setting in (pt. 2)

It seems that whenever I'm really tired is when I post. Ok, so directly continued from last post, Saturday night we went to a restaurant and met up with my extended family, aka my uncles and aunts and respective cousins. It was a rather good time. We had a guest, who was apparently a family friend. This guy teaches a Computer Science course at Michigan, so he's pretty legit. What's funny is that he really can't understand Chinese at all, and speaks mostly English, despite being Chinese himself. I guess compared to him I consider myself lucky, because I am more fluent in Chinese than him. That was saturday.

Here's some photos that I have promised. It's not a lot but It'll do for now. I'm sorry for the briefness of these posts, but I really haven't the heart to sit down and write down a whole-hearted post. I guess the photos will suffice for now.

settling in (pt. 1)

So much to write about, and I haven't even been here for 4 days. Where to start....

In an attempt to rid of my boredom and keeping my jet lag back, yesterday I impulsed on a journey to the heart of Shanghai, the People's Square. This area is a central shopping district as well as a prime tourist location. It includes landmarks such as the Shanghai Museum, and major shopping districts. In short, it's shopaholic heaven. Anything you would ever want to buy, it's in this area. And if you get tired from all that browsing and shopping, you can then decide to relax in the millions of coffee places, cafes, restaurants and fill your hunger/caffeine fix/alcoholism. Anyway, so I took the metro there (it was about 7 stops), and right as I got out, it starts to rain. DAMMIT. Thankfully the weather isn't cold, and I'm thick-skinned enough to endure the inclement weather. Well, the upside is that I got some photos out of this (not as many as I'd liked, didn't want to ruin the camera see), but overall it wasn't that bad of an experience. I saw LOTS of foreign tourists, who were also brave enough to tough out the rain. Either that or they just got rained on like me haha. I have some photos uploaded, but I think in the future I'll still post some with these posts (to make it pretty here :D), but I'd rather upload them onto flickr so I can make some photostreams or something.

I apologize now for the lengthy post: there is just so much to cover.

So, yes, jet lag is still forcing me to have 12 hours of sleep a night (I'm not complaining), and waking up in the wee hours of morning. I have never realized that a day was so long, given the life of a Tech student (you know how it goes). There are so many opportunities to do things, to explore, to reflect. I know right now that I'm going to make the most of my time, no longer loitering around in the home anymore like I used to.

So come Saturday, I wake up around 7:30 AM ish, on weekend mornings is usually when my dad goes and plays some badminton at the local school gym (there is a badminton club there). So naturally, I tag along. I discovered that I really want to improve my game, because then there would be something else to brag about haha. Saturday was also the day that I had a really really delicious Chinese morning meal. I had real beef ramen soup (mmmmm) and a green onion and egg-fried pancake (mmmmmmmm). So good. I could eat this stuff for the rest of my life. Sorry I don't have photos of this delicious cuisine, but there will be, soon to come.

ok ok, well, I'm getting pretty tired, so I'll cut this short. I'll sort out the photos tomorrow in the morning. Good night guys (well its probably noon time for you guys when I post this)

Arrival

So, I landed yesterday about 5 PM local time, 5 AM Eastern time. The plane ride, shortly put, was grueling. But now it's over. My plane ride consisted mostly of me attempting to sleep and failing every single time, listening to music, and writing my thoughts down. Here's something I typed down on the way from San Francisco to Shanghai. Admittedly, I was a little cranky, having had no sleep and virtually no escape from noticing every little annoying thing that got on my nerves. Here goes:

~9PM Pacific Time

I can see that this ‘adventure’ is nothing I have come to expect. Like I’ve stated earlier, this part of my life was not planned, and was not predicted. Who knew that something like this is actually happening? I keep on thinking that this isn’t supposed to happen, and that I would drop out of existence at any minute. I have never felt like this before in my entire life. I don’t know, I just see this ‘chapter’ in my life to be too surreal, and not feasible. Maybe my foresight is just that limited. It’s really bothering me. I don’t have any ‘big’ thing to happen in my life. I guess it’s a by-product of me giving up on pretty much everything that I think life should be living for. I have bleak hopes about finding ‘love’. I don’t even know how to imagine what that would be like, because I am so foreign to it. There is this guy who keeps on opening the damn window, trying to look outside. I find that to be very very annoying. First of all, people are trying to sleep. Second of all, THERE IS NOTHING TO SEE. Third of all, he does it like every 5 minutes, and its super super annoying. I guess he’s really bored. I still get to piss on him though because what he’s doing is very annoying. Well, I am 6 hours into this flight, and we're JUST past one-third of the way there. This is indeed going to be a long ride. GAAAH I can’t stand being in one spot for this long. I can’t even ‘wander about’ because so many damn people are standing around playing with their dicks or waiting for the bathroom. NO WALKING AISLES. DAMMIT I am losing my nerve. Must keep self control. I’m almost there. Hopefully I can eat a decent traditional Chinese fast food meal when I get there. SPEAKING of meals. It seems that the food they server on airplanes just get worse and worse. They served us meat loaf, and it was the most un-tasting-like meatloaf meatloaf I have ever had. It kinda tasted like a cross between overcooked hamburger and saltiness. The mashed potatoes had corn in it, and it tasted more like a bland mixture of over-watered grits than potatoes. The only decent thing about the meal was the salad, and when I say salad I mean it comprised of only lettuce, which means the only decent thing about the salad was the ranch dressing. You really can’t get a pre-packaged dressing wrong. At least I hope not. So this is me in the middle of the flight. I’ll update a little later. Gotta save some battery because I gotta recharge my Zune too lol

Yeah so now its about 9 AM here, and I'm starting to get a little tired again. I woke up around 5:30 AM this morning, and I know that this jet lag thing is going to kick me in the ass.

anticipation

So, while we're waiting, why don't I update you guys on the flight information on wednesday. I fly out at 6:50 AM. This means that I have to wake up at around 3 AM because my parents insist on being at the airport at least 2 and a half hours before departure. I guess it's good because then I have ample time to do all of that airport bullcrap and KNOW that I won't miss my flight. Then I fly to O'Hare in Chicago, where I connect AGAIN to San Francisco, where I finally depart to Shanghai.

I am currently sampling new music to make this airport-hopping less than mundane. Animal Collective, Fleet Foxes, Passion Pit, Elliot Smith, just to name a few, will all be in my airport playlist. So yeah, this isn't the first time I ride back to China by myself. I'm used to it. I've already been to O'Hare and San Fran, no biggie lol.

Since I have possession of some certain Artemis Fowl books, I will also be taking them along, hoping it would keep me occupied for a long time. It's been ages since I last read Artemis Fowl, so I think it will be a fresh adventure once again.

Gah, it seems like these are the longest days of this year for me. Since Friday, I've been home, and it seems that the days have been getting longer and longer. But I guess I don't really mind, either, since I don't spend time with my mom or my sister at all. It's always good spend time with family every once in a while.

aspirations

I am a person who never was the best at anything, but is good at many many things. I think it's a curse and a blessing. I honestly wish that I could find that one thing that I'm really really good at. I don't have one. I guess the term for people like me is "jack of all trades, but a master of none". I'm above average at school but I struggle enough to keep me under, I'm pretty good at video games but can't confidently do amazing at any of them (halo mw2 dota smash etc), I'm ok at piano but no prodigy, I like to write but never anything that amazes, so on and so on. It's sad really, to have a knack for a lot of things but can never find a firm grasp on any of them. I find good friends, but none that really stick that close. I guess it's what fate has brought me. Other people will strive and march far into their focuses, whereas I will only linger by the gates. It's like what my high school literature teacher said, "you can go a mile wide and only an inch deep, or you can go an inch wide but a mile deep". People who are successful in this society usually are the ones who go an inch wide and a mile deep; I am the former, having a hand in many things, but never too skilled in becoming a master of anything.

Yes yes I know this type of stuff doesn't fit the theme of this blog, but really, sometimes I just want to put my thoughts to paper (digital paper, for you politically correct people)

MOVIE EDITION #1

So, I've been wanting a form of recording my thoughts on films I watch. Mostly the good ones, anyway, because after a movie I thoroughly enjoyed I always want to find someone and discuss. Too bad I don't have enough friends to do that with. HA. Anyway, this post is officially my first movie discussion/analysis/review with you, the reader. Today's film session will be centered around the Hayao Miyazaki masterpiece, Princess Mononoke.

First off I just want to say that this film is fantastic. My first impressions were actually of surprise, because I just came off the Ponyo buzz-wagon and did not expect so much gore and blood coming from a filmmaker who often caters his movies towards younger audiences. Ponyo was a serene boat ride with your newborn child, and Mononoke was a desperate chase while mounted on a wolf while covered in blood and fighting for your life, when you compare the two movies in terms of intensity. However, despite the fact that my impressions of Miyazaki's style changed dramatically, I still enjoyed it. It felt more real than his other fantasy tales, perhaps because of the constant theme of death looming over the audience. I think this was Miyazaki showing a bit of his passionate, afflicted side, because he invested so much time and detail in depicting the ravages of conflict. This movie was also a microcosm of the existence of man, from coexisting with nature to dominating it. This theme actually is quite apparent in popular culture. It goes along the view that humans are the ones who must be purged, because they have brought so much suffering to their surroundings. The Matrix brings it up, with Agent Smith comparing humans to viruses; as well as The Day the Earth Stood Still, where higher beings are sent to earth to decimate the human population to save earth. Just a few examples. This plot point is more obvious to spot than some of Miyazaki's other work, but still well executed. He veils the typical roles characters should play in this type of story with subtle injections of his unique style. Miyazaki loves creating a wide variety of characters, with no clear lines drawn between 'good' characters and 'evil' characters. He does this in many of his films, and it's a style that takes getting used to. I would watch the plot unfold, and find myself puzzled over whether I should feel sympathetic or hate towards certain characters. I think he finds a nice medium of good and evil behavior within all major characters. Nevertheless, he has clearly defined his style of animation and storytelling, and he executes with mastery. I think it's safe to state that Miyazaki aims to entrust the viewer to always keep an open mind about first impressions of characters he introduces, as in the end, it's never what you expect.

Like any typical Miyazaki film, it has a happy ending. And I think there are always some themes constant in all of his majestic tales: the power of love, the persistence of nature, and the acceptance of the fanstastic as real.

I would strongly encourage you to watch this film. It was made in the late 80's, but there's nothing unappealing to any moviegoer. Great plot, detailed characterization, visually appealing animation, it's the full package. MUST SEE.

Tired of the Boring

So, I basically got too impatient with waiting for May 12 to come for me to 'officially' start this blog. So I'll start now. I am beginning my process of moving out from campus. Quite hectic, as I usually have a huge mess to tidy up and organize (sort of) before I stuff it into boxes. I hate moving days.

Studio is about to be finished for the year, right after the 2 day review session during finals week. However, I am not fazed at all about this, as the majority of the stuff we had to turn in was due today. In other words the lion's share of work has been done, and I just have to finish off the year in style with some sweet talk (aka bullshit). Enough about academics, I don't really want to think about it anymore. To be honest, this post is about nothing at all. I can't even really string together any intelligent insight, just sputtering facts and thoughts outright.

I guess I still have not grasped the fact that I'm going to be in China in less than 2 weeks. I feel like I should be more excited that what I am currently feeling, but I don't. I guess it's the other parts of my life that is dragging my mood down. I don't know how to really begin to describe this, but for the past chunk of my life (mostly college) I have been pretty depressed. Nothing really gives me happiness. I do drugs occasionally to escape from the reality that is my life, but really, I don't know how to feel happy anymore. I don't think I can remember being happy in the lasts two years. I only remember many many all-nighters, feelings of abandonment, frustration, and mostly depression. They say that college is supposed to be the time of our lives, but I am still failing to see that. I don't have fun. Not here. Not in my current state.