Getting back on the post train!

I'm been terrible about posting new things on my blog because I've been terrible about technology. Since returning to America, I've spent several days using only my Kindle and Google Voice forwarding ability to connect with my friends. You text me, it forwards to Googvoice, it forwards to my email, I check it frequently using my unlimited lifetime free 3G on my Kindle, which I'm using as my email device, my text device, and my book device, where I'm reading three books at the same time. It was complicated.

Now, I have a smartphone. It's 2012. It's my first smartphone and frankly, I'm worried that it's going to make me dumb! First of all, I don't know how to use all the features a smartphone has to offer yet, BUT I WILL. Don't worry. I've downloaded a lot of stuff, some stuff which is useful, a lot of stuff which may be useless. I'm addicted to Fruit Ninja, which before today, I've called - Ninja fruits, that fruity slashy game, "please can I play it on your ipad/iphone, you know that game I like, the one that isn't cut the rope" - I spent several minutes playing and finally had to stop when my phone ran out of battery. Now, I never have to wonder about things, I can always look them up. I never have to have any sense of direction because Googmaps can tell me where to go and frankly, I'm glad that I have a smartphone, but I'm also glad that I haven't had one up to this point.

I'm a slave to the phone now and I hate it. Why does the battery on my HTC Amaze deplete so quickly? How do I save battery while constantly being online? Suddenly it makes sense why there are so so so many charging stations at airports. I didn't get it but now I do.

I've added a Twitter sidebar to my blogspot, you should be able to see it on the top right corner. I've also joined Instagram, so now you can not only see the photos that I spend time editing but now you can click on stuff that I'm seeing, as I'm seeing it. Oh, technology, great and evil, all at the same time.

I don't know how put together this post is.. but have an instagram of me and my friend Billy, who I haven't seen in about 18 months.

Music fusion. Adele and Gnarls Barkley

These are perhaps my mom's favorite songs from the past two year, fused into one. Adele's Rolling in the Deep + Gnarls Barkley's Crazy = Rolling in the Crazy or Crazy in the Deep? I first heard this song at First Floor, the bar in Sanlitun in Beijing.

I'm laughing because my mom will definitely LOVE this aptly titled song!



You should listen too! It's so good.

HOTlanta!

I left my school on June 28. I had to trudge my things 20 mins through the village that I lived in, climbed on a bus and left in the face of several crying students. Hung out a night in Lincang before flying out the next morning. I said goodbye to John Kuo, Lucas and Casey from my hotel and then climbed in a cab with Monica and Laura to the airport. Our flight was delayed. In the wait, Monica, Laura, and I watched the Eurocup Italy vs. Germany game. Italy kicked Germany's ass and because our flight was about 75 mins late, we saw MOST of the replayed game. Monica and I worried about our flight transfer and we happily climbed abroad our flight 90 mins after we were supposed to. We arrived to the new Kunming airport, which is nice but still somehow doesn't have the two things I like to see in an airport - McDonald's and Starbucks. I guess it was China, not America. A few more hours of delays later, we found ourselves in Beijing. Four intense nights and days of celebrating our two years later, Lo, Mo, Axel and Andrew left to return to America. Meanwhile, I stayed behind, celebrating my remaining days with Nora, lunch with Nora's mother and her friend Missy, Sarah Ye, Sean, Greg, Annie, Ben, Manel and Tom. Some new friends and old - I ran around Beijing, enjoying the city life. Hailing cabs and eating delightful food that was good under any circumstance, not just because it was foreign food and not mixian.

Soon, the night of the 9th arrived, and I needed to repack and figure out how I was going to transport all of my belongings back to America. I had four suitcases and about... 230 lbs worth of things. As there is a weight limit of 50 lbs per bag, I needed to somehow sort all the bags to even weight and then figure what to do with 30 lbs of extra weight. Stress! How was I going to fit everything in just one cab? I called ahead to see if I could rent a minivan for an hour - the cost? 1000 RMB! Oh, helllll no! A normal cab to the airport costs 70 RMB. I ordered a cab on the phone and then waited for a cab drive to return my call. In Beijing, not knowing how things work is no excuse not to get things done. I skipped sleeping for the night and got all my things downstairs in time for my 4 am cab. My cab driver surprised me in how tall he was. He, along with the two doorman, helped me manage to load my four jumbo suitcases, my carry-on rolling suitcase, a large Longchamp, and a huge Gucci handbag into the cab. I gave directions to the airport where I was to meet with my aunt and her family of four.

We boarded the flight at 6 am from Beijing to Detroit. I enjoyed 11 hours of business elite diagonal seating! In Detroit, I encountered probably the most surly Customs and Immigration officer I've ever met. At 6 am, if you don't have anything nice to say, you probably shouldn't say anything at all.

Another short flight later, I arrived in Atlanta.

Now - four days later, I'm still in Atlanta. Let's hang out in the near future!