Eternal Sunshine

0420: Roll out of bed after receiving text from friend, make a joke about what I wonder what the potheads in my class who get blazed before every field trip are doing right about now. “Get it? 4:20!” Grab things and head to school while muttering, “Crap, I’m always late!”

0445: Arrive right on time and wait in the cold dark drizzle for the bus to arrive

Set up space and prepare to conk out. The people behind me won’t shut up. 

A few hours later…we arrive at the Delaware House for breakfast and bathroom. All the girls are huddled in the bathroom changing out of pajamas and putting on make up and trying to look presentable. 

First we had a Broadway workshop with Dan’yelle Williamson from Memphis. I surprisingly got picked as one of the first volunteers for scene work, which was interesting because we had to do it in southern accents. It’s a good thing I’m obsessed with dialects, I’ve been preparing for this starring moment my whole life! Then we bonded over tattoos because she has a wrist tattoo that looks like the one I’ve been designing. Crazy coincidence.

Next order of business: get some food in our bellies. I was ecstatic that other members of my group are also street vendor enthusiasts. 

Trenton: Hey guys! Anyone up for some street food? Right now?

Rest of Us: Let’s do it!

Me: YAYYY you’re my hero!

Trenton: HAHA GET IT? GYRO? 

Us: HAAA!!! 

Lamb on Rice

Well I’ll be damned.

I love me some CSI. 

Buildings so tall they disappear into the sky. Someday I want to stand here on New Years Eve watching the ball drop. Maybe with a special guy. Or hell, I’ll just make out with a stranger.

It’s funny because there was a giant Glee ad playing overhead and before I got there I was just thinking about the episode of Glee filmed here. And Jessie J’s episode of Dare Jessie J. I didn’t know you had to wait in line to get up there though…

I saw this last year but never knew what it is. It’s a U.S. Military recruiting station. Which made me and my military obsessed brain very happy. 

Now let’s talk a bit about the shows

We watched the 2 o’clock matinee performance of Memphis.

It is hands down arguably the best show I have ever seen. It reminded me of Hairspray. It was humorous and upbeat but also deep and really pushed the buttons on the issues of race and what it means to be in love. All of the singers were phenomenal and the choreography was stunning. I don’t want to spoil it but I liked how the ending was bittersweet rather than just having a happy ending for the heck of it. No wonder it won the 2010 Tony Award for Best Musical. 

By the second show I’m always dead tired. On top of that this year it also rained the ENTIRE TIME so we were cold and soaking and smelly but happy. 

Now War Horse. Wow. At first I couldn’t decide if I liked it or not. The style was that of a minimalist set and left a lot to the audience’s imagination to fill in the gaps and believe what they wanted us to see. But they did it so well that it wasn’t very difficult. The grand mystery before the show started was, “How are they going to do the horse?” They used puppets for the animals, which was incredible and unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. 

Here’s a montage so you can get an idea of the puppetry. It didn’t take very long to believe they were real horses with the exception of one scene where it was supposed to be intimate interaction between the German and the French girl and it was a bit distracting for me that the two horse head guys were there. 

Usually in movies when humans die I feel sad but when animals die I bawl my eyes out. Either I’m getting less sensitive or I was just too tired to be fully engaged. I mostly cry during scenes of brokenheartedness now…which is pathetic. 

This play is definitely one of a kind and worth seeing. The entire time I was thinking, “Damn I wish I could record this or at least take pictures.” The lead actor, Seth Numrich, was incredible although the goose definitely stole the show. Most of the actors attended ivy leagues and top notch theater programs. It was also very emotional; at one point I accidentally let out a, “NOOO!!!” and some girls walked out of there with red noses and puffy eyes. But in the end it all came together and proved to be one of my new favorite plays. 

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I also had my first New York hot dog, visited the Forever 21, and visited the “bleachers.” Unfortunately I didn’t buy any souvenirs this time but I’ll try to make a video. 

We got home at about 0330. Yeah this bus driver really hauls ass…we got home in less than four hours…

[Hopefully next time I see you the weather will be better]. Until next time, New York City! Thanks for a good time ;]

This time last year I was doing this:

This time tomorrow I’ll be doing this:

After a little bit of this:

I’m sorry that you guys didn’t get to see the 20 paragraph masterpiece I typed and accidentally deleted yesterday…But it was kind of whiny so I guess it’s a good thing. Getting up at 4 AM tomorrow to head off on our annual drama field trip :]

Not Pictured: CAMERA! Snuggie, Elephant neck pillow, CamelBak

NEW YORK CITY I’M READY FOR YOU. But then again, I’m never ready. I LOVE travelling but I always get pre-travel jitters. You already know this if you’ve been following since the China trip haha. =>Here are my travel blogs<=

Good night world, see you tomorrow morning bright dark and early! [I hate getting up before the sun does]

As we arrived at port on Day 3 (Monday, July 29), we were just catching the tail end of Tropical Storm Jose; it was a bit windy and cloudy (as you can see from this photo) and quite “un-Bermuda-like,” if you will. 

Our first day in Bermuda was spent on the Pink Sand Beach (Horseshoe Bay). We took a taxi bus that charged per passenger and the ride was about 20 minutes long. The roads are a bit windy and scary to drive on. They steer on the right side and drive on the left as well since Bermuda was occupied by the British, which made us American left-side steering tourists even more nervous. In addition, we observed that drivers often honk at each other as greetings. Like *BEEP BEEP!* over there means “HEY WHAT’S UP!” as opposed to “F**K YOU!” in grand ol’ ‘Merica.

Did you know? The sand is pink because it consists of parrotfish poop and dead bodies?

The pharyngeal teeth grind up coral rock the fish ingest during feeding. After they digest the rock, they excrete it as sand, helping to create small islands and the sandy beaches of the Caribbean. One parrotfish can produce 90 kg of sand each year.

- Wikipedia

That’s what our glass bottom boat captain told us, pretty much. And coral are exoskeletal remains. And you don’t want to know what’s in the water.

At 10 PM that night we rushed dinner (this is the day we found out that we will eat anything and everything they shove at us in the dining room) to the Glass Bottom Boat tours. They also have tours during the daytime, which is probably less eerie but maybe not as mysteriously intriguing. And of course the things you see will differ (we mostly saw nocturnal creatures). 

There is glass in the bottom of the boat (duh) and you lean over and look at the beautiful coral reefs underneath. We also passed over a shipwreck which like I said, was eerie and intriguing. The captain warned us that it wouldn’t look like the type of thing we see in fish tanks and that it’s only identifiable by perfect circles and straight lines, which are uncommon in nature. Then we circled around, went back upstairs, and they showed us the bow of the ship, HMS Vixen. (I couldn’t for the life of me get a decent picture). Then everyone of age (or with people of age) got complimentary Rum Swizzles. 

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Day 4: Tuesday, August 30 

The next day, we took a ferry to  ”go into town” to Hamilton, one of Bermuda’s two incorporated municipalities (we should say we went into “city” though). 

In Bermuda (and probably many islands and costal areas) it is not uncommon to pour rain or shower for several minutes and then stop. So we’ve got our rain gear on and they even sold plastic coverings in the gift shops (what are they called again?).

I pretty much just bought a souvenir for my friend (the one who collects pigs) (but then I dropped it and it cracked. Stupid gravity). Mr. Zhao treated all of us kids to ice cream cones. Never again will I underestimate the power of “One scoop for $3.” That was the biggest single scoop I have ever been compelled to finish.

Next we headed over to the Banana Boats!!! I wanted to parasail but that was sold out. They also have jetskiing. 

A banana boat is a tube fashioned to look like a banana split and tied to the back of a speed boat. Your goal is the hang on and have fun but their goal is to get everyone into the water at least once. I was clinging on for dear life and my arms hurt for days after. I’d mostly been hanging out with the people I went with but here we met two pretty chill girls from New York. 

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS. 

After that exciting adventure, the kids and one set of grandparents went to the Bermuda Maritime Museum. Entry is $10 people over the age of 13. Seniors pay $8 and children 13 are not only free but also get a book about the history of Bermuda. Sweet deal.  

The first thing we happened upon was the place where you can swim with dolphins (for a hefty sum). Or you can just watch. Or you can do what the glass bottom boat captain suggested which is casually falling into the pool and swimming with the dolphins for free. 

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Before leaving, we did a lot of research on the activities available which was good and helpful. Now it’s all here for you to pass along to anyone who plans to visit Bermuda!

Like those who I had read reviews of, I highly suggest the glass bottom boat. It’s a unique experience and if you’re lucky enough like we were, your captain and guide will be highly knowledgeable about everything Bermuda related and present that knowledge in a hilarious and memorable manner. Because of this, it’s best to go on the first day so you can get an idea of how you want to spend your time there and make the best of your (maybe) short stay.

However, if you are a thrill seeker (think roller coasters, sailing, and going fast), I don’t care if you don’t do anything else; YOU MUST TRY THE BANANA BOAT. 

Since the entire country is pretty much just one giant tourist attraction, yes, everything is expensive, if not way over-priced. However, you’re on vacation and you only live once so you might as well splurge and enjoy yourself a little. Just don’t spend money on stupid, useless stuff.

Stingray

Dinosaur!!

I had him watch over the Royal Promenade. 

Bat! With my dino in the background still keeping a watchful eye over all the happenings on deck 5. I guess Shanelle (our stateroom attendant) was inspired by my sweet shades. 

Like a boss.

I finally decided to write a nice letter like I’d been planning on doing and at the end I requested my favorite animal. Can you guess what that is?

There was a towel folding demonstration but we missed it because we got distracted along the way. But it’s alright because I figured everything is on the internet :]

I had planned to take pictures of the menus for each night but I guess I got caught up in the food and only managed to get menu pictures once or twice. And I don’t even remember what days it came from (I don’t believe the dates my computer shows). 

Can you guess which entree from the above menu this was? It didn’t look or taste as good as the description made it sound…but oh well. 

I tried escargot (snail) for the first time! I’ve refused to eat it before but I guess I just wanted to cross that off my bucket list…same with veal. 

Meet our head waiter, Sunil, who hails from India.

On the first night, we got one starter, one entree, and one dessert. 

On the second night, we realized we were on a freakin’ cruise and we could order more than one. So we upgraded to about two starters.

On the third night, we were running late for an activity so Sunil just gave us random extra food so we could fill our stomachs in case our entrees came too late.

By the last night, we (and Sunil) realized our full eating potential and ended up ordering up to four starters, two entrees, and any extra food we would bring over. Bliss.

I’ll try to add pictures of the food according to the day but 1) I already missed the first day’s 2) I took way too many pictures of food…pretty much everything we ordered…which is a lot. So I guess I’ll have to be selective. 

Up at the crack of dawn; all packed up and ready to go. My mom and I went with a family of eight (parents, their two sons, and both sets of grandparents) and another family of five (parents, their two kids, and their grandmother).

We drove about four hours to Cape Liberty Cruise Port in New Jersey. [First we picked up the sons from the Fencing Academy of South Jersey and I texted my friend who fences about it and she said she’s practically famous there. Such a small world.] 

Ever since my last beach trip I’ve learned that on road trips (or long trips in general), it’s better to have salads. It’s filling and nutritious but still pretty light. Rest stops usually feature fast food restaurants but fast food restaurants usually feature salads. So while burgers and curly fries are tempting, you don’t want to eat the greasy stuff and still be stuck in the car for a few more hours. 

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First order of business: get some of that delicious cruise food in your belly. 

This is the view from Windjammer (the 24 hour buffet/ main eating place) window. (Deck 11) You can see the Lady Liberty across the way in front of a backdrop of the beautiful New York City skyline and of course Lady Irene brewing overhead. I guess that’s why it’s called Cape Liberty. 

Second order of business: run to your stateroom and fling open all the drawers and doors and open the curtains. My view was the Royal Promenade (basically a strip of shops and cafes and bars on Deck 5) which was pretty cool but it also meant the curtains had to remain closed otherwise everyone who cared to look up would see a lot more than they needed to. 

Then of course we ran around the ship looking at everything it had to offer us. Which involved eating a lot of food. And the ship was rocking…violently. Stupid Hurricane.

I have a lot of pictures/stories from over the past few days but unfortunately there are a few problems with this:

1. I have  a lot of pictures/ stories from over the past few days

2. I have to get up at 5 AM tomorrow to race Irene to New Jersey.

3. I won’t have proper internet for a week D: and by proper I mean no tumblr. And by no tumblr I mean I REALLY wanted to make another travel blog for my trip to Bermuda but I’m not up for paying sixty some cents per one minute of internet…that’s like one cent a second…no thanks.

I’ll split it up into smaller posts and photosets. I talk/write way too much anyway…so take your pick on what you’d actually like to see :]

AND welcome to my new first time visitors! Thank you for stopping by!

I told my English teacher about this…and wrote it on the Macaroni Grill table…I hope my censorship is sufficient. 

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Dang it I’m still getting those pre-travel jitters I talked about before. That “end of the world” feeling…isn’t it strange when you’re about to go somewhere and think, “Wow…tomorrow morning I’ll be waking up thousands of miles away.” But it doesn’t calm my nerves know that a massive hurricane is coming…and I’ll be in the wild ocean…on a ship…in the Bermuda triangle…

Don’t think about Katrina. Don’t think about Titanic. Just to be safe don’t even think about Celine Dion, Leonardo DiCaprio, or Kate Winslet. Don’t think about one of the biggest American Naval disasters in history occurring in the infamous Bermuda Triangle. Just don’t think about it. Shoot, I’m thinking about it I’m thinking about it!

I’ll be photographing/ writing every day and I’ll post when I can get my hands on some proper internet (even if that’s when I get home). SEE YOU ON THE OTHER SIDE GUYS! AKA one mean hurricane and five days later. (Sept 1)

I’ve been MIA for a couple days…at this point I’m too lazy to go back and write about the past couple days but I took down some notes so I guess I might as well.

Uploading pictures onto my computer has become a complete mess and it’s all out of order for some reason…but anyway.

Before I left I there was one last thing I wanted to accomplish. I’d never planked before but wanted to make my first time special (naturally) so what’s more special than doing it halfway around the world? Unfortunately this was the only place I could find that was clean enough… >.>

On Friday, July 29, 2011, I boarded flight UA 898 from PEK to IAD. My dad had switched my seat from 39 J to somewhere near the beginning of the Economy section. He wanted me in a window seat because he thinks it’s “safer.” I, however wanted an aisle seat so that I would be “free to move about the cabin” and stretch my legs but alas…life isn’t fair. Then we get the news that for some unknown reason I have been upgraded without cost to Economy Plus. Fantastic! Others have to pay $125 for this extra two or so inches of space. I make my way to my seat and to my horror, there is a crying baby in a carrier on the aisle seat next to where I’m supposed to be sitting. I immediately begin panicking and praying in my head, “Lord have mercy what have I done to deserve this fate?! Okay well I can think of a lot of things but a crying baby on a 14 hour flight? Plea——” But just as I was begging for forgiveness a concerned looking flight attendant gently explains, “Sweetheart I’m sorry the baby has to sit in the aisle seat here. We have these two seats…” She shuffles through the ticket stubs in her hands and tells me there’s a seat a few rows up. She tells me, “It’s an aisle seat though…is that okay?” Hell yeah it’s okay! I’m cheering excitedly and mother and flight attendant look relieved but also surprised with my overly enthusiastic response. We’re all thanking each other, not sure who is more grateful and I make my way to my new seat. A man is staring out the window, he looks Italian or Green (later turned out to be Hungarian and German. I also later realized he looks like a more rounded version of George Clooney). My dad told me to make friends with whoever was sitting next to me so I could use their phone to call him and let him know I’m safe…the man didn’t look very friendly or keen on having company but I meekly asked, “Hi, do you have a working phone?” He replied that he did. “My dad wants me to call him so he knows I’m on board safely. I’m really sorry to bother you it’s just that he’s concerned about me and you know…” He looked at me and said, “I understand. I’ve got three daughters of my own.” And after that we became amiable acquaintances and I learned that he’s actually a really cool guy (we’ll call him J).

In front of us, a girl I had seen at the airport with her big hunk of a boyfriend was asking the lady next to her to switch seats so they could sit together. “Aisle seat?” The lady asked. “Yes it’s an aisle seat.” See? I’m not the only one who asks for aisle seats. The switch went smoothly…well at least as smoothly as a six foot six man can clamber over airplane seats. I think there is such thing as “too big” when it comes to muscles and other body parts that men obsess over. That’s probably why they were in Economy Plus…Every time I looked at them I couldn’t help but wonder how such a curious looking girl could end up with an inflated version of an Abercrombie model. I also prepared myself for the pain of sitting behind a cute couple. As it turned out though, they weren’t really a couple at all. I even mustered up the courage to talk to him for two minutes near the end of the flight about tattoo care. It also turned out the the middle seat next to me was empty! So everything was working out; I got upgraded from Economy to Economy Plus to aisle seat with dreamy eye candy in front of me and a friendly family man next to me with an empty seat between us. On the way to China, the girl sitting next to me (Chanel, what a sick name!!) attends NYU Steinhardt, one of my dream schools. And J is a Landscape Architect. So I lucked out by being able to do college research through interviewing the person next to me on both trips. 

After the first drink service my super-sniffer nose picked up the scent of fresh cucumber. I looked around and sure enough, a Chinese man sitting across had laid out his tomato juice, snacks, and a big fat whole cucumber. I wonder how he got that on the plane…I wanted it. 

I watched this documentary during dinner. Wow movie websites are always so realistic that I feel like it’s real.

http://www.iamrogue.com/catfish/main.html although this one is pretty much…real.

When we first took off a baby bawled for five minutes and everyone on the plane was probably mentally unified against this worst case scenario. There was some strong turbulence at some points and every time that happens I can’t help but think, “Why do they stress the seat belts so much? If this thing goes down a polyester strap is not doing to do anything besides perhaps separating the bottom of my body from the top as we fall out of the sky.”

I watched Source Code…as soon as it started I got the impression that they were trying to have an epic and memorable score like the one in Inception and a lot of similarities between the two movies appeared throughout. I admire Jack Gyllenhaal and have developed an enormous reverence towards the United States Military (there always seems to be one of these movies on every flight…or perhaps there are just a lot of military movies) so I enjoyed those aspects. It’s always nice to pretend there’s a parallel universe where we can bend the rules of reality and live out a dream. Although supposedly Jake’s character in the dream world would actually look like the other guy who actually played “Sean”…

On airplanes they always seem to give really puffy bags and I’m always tempted to pop them but I figure that while popping bags is annoying enough in restaurants, doing it on an airplane may not be the wisest thing to do for obvious reasons. In the bathroom (regrettably I forgot to go back and take a picture of this) it said “NO SMOKING” and then had an ashtray underneath…

I then proceeded to watch “How It’s Made” where the talked about decaf, smoked salmon, and jet stream propelled boats or something like that. Now I will have a perpetual Salmon craving but know I’ll be having some high class grilled Scottish Salmon in early September at my second cousin’s wedding.

Then I grudgingly watched “Arthur”; I was reluctant because I usually don’t want to watch these pointless movies about drunken revelry (Like The Hangover. Some I enjoy (like The Other Guys and Stepbrothers), some I enjoy in retrospect (like Superbad), and some I haven’t watched but don’t plan to because like I said, I wouldn’t go out of my way to watch them by myself (like Pineapple Express) (even though I have a Pineapple Express movie poster in my room…). Some are funny, some are dumb, but the main point is that I enjoy movies I can learn from or that make an impact on me. But I actually LOVED ARTHUR and fell in love with Russel Brand and Helen Mirren as well. I already kinda like Jennifer Garner. 

It was interesting to see such a high profile actress play such a humbling character (although it was a pretty large and important role). Maybe I should watch Get Him to the Greek…but anyway you go girl, Katy Perry! Man I really wish I had a British or Australian accent. 

Then I watched Monk…good memories. I’ve already seen every episode but I rewatched this one “Mr. Monk and the Foreigner”). 

J told me his business partner works for William McDonough, the guy who wrote Cradle to Cradle (for all your TJ kids reading this). I should get around to reading that book…I’m going to start making a list of books I need to read after college apps are over.

Just as I was about to settle into a deep blissful slumber spilling into the extra seat beside me, a man asked if the middle seat was taken and I had to reply that there wasn’t. He told me the woman who sat next to him was feeling sick so he let her lie down and now need a new seat. So we let him sit there. He kept trying to make conversation and he was a nice man and all but I just wanted to conk out.

Later we all shared stories and J also told us that he enjoys fishing and on his 30th wedding anniversary he and his wife went to Costa Rica where she caught her first fish (he showed us pictures) (it was huge) and then the captain called the restaurant who sent a truck down to the pier to pick up the fish and the restaurant prepared it. That evening they had dinner on the beach under a canopy with candles…SO ROMANTIC. 

I wonder what it’s like to see these words for the first time. I’ve never felt so proud to be a part of this great nation. You can complain about the government, you can complain about the economy, you can complain about the education system (I do these last two things the most) but the truth is…if you live here you’re more fortunate than much of the rest of the world. We even have the freedom to live somewhere else if we so desire.

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“They used to tank cod from Alaska all the way to China. They’d keep them in vats in the ship. By the time the codfish reached China the flesh was mush and tasteless. So this guy came up with this idea that if you put these cods in these big vats, put some catfish in with them. And the catfish would keep the cod agile. And there are those people who are catfish in life. And they keep you on your toes, they keep you guessin’ they keep you thinkin’ they keep you fresh. And I thank god for the catfish, because we would be dull and boring if we didn’t have somebody nipping at our fin.”

Who’s the catfish in your life?

Day 27: Wednesday, July 27, 2011

I made a card/ letter for Daisy. I realized I actually was very grateful for her and probably disrespectful at times. 

For about two weeks it thunder stormed every day and that morning when we were walking out we happened upon this. Right on top of a power line. 

When we walked home at night it looked like this.

I like the signs here. I haven’t taken many pictures of them this time but here’s one. “If your head gets stuck you will begin to turn black. Like reverse Michael Jackson.”

I creep on animals. And their owners apparently. 

Every time I see stray animals here I bark and meow at them and want to take them home with me. Usually they’re not safe to touch because they’re dirty but this time I couldn’t resist. 

I was trying to take a picture of the car because it looked funny and she just jumps in front of it and starts posing…sigh…fine… *click click*

Then the other guy tells everyone to get in so we can take pictures.

Big private room. The waitress asks, “How many people?” He replies, “Four.” It even had a private bathroom. 

Gourmet Chocolate? ;] Cadbury and Dove.

Daisy: “DIE-ME!!” Then in Chinese: “Come try this chocolate. This is the best chocolate. This is China’s own. Duo-Fu chocolate.”

Sorry darlin’ but Dove is not from China… 

Later (when I was already full) three more dishes came, including fish, beef, and this clam and egg. The clams weren’t very fresh but the egg was good. Sesame oil ftw!

Jack Danny, eh? On a first name basis now are we?

When in doubt, bubble tea. This is just a chocolate milkshake though. Or pretends to me. 

Now you can call a waitress, water, check, or even cancel with a push of a button!

When bored, draw on self. Also drew a yin yang on my ankle. Plus Sophie’s World and homework. 

Tomorrow is my last full day. I’m too tired for this today…I’ll try to get on tomorrow morning. Or I’ll probably come back after my shower and end up sleeping at 5 AM again…

Day 26: Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Today was hot and dry. I am extremely averse to extreme temperature and weather conditions. We went to Jin Wu Xing (金五星), which is a giant marketplace that sells literally everything, from electronics to clothes to furniture to traffic cones to snacks to power tools to pet food (these are all things I saw today). 

This morning before I went to bed (around 4 AM…) I quickly sketched out a shopping list. It was pretty much my last chance to shop so I tried my best to include everything I needed. This is the top half of my list.

The first stop was fabric. We passed the place where they were selling curtains and my dad asked if they had leftover scraps that they were going to throw away. The first place we asked offered to sell us the fabric for about 40 RMB. My dad made us leave and I gave him attitude because I didn’t think we could get it for any lower (his asking price was 10 RMB…wtf). We ended up getting at least eight large pieces (plus some additional fringe) for guess how much? 15 RMB. So I pretty much got a couple pounds of material for a little more than 2 USD ($2.32). We also got zippers. It looks like I might be needing a sewing machine…sooo WHO WANTS BAGS?

Next we got USB drives. All the cool kids have USBs on their key chains. Now I finally feel like I belong. I also got earrings (the first day I came I bought similar ones but lost them almost immediately…even before I got to wear them. Epic fail). New Life Resolution: Stop losing things. Seriously. Anyway, the kind that has a straight needle like thing on the end that just threads through your piercing and the other kind that connects two piercings, like so:

I get a lot of compliments on the connecting one I already had (although ironically when I first got them I was afraid to wear them because I thought it was too hardcore for me); I was planning on buying a bunch of them here and giving them as gifts when I get back but unfortunately my dad isn’t too keen about gifting buying…

Oh, and here’s my new poodle perm. 

After shopping, we went to my grandparents’ house for dinner. They live in an community for agricultural studies (my grandpa is a biologist and I think my grandma is too) so there’s an area where plants are growing for their experimentation.

Dad: Do you know why the cornstalks have plastic bags on their head?

Me: Yeah…they’re like plant condoms right?

Dad: *silence* Right! 

I took a lot of plant pictures but only this one turned out really well. Pretty :]

We ate at a community restaurant because it accepted senior coupons.

Starting on the very right, clockwise:

1. That bean vermicelli stuff (it sounds more appealing in Chinese, promise), spinach, and beef. This is the dish I ordered because I figured hey, it has veggies, meat, and the bean stuff. 

2. The tofu stuff with duck egg yolk (like the other day) for my grandma because it’s not spicy and it’s soft enough. 

3. Liver and company.

4. Fish in rice wine stuff.

And after we were pretty much finished eating our noodles finally came. 

Here’s the thing. I favor my dad’s side of the family. This is my mother’s side of the family. My grandpa starts hating on my dish because it’s “simple” and “cheap” and is the “type of thing that peasants in the south eat.” YA KNOW WHAT OLD MAN? SHUT YO TRAP AND EAT YO FOOD. But obviously I can’t yell at old people without looking like a total dick although every time I visit them I get the urge frequently. 

Well…I’m usually not a picky eater but I didn’t like any of the dishes we ordered…except for my peasant food. The above picture is basically all I ate. And every single time I got some more of the peasant food grandpa would laugh and say, “See? She just likes to eat this stuff. She should eat some good stuff.” 

At least because of the senior coupons we got out 136 RMB meal for free. 

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So lately I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about tattoos. I got my nails done today (actually I just got the polish removed and the lady shaped and fixed them. She said my nails are really damaged from the polish and I should give them a rest and I agreed. She scolded me for taking such poor care of my nails and I shamefully told her that someone had forced it upon me…(Remember that post?). Across the way was a tattoo place. I sat there day dreaming about my future tats. When we were leaving I asked the guy how much a small single English word tattoo would cost and he gave me the estimate of about 100 RMB. Holy crap. When I asked my american friend she said hers cost almost 100 USD. I asked my dad if I could get one and that I wouldn’t tell mom. He told me if I did that he’d cut me off financially (including college tuition). Always so close yet so far. I even tried on bracelets today that would cover my tattoo and they were perfect (width and tightness) but not as pretty as I’d like.

  Why do people judge so hard with tattoos? People who get it understand that it’s permanent…usually that’s the reason that they get it. There will always be those people who do arbitrarily or drunkenly do it but much of the time the inking has person sentimental value and significance. A tattoo can be a memorial, a reminder, a dedication. But I don’t believe that it should be something to judge that person’s character by, don’t you think? If you were hiring people for jobs? You might hire the person who sits as if they have a stick up their ass and answers questions as if they are on Miss America. But if you’re anything like me you’d just make fun of them in your head the entire time. What if someone walks in with all the qualifications, a very likable personality but wait, is that a tattoo? Would you think “I don’t want to hire this gang-banging, drug addicted, [honestly I don’t know what the tattoo stereotypes are so I’m asking a friend] wannabe badass, motorcycle-driving prostitute (male or female)!” But if you’re anything like me you’d just think, “Hmm…perhaps this person has overcome adversity in their lives and is now stronger and more responsible” or even “Okay…this person has Justin Bieber inked on their forehead but perhaps it’s an indication that s/he is passionate about the things and people they care about. Like work.” And plus…what kind of Belieber would partake in criminal activity?

Ironically, I came home and finally, after all these weeks I finally listened to Skyscraper by Demi Lovato. Let me tell you about her and I. Ever since she first appeared on the scene, I didn’t like her much. I admired her voice but I thought of her as a fake Disney Barbie doll and name-stealer. And Sonny With a Chance seemed pretty dumb to me every time I happened upon it. Every time I introduce myself the other person lights up and asks, “Like Demi L—” “No.” I bluntly reject. “Like Demi Moore. I was named after her.” Then Lovato went through her Dark Age and I felt sympathetic and empathetic but still wasn’t a fan. And then I watched Skyscraper. She’s wearing very little make up on a breezy beach and has tears in her eyes. They say the eyes are the windows to the soul, I suddenly saw she really is a real person, with depth and emotion and real pain. And then I saw…the tattoo. What?? I Googled immediately and was mindblown by the results. 

http://stylenews.peoplestylewatch.com/2011/03/16/demi-lovatos-new-tattoo-inspired-by-her-fans/

I never knew about this today yet this was everything I was feeling and trying to explain to my dad. I showed him the video and the Skyscraper video and he felt pretty proud because we share the same name and she has a rockin’ voice. 

Life is funny and it’s so incredible when things work out this way. It doesn’t mean I’ll be able to get my tattoo tomorrow (or even until March. Or ever, if I change my mind) and it doesn’t mean I’m a die-hard fan now but I enjoyed the song, her voice, her appearance, her music in general and finally I’m proud to share my name with her. 

I guess I’ll have to stick to black Sharpie for now…

Oh and a few days late but R.I.P. Any Winehouse. I didn’t like Rehab and I don’t know your other songs but I’m about to Google and YouTube the crap out of you.

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UPDATE: Ironic that there’s so much about death and impending doom…”Back to Black” music video and “End is Near” in “Tears Dry on Their Own.” I was doing to show my dad but decided to wait until all her tattoos were covered up to tell him.

Day 25: July 25, 2011

GOT ME A NEW WEAVE! WAVE! GOT MY HURR DID! That’s about all I did today…

Last night we stopped by the hair place on the way home (it’s literally 30 seconds away if you jog) and asked what time there would be the least people. He told us after 9:30 AM or between 1 PM and 4 PM. Of course, my 9:30 AM alarm was futile even though I was anxiously looking forward to reading a letter from a friend. After a lunch of spicy ramen noodles we walked over to the hair place that I go to every year (I only cut my hair professionally once a year haha). 

Step 1: Wash & Dry

The shuai ge/ helper guy washed my hair first. Sometimes the person washing the hair is very rough or has very long nails or their unruly armpits are all up in your face. Luckily this guy made it feel like a gentle soapy head massage and wasn’t too hard on the eyes either. 

Step 2: Trim & Thin

The main hair dresser trimmed my hair, fixed my bangs, and then thinned it all out because my hair is really thick and there’s a lot of it. 

[I have a picture of the giant mountain of my hair on the floor (the aftermath) but decided that may be a bit graphic for some audience members.]

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WE INTERRUPT THIS PROGRAM TO BRING YOU THE ANNOUNCEMENT THAT it’s exactly 10 PM sharp and I have just discovered that I’ve been wearing my shirt inside out the entire day. Good job Dems. But it’s okay, more embarrassing things have happened today (wait for it).

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Step 3: Denature those Proteins!

They put some pasty stuff in my hair and let it sit. I studied some SAT words and read some of Sophie’s World. During this step people started coming in only to be told that, “This girl is getting a perm, it’s going to take a while. You can wait or come back in half an hour.” They would shoot me a dirty look and then leave. My hairdresser comes over occasionally to pull on a single hair, testing it. I found a loose hair and pulled at it to see what he was looking for. I was surprised to find that my hair was actually…stretchy. That kept me amused for a good two or three minutes. 

Step 4: Add Electric Curlers and Fry Precious Locks

My hairdresser began taking strips of treated hair and sliding it between two sheets of heat protecting paper then adding the electric curler and binding it with two rubber bands. 

At this point I realized I forgot to take a “Before” picture or cherish my long, soft, straight hair. The texture and style was never going to be the same again. So I whipped out my camera. There are still four strips of long, soft, straight hair and my untreated bangs. Farewell! Adieu! Sayonara! 再见! 

[Green= Hairdresser, the other guy is his assistant]

Then they plugged in all 21 curlers into the big machine and padded my face and neck to protect my skin from burning. They also wrapper my bangs in a towel and treated them with something else. 

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I just went on Wikipedia to see if I’m using terminology correctly and as it turns out, I’m basically writing out the Wikipedia article with illustrations. I considered adding a History/ Fun Fact section but I’ll just do the thing that amuses and pleases me most and add an embedded link, like this. I know I do this a lot but it’s also because I don’t want to bore those who don’t care but for those nerds (like me) who like clicking things and reading more, you are free to do so! :]

I actually got a digital perm on my hair, but a cold perm on my bangs (because it’s closer to my face). If you’re looking to get a perm, the “Recommendations” section of that article may be very helpful. 

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Okay so after all of those procedural and protective measures, I looked like this:

Step 5: Set & Unwrap

After unplugging each curler and removing all the padding, he waited til the curlers cooled and then wrapped pink towels in the front on both sides so I looked like Princess Leia (I still need to watch Star Wars). Then I suddenly realized after all these years why the towels here are purple and pink. “Did you guys purposely use pink and purple because those are the Tsinghua colors?” He replied that it wasn’t on purpose. Oh well it’s still a cool coincidence :] Then he put a contoured receptacle around my neck with the towels as cushioning. He added setting liquid to each individual curl. Poor guy…I fell asleep during this part because it got too monotonous.

Afterword, (over three hours after we’d started) I was finally relatively free, in just curlers, my bangs towel, and my blue barber cape. I decided to stand up and stretch my legs and upon becoming vertical I realized the force of gravity reactivated my over active bladder. I was about to have the adventure of a lifetime. The assistant was instructed to show me to the bathroom next door. Coincidentally today the guy next door was closed. He disappeared around the corner and I stood there totally confused (and idiotic in my curlers and cape as passerbys looked on in amusement) until I heard what I thought was the jingling of keys. I looked at the Vespa in front of me and started panicking because I’ve never ridden a motorized bicycle of any kind but they certainly look dangerous. When he came back however, he was walking…a bike. I just stared at it. He got on. I kept staring. “I’ve never ridden on the back of one of these before…” But I reluctantly got on the luggage rack on the back. He said, “I’ve never ridden with anyone on the back before…” I repeated, “Yeah…I’ve never been on the back like this…am I supposed to hold on??” I awkwardly grabbed his hips as if we were at a school dance. And with that, we were off.

I saw the first bump and braced myself but it was a pretty smooth ride. My poncho few behind me and I felt like a martian (see other photo) and I just thought of the movie poster for E.T.  

What a sight it must have been for onlookers. We passed my dad’s apartment and I considered telling him to stop so I could go there but I didn’t. Part of me was excitedly whispering, “I’m touching shuai ge!!” Another part of me was anxiously squeaking, “Jesus this is awkward. I don’t think I’m even doing this right. Shit, I feel like  freshman boy at Homecoming.” Try as you might but I dare you to even attempt to seem flirty or sexy in that condition.

We arrived at the bathroom about a quarter mile away (maybe less) and I instantly regretted not asking to stop at home. Let me tell you something about bathrooms in China. It commonly consists of a filthy porcelain hole in the ground and has a very distinct and disturbing odor that can be detected from an over fifteen foot radius. I hopped off, feeling like I’d pulled both hamstrings keeping my legs off the ground and waddled awkwardly into the bathroom clutching a giant ball of toilet paper. You have to go about your business slowly and carefully so that nothing important falls in and nothing you don’t want comes back out. I suppose the problem with going slowly when people are waiting for you is always, “OMG what if he thinks I’m pooping?!” There’s no flushing mechanism. I exit the bathroom and see him smoking a cigarette. “Is there anywhere to wash my hands?” There isn’t. I awkwardly clamber back on behind him and as we pass the apartment again I pray my dad doesn’t come out and see us. I promptly whipped out a Wet One but it was a waste because then I washed my hands in the hair washing place.

 Eventually they took the curlers out, washed my hair, trimmed my bangs, and styled everything. The hairdresser showed me some simple hair styles and maintenance tips. Finally, he used some Bed Head product that smells like happiness. 

At this time there is no “After” picture either because I’m really tired and kind of look like a French poodle still…maybe tomorrow :] Now you’ll have to come back :P

We went back to the restaurant to try some new things.

From top to bottom (Right Row):

1. Seasoned Lamb. Usually served in the street on a kabob. Some people hate the taste and can’t get accustomed to it (it even makes them sick) (like my mom) and others enjoy the taste (like me). Others ate too much of it in their earlier years and now don’t particularly like it but will eat it if necessary (like my dad). Piled on top of cilantro to make it look more voluminous. 

2. Celery, Cashews, and Something that I Forgot the Name of. We ordered this because we needed a vegetable dish. Pretty healthy.

3. Sour & Spicy Bean Vermicelli (says the internet). Our first choice was unavailable so this was the closest thing to it. 

Lamb is one of the healthiest types of meat, but this kind is fried. So it pretty much cancels out. And celery is known to have “negative calories” so that too cancels itself out. And the vermicelli doesn’t have any outstanding effects either. So we had a belly full of delicious nothings pretty much. Starting on the left:

4. Gluttonous Rice Balls with Red Bean filling and Coconut Shavings. All the pictures of dessert look so awesome but this was one of the cheaper ones. 

5. Indian “Flying” Pancake, Banana Flavored. If you’ve seen my other food entries you’ll know that I rave about these all the time. They melt in your mouth and are seriously orgasmic. I need to find out where I can experience this toe curling goodness in the States. 

I told him, hey! Coconut and banana! We can pretend we’re sippin’ Piña Coladas on the beach!

The second hairy situation today is that I got emotional over something my dad told me about and ended up writing a pretty depressing entry in my journal. It was pretty deep and insightful but in an attempt to maintain my newly achieved blissful happy-go-lucky persona I will not post it on Tumblr unless people really want it.

The third hairy situation is well…no one shaves here. So I might as well blend in. TMI on the last two, I know. 

In the beginning I only put stuff on here that I thought no one would ever read but now that people are actually reading and apparently sort of enjoying my blog (to my surprise). On my friend’s advice I added a site traffic tracker and was pretty shocked at the results. I want to sincerely thank you for sticking around. But since this thing is no longer a secret, we might as well spread the love yeah? Sharing is caring; tell your friends so you can laugh and cry and vom together! :D

Day 24: Sunday, July 24, 2011

I took quite a few pictures today. I guess despite being so sleepy I managed to keep myself amused even more so than usual. The first order of business was meeting a young woman we met at the TV show audition for lunch. Naturally, just as we were leaving it began to thunder storm (for what appears to be the umpteenth time this week) and my dad decided he would go by himself to meet her because he didn’t want my cold to worsen (yeah…being sick sucks). Not looking to get his trousers and shoes wet, he kept his shorts on and fished out a pair of old basketball sneakers. He never wears casual clothes in public so I quickly grabbed my camera because his shoes put him on the brink of looking “hip.” “Quick dad! Do a cool pose!” This face is in the midst of replying, “Guai, I don’t know what’s a cool pose!”

We walked to the restaurant that we usually go to but apparently it was right between lunch and dinner so they weren’t serving anymore/yet. He tells us not to worry, there’s a decent Korean place next door. So we travel through more puddles and lakes to the next location. “What the…this used the be a restaurant! They made a restaurant disappear and didn’t even tell me.” So we searched for the secret path to Lan Qi Ying to seek out more restaurants. 

YAY NISSAN. At least I got this and another picture out of it. I used to hate Nissan because it’s an ugly name and the Murano looks weird but now that I have one (that…pretty much looks like the Murano) and the Z-cars are pretty freakin sexy. I’m starting to appreciate and pay more attention to automobiles in general because of my friend in white. From car parts to import models, I’m gradually learning more and more about these fine creatures that men are so fascinated by. (I meant cars but works for the models too).

After all the hard work and indecisiveness we finally found a restaurant and ordered a meal that was pretty satisfactory. I think when it comes to Chinese food, the simpler the better.

MEAL REVIEW:

The bucket is fried rice (I forgot the exact name and ingredients) but it had like…peas, carrots, egg, and some spam-like meat morsels. Fried rice is a classic and unless you’re me, it’s pretty hard to screw up. (True story). The yellow dish is corn with pine nuts (and carrots and peas), which is a pretty common combination as well, though I haven’t seen it on menus until today. The sweetness of the corn with the savory nutty flavor is pretty good. It had a honey-like substance on it and I think they added a lot of sugar so be wary if you’re diabetic. The dark green dish next door is eggplant with long string bean. Both eggplant and string beans are often cooked in this style but I don’t think I’ve ever had them combined (genius). I feel like I’ve eating eggplant most days…and I never get sick of it. Except yesterday when it almost killed me. The tin foil dish (yay tin foil!) is tofu in some sort of…broth? and duck egg yolk pretending to be crab yolk. It was soupy…we ate it with spoons and bowls. It was a little over salted and I’ve never really liked duck egg yolk or crab yolk but it wasn’t too bad. Dad gave me a lump of yolk thinking I’d like it but I was so surprised when I bit into it because I thought he said it was crab meat. Last but not least, the white soupy thing was kind of like a rice porridge with egg and doughy stuff called “tang yuan” and flavored with rice wine. (which has a very distinct smell). 

Dad: This is so cheap…there’s no filling in these tangyuan

Lady: Yeah…I think the just rolled out a link of dough and pulled off pieces into the soup.

Dad: They didn’t even take the effort to roll the pieces into balls! What is this again? They dare to call them tangyuan. (yuan means round) They’re not even tangfang (square)…

My dad (I’m talking about him too much) brought up an interesting point yesterday that I’d never though of: in China, if a meal tastes good in a domestic setting people will compliment it saying, “Wah, tastes like restaurant quality!” But in America, a good meal in a restaurant will receive rave reviews like, “Tastes just like home cooking!” Or, “Brings back memories of grandma’s house!”

:’[ crycry. I remember there was a scandal a while back about illegal turtle trade. I don’t even understand how you could eat a turtle. 

Dad: Fail…this picture is so blurry. I guess they chicken all went on vacation to celebrate the new year. (鸡都去过节了吧?)

After that very very late lunch we walked across the street to have coffee (it turned out to be tea) with our former neighbors (family friends we haven’t seen in years). It felt so nice to be able to comfortable converse in Chinglish after having to restrain from it all these weeks. Such lovely people.

When I got home I realized I really regret taking so many “meaningless” pictures of inanimate objects and random people doing embarassing things for comedic effect. Why aren’t I taking pictures with these important people I’m meeting? Or these people who actually mean something to me? Poo…

And now that I only have four or less days left here, I’m seeing so many things I wish I’d done earlier or wish I could still do but don’t have time. Darn you linear time! Just kidding I can’t blame time…darn you self for sleeping like a lazy pig this whole time, pretty much cutting your vacation in half! Is there a disorder that inhibits the speed of waking up? Or is that just called laziness? And I’m always a superbitch to whoever is trying to get me out of bed…sorry mom and dad.