Almost Zero Hour

Due to leave for Inner Mongolia in 15 hours. Still haven't bought new shoes. Still haven't packed up completely. Still haven't moved stuff to Aileen's room for storage.
Got a new roommate. Akeen from Kenya/London. Met and had lunch with him and his friend Lisa from Finland.
Met new neighbor Fon (pronounced "Fawn") from Thailand and her "charge" of 3 minors, all brothers. Had dinner with them and Fon's friend Greg from Mexico at Nina. Greg said the food wasn't authentic. Well, at least the critique was legit.
Paid up back rent and reservation rent.
More surprising news: Sunny's going to L.A. next month for 6 months. Computer in my possession going to be a problem, since it was because of her that I was able to borrow it from her soon-to-be-former roommate. Talking about possible monthly deposits in a bank account as rental fee.

Almost Bored

Well, Tin's gone home, as well as most of the Dorm Sixers. Four Pinoys left here. AJ went to stay with Jay. Lorna's... out there, somewhere. Everyone else (still here) in their apartments. Funny how I now have plenty of time to watch DVDs, but lacking the enthusiasm to do so. Sigh.

FINALLY...So far...

After a few days/ weeks of the Blooger.com going whacko on me I'm blogging again.

So far I made a fair amount of cash (that I won't see) selling comics on Ebay. Backpacking preparations are slow but steady.

So far I almost done with pasalubong shoppping. Need to find Chinese lesson multimedia stuff (i.e. no flascards) for the kids, but it's being outnumbered by English lesson multimedia stuff 10:1.

So far I've meet a couple of new Pinoy students (and their foreign friends), namely Diana and Tina, both "1-monthers" with the former coming back next semester, which speaking of I already paid for in order apply for a 6-month visa extension.

So far I've not been able to get any new teaching jobs to fill the time between now and when we go backpacking, so I should really be scrimping more than usual. Plan to ask Tin for her dollars when she gets back from Inner Mongolia day after tomorrow.

So far the pictures are ready to be sent home. Though I have the time, the problem with having a lot of DVDs at hand is deciding what to watch first. Logically speaking it ought to be the ones that are going to Manila with Tin, not Punch Drunk Love like what's on right now. If that wasn't enough I borrowed Diana's copy of The Da Vinci Code, like I have the time for that. Hell, I haven't even finished a single folder-full of my downloaded comics. Sigh. Who would've thought free time'd be so hard to manage?

So far my highlight meals have been a night-out-til-dawn gettogether with Jella, Di, Joanne, Piyao, Tiffany, Ian and Manol at Jella and Di's apartment compound. Didn't even get an allergy attack. Also there was dinner with Geneva (from North Carolina) last week and lunch with KayWon (from South Korea) today, though in hindsight I shouldn't have let her pay.

So far I've been one lucky scavenger. Found an exercise bar, a pair of Goofy winter slippers, badminton rackets and watermelons (YES, they were clean), buncha DVDs (3 movies from which I haven't seen), glass, mug, English books for teaching and money. Yes, all 60 cents worth. I'm not homeless but I sure scourge through garbage like one.

So far I've been on 2 hiking trips, the last one just last Saturday. Aileen sprained her ankle, an incident I feel partially responsibly because it might not have happened had we simpy turned left instead of right. Left would've brought us to a waterfall almost immediately. Right gave us two tiring hours of hiking. No falls, just rock. Up and down rocks.

Hey We Made It!

The above post refers to 2 things. One: we made the papers! Online, anyway. Sure, they spelled my (Chinese) name wrong and failed to mention everyone else in the article, but HEY we got our picture online!
Two: 'Nols, Eileen, Tin (Palawan), Wendy and I hiked our butts off last Sunday at Xi Shui Hu, about 3 hours outside of Beijing. Nothing like small groups to make things more manageable. Got good pics out of it, too.

Not Quite as Hot as You-Know-Where, but Close

Day 2 of Beijing heatwave. Never experienced it before, not that I wanted to. It's 7:30 PM but outside it feels like the inside of a bathroom after a 30-minute shower. Hot summer night is right.

Photo Finish

As a unique way to kill the afternoon, I, along with Manol, Elaine, Jella and Joanne decided to catch the Olympic torch relay by Wudaokou. Amidst the blistering heat (hell, even my feet were burning) and lots of shoving as the really-short-lady with the torched passed by, I managed to get a perfect shot of her. At least I hope it's perfect. At the last minuted I was pushed so I'm not sure how the picture will come out. Still, some good stuff happened. A reporter for BeijingNews.com saw us with our Philippine flag and interviewed us. If nothing else comes out right I pray we at least make the 6 o'clock online news.

Bye, Ronnie.

Ronald Reagan died today at the age of 94. I first knew of him as President of the US. The "surprising" discoveries came later. He used to be governor of California? He was an actor? He's the oldest president voted into office? He was almost assassinated? He has Alzheimer's? My generation grew up during his 2 terms.Okay, so he wasn't the best president (hell, who was), but he was certainly one of the most popular.

So ANYway...

I'm still in Beijing. May stay here for the summer (as well as the rest of the year). Studying and teahing, studying and teaching. Very routine. If only I can add "went out with bevy of ladies" in that routine. Sigh.

Got a PC. By "got" I mean "borrowed" from my Chinese friend Sunny's flatmate. The PC came from the animation office he used to work for. When the office closed the PC had nowhere to go and just lay here in their appartment. Having no scruples whatsoever I borrowed it. Bought a CD writer, speakers, and had ADSL installed in my room a week later. Whee. And you think I slept late before...

My sister's have given birth. I miss my nieces and nephew like the dickens. Aunt came to Beijing last week and brought stuff in from Manila, thankfully. Lily's Peanut Butter. Ovaltine. My shorts, sandals and slippers. It almost feels like home again.

What I've Been Doing

Not much, I think.

Came home last December after a month and a half of going around the US. Came home to work the last 2 weeks of my job at Teleall. Got the severance check. Got plans to write a book (non-fiction reference). Got plans to go the China for 6 months of studying the language. Haven't seen Return of the King, but I'm about halfway through the 1st season of The West Wing on DVD. Have yet to see The 7 Samurai in it's entirety, w/c is why I haven't previewed the Pirates of the Caribbean DVD Wilson (and family) got me for Chirstmas.

My first movie of the year was Crying Ladies (slightly overrated), which I watched with Wella, who revcently dyed her hair brown (like the old color better). Met up with Rachelle and exchanged Xmas gifts. She gave me a dreamcatcher, I gave her porn and the rope bracelets I bought in San Francisco. Hmm, wonder who got the better deal.

So I'm currently unemployed, dividing my time with reading downloaded comics, downloading more comics, fidgeting with the internet connection and researching for the book. Trying to keep busy isn't easy, especially with a dad who has specific ideas for you and won't let you be idle around the house.

FR-f-ff--ffrer---freee-zing

Can't say much now, other than I'm in Chicago staying at Emark's cousin Gleason's house, and shivering so much I'm having trouble typing.