Weekend is already over

I really don't like having to think of titles for each post. Each post is about lots of random shite so an "overarching" title is a little hard to come by unless you work making advertising slogans and are good at catchy taglines for useless crap.

Now reading: War and Peace, Larissa Volokhonsky & Richard Pevear translation. I should say continue reading since I read a few hundred pages in SF before I left for china but the book was too heavy and big to put in my checked luggage. This is supposed to be the best translation, and so far it is much better than the last copy I read which was a really old translation that probably missed the eloquence of Tolstoy's style. I also read Anna K by them, and it was fantabulous, so I'm very excited for this translation.

Last night I went to Kro's Nest with the Iveys and had real pizza for the first time in a month - it was amazing. I had pepperoni and then got to do my customary explanation of why I eat pepperoni and bacon. I need to coin a new phrase for my dietary habits because its really an annoying five minute explanation that I and kinda sick of repeating.

Afterwards I had a tug of war between going home and not spending money since I really don't have any until I get paid on the China side, or going to an ATM, running my US side dry and going out with Em, whose plan for the evening includes white rabbit, which only gets good after 4 in the morning. I decided that you only have saturday every six days so the right decision was to go. Most of the night was uneventful and even boring since I was sober and didn't like the music they were playing at White Rabbit later, but the Hip Hop concert we went to first at Star Live was AWESOMEEEEEE!!!

There were two acts and it was all in chinese so I understood nothing, but the crowd was really into it so we were too. The fist group was three guys who just rapped to beats by a DJ, a lot of which were pulled from US songs, and then the second group had a backup band and sang over that. T he frontman for that one puzzled me for a long time because I could tell he wasn't entirely chinese but couldn't figure out what he was, later we learned that he was half Chinese half Swedish. Strange combo. They also freestyled for a while and beatboxed... all in all it was wickedly tight / off the hook. I wonder what they are rapping about though since they can't criticize the government at all. A lot of Hip Hop comes out of criticism for the system and the man, so I feel like it must be tough to be so limited is your lyrics.

Rest of the night was blah, the only highlights were onion rings at Nashville and watching Gossip Girl at 6AM when I got home.

This morning I woke up and met the Iveys again at PangJiaYuan market where we shopped for a few hours. I got an awesome ring.

Madness Hamsters are gnawing my brain

Ouch

I am at work.  Hungover, maybe possibly still drunk.    I just slept for an hour here though, so I'm feeling better than I did on the cab ride in.   Sleeping is one very culturally interesting thing about the chinese workplace.   It is completely permissible to take naps at any point in the work day; In fact, most people bring a pillow to work. I kid you not. After lunch most of the office is asleep and snoring for a good 30 minutes, although in their case it stems from hard work, not too many shooters with crazy aussies. 

Last night was great in a random sort of way.  Went to dinner with three other guys from Pomona, then went to Nashville near Solana Plaza and listened to a really good chinese guy sing Simon & Garfunkel songs while we played spades -- Jeff and I won of course.  I also had an amazing drink called a Gin Fizz, sort of like a fizzy gin creamsicle. Next time I will inquire as too the ingredients. 

Onward into the night, we went to shooters in SanLiTun, which I need to remember since all shots and beers are 10 kuai. (thats about 1.30 US).  Danced with the guys for a while which made me remember that american guys really can't dance.  Then I ran into the flamboyant spanish guy that I salsad with on saturday night, named Ernesto, which is awesome cause now I have his number!  Made friends with three aussies, got Kebab, went home at like 2 to wake up at 7.  No wonder I am struggling.   

Since I'm trying to build an empire of friends I decided I would not turn down any invitation to go out / hang out, no matter how hungover I am or how early I have to get up.  So I am having a greeeeat time, but my sanity and liver are suffering.   Luckily for me, a retarded child could do my job so a hangover doesn't stop me from being excellent!   Emma texted me last night saying she wanted to go out tonight, so I am going to try and drink as much water as humanly possible and sleep for another hour at work to prepare. 

Luckily my workload is really light right now because we just did  a demo to the client and they loved it... so unlike Adam, who has a miserably horrible client... I can just keep working on my project in peace, which only occupies about three hours a day. 

I havent talked at all about prices so here is run down on what stuff costs in china: 

7 Kuai = 1 US $

Large beer from a convenience store: 3 Kuai

Dish at a semi-nice restaurant: 18 Kuai

Rice: 2 Kuai

20 min cab ride: 20 Kuai

Full american breakfast at Rickshaw: 45 Kuai

Batteries: 16 Kuai

Beet at a bar: 10-20 Kuai

Drink at bar: 10-40 Kuai