- Posts tagged china
- Explore china on posterous
I'm not obsessed with sleeping people
Ok, maybe I am.
But they make the best subjects to photograph! Still as a corpse.
Seriously though, don't you envy her? Napping under the gentle sunlight and swaying willow trees of Beihai park, if we could all be so at peace...
another year, another adventure
I've been working around the clock lately, and feel like i'm losing my sanity and at the very least my eyesight sitting in front of my mac all day long.
I realized I didn't even post on my birthday, and how uncharacteristic that is. Looking back on last year had me a feeling a bit wistful as I was here same time last year. But a private island with a lemongrass scented villa is perhaps only for those dreamers in us. I need to shake the sand off my flip flops some time.
This year brought another 365 days of great changes, I find myself now in Beijing, sitting in an ancient hutong, watching the sun set over the tiled courtyard rooftops. Where will I be this time next year?
I've got some lovely photos from last weekend, when Josh came to visit and we embarked on many adventures in parks, through hutongs, and through dining experiences unrivalled in my time in China.
I'll break them into chunks so I have something to look forward to, here's the first set of photos.
New Photos: Shanghai Bits and Pieces
I had forgotten about these. Yay new photos! It's like finding $5 under the couch. But I'd still like to find $5 under my couch. Can someone put $5 under my couch?
covert missions and atrophy
so let's continue my story from yesterday. during our weekend long frustration with the apartment door, and after our calls to the landlord and Elyssa's original agent were subsequently ignored, we decided it was time for war.
since i paid for most of the cost in replacing the door, i technically have majority ownership. i'm still deciding how to can take it with me when i leave- after we get the deposit back from the landlord of course. we also stopped hiring an ayi to cleanup around the place, the kitchen is hiding all manner of infestations and diseases and the bathroom is a warzone. in a recent flash of brilliance, we also decided to ignore the agent's calls and knocks on the door trying to show the apartment to the next tenants. give 'em a taste of their own donkey shit.
this antic almost got me in trouble today as i exited the elevator with ice cream cone in mouth. there the agent was with her sallow face, and a skinny boy in tow, staring me down. i briskly walked past my apartment towards the stairs on the opposite wing. oh yea, smoooth. except being the fat kid that i am, i bought a few extra ice cream bars for lay away in the freezer, which did not fare as well in the humidity as i lurked in the opposite stairwells, craning my neck out of a window every few minutes to check on the enemy's status. thanks to odd chinese apartment layouts, i could see where they stood by the hallway window from just about every other floor. it was a thrilling ten minutes, adrenalin rushing through my body as i slithered back toward my apartment with agility.
well there you go, i'm made it in. the enemy has retreated with tail between leg. and now it is time to sit back with a glass of sauvignon blanc and watch the rest of Californication season 2. i practically atrophied into my mattress this weekend watching 18 episodes in one go, not my fault hank moody is hunky town!
oh and if you're wondering what i've been eating, truth is, i've been too busy to eat fancy meals. i cook porridge with red beans for lunch every day and eat so much of it i usually don't need dinner. i got into it because of my boss, Casey, who is the healthiest nut i've ever met. it's actually become ridiculously tasty, and i refer to it lovingly as peasant food. you know, a real connection to the farmers we help out. our two male co-workers usually scoff and go off to their usual lunchtime haunts, but you really can't be sure of what they serve in restaurants these days...
until next time lovers
yes they make that here
I'm always on the lookout for awesome things that make me go "WHY ON EARTH WOULD ANYONE -"... and then I buy them.
This is what I've collected since last week.
Your morning ritual will never be dull again with this roll of Sudoku toilet paper. Why should you only solve your favorite puzzle on the train, in bed, and at work? Don't let the toilet seat hold you down!
Yea, you want it.
This isn't very whacky, but I think it's cool anyhow. Matcha-green-tea-ice-cream-flavoured Oreos. Miam.
Now for today's piece de resistance. Have you ever been in a meeting and thought to yourself, 'DAMN I could really go for a heaping carton of mashed potatoes right now' ? Well your dreams have come true with the Mr. Smiley Instant Mashed Potato Vending Machine, now with extra yellow stuff!! THIS is what they should have in our schools, none of that bullshit Coca Cola stuff.
I tried to buy the machine but couldn't lug it home. I didn't get to eat any either cus it was defective or the little man inside mashing potatoes was off duty. Next time readers, for sure.
If anyone is interested in any of the above items, contact me and I'll put you in TOUCH!
sprung on spring
Finally, glorious Sunday. The first moment I've had sweet, uninterrupted time to sort through my photos, notes, and thoughts since I arrived in Beijing last Wednesday. It's been an experience, from quitting my stable job at P&G to take on a leadership role in a microfinance web platform that's the first of its kind in China, to packing my life in two 50 pound suitcases and transplanting myself halfway around the world, to then struggling to remain sane while navigating Beijing's apartment rental market which can only be described as insane, to finally starting work in our lovely Dongsishitiao courtyard office this Monday. The question I get the most is, how do you just DO that? I guess the thought doesn't even occur to me, having grown up moving every year to a new land, new language, and new friends, life's never been any different. Life continues to be an adventure, and I truly didn't allow myself to feel at ease even in Toronto, the city I am most likely to call home.
Labour Day long weekend begins at a brightly-lit Tiananmen square last weekend.
Sunrise over the Annapurna
I'm going to be releasing my first photobook!
Afterquake
timeless water town
