodness:
- Italian is coming along slowly [read: it's not]
- I've been assigned my Romanian again.
- Hungarian is also inactive
- Someone told me they wanted to learn Persian with me, but I'm not holding my breath
- Showed off at Turkish again this weekend
- Russian is arguably taking a backburner
- German is as lively as ever
- Still don't' like Cambodian or Esperanto…
- Starting the cramming with Chinese and Japanese
Language stuff has been busy lately, and it's just too bad I can't devote my time and energy into ONE (or a few) things. Hungarian is NOT a serious endeavor (yet), and my Asian languages are only temporary (unless I fall in love with them there). Sunday before the Superbowl, I drank a golly good coffee and read a Persian newspaper at Starbucks. It was enjoyable. I was also across the street from a Steinway showroom, and the only thing keeping me from heading over there was the Superbowl (and my not so vibrant interest in Steinway).
Does anybody else think she looks like the pianess herself?
Speaking of which, there are like nine or ten some odd people that I've talked to that now want tickets to see her when she comes to town. I'm hoping she plays at some sweet venue and not at Bob's Big Carnival Saloon. Symphony Hall would be nice again. We'll see.
I don't have that much to say right now. I was going to do that concert analysis that Affie did, but I'm just not feeling it at the moment. However, I close with a combination of a few things discussed above, for those of you that watched the Superbowl and followed a few of the links above… or want to see her live. Enjoy. (I'm actually surprised at how good this is.)
(also check out my new email signature that I decided to leave on this email, just for those of you that don't get it all the time anyway)
With best regards
Mit freundlichen Grüßen
С наилучшими пожеланиями
Saygılarımla
Cordialement
تحيات حارة
1.26.2007
Brilliant
1.18.2007
1.17.2007
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)