Note: This should have been posted around noon

Last night, on the eve of the Olympics, I stopped by the New School to hear a lecture put on by the PEN organization. It was called "Bringing Down the Great Firewall of China" and featured several prominent contemporary writers reading the works of contemporary Chinese writers who are now in prison. I really got chills sitting there, listening to the stories of these writers whose freedom of expression has been severely curtailed by the government. I think what the PEN organization is doing (not just in China, but all around the world) is very brave and admirable. Hats off to them!

Later, in an un-China-related event, J and I watched the finale of SYTYCD. SPOILERS FOLLOW. Pretty much the best finale that show has ever had, what with all the guest performances and seeing old faces dance again. Also there was really no need to suffer through all the terrible dances this season, as they highlighted the best ones again last night. Note how Katee was in basically all of them. Ugh, Katee should have won! Not that I don't love Joshua, or Twitch, but I thought she deserved it more, since she was flawless the whole way through. But what's done is done… now we have to wait a whole year before the next season auditions. What will I do with my life??

Chances are I'll be pretty busy in China and such (to answer my own question). Let's start a countdown, shall we?

0 Days till Olympic Ceremony

6 Days till Mom and Sis arrive

7 Days till end of Work (and another paycheck, hurray!)

9 Days till I am home… oh… Ohio

16 Days till the flight leaves for Beijing (which means, coincidentally, 16 days left to review Chinese so I don't sound like a complete newb when I arrive)

I think that's it. And because you really care, plans for this afternoon/evening include: eating leftover peirogies for lunch, doing laundry, mailing a book, returning books the library, possibly napping/listening to some Chinese podcasts/reading. But most likely napping.

Mental Preparations

So I'm sort of obsessed with reading everything I can about China right now. I've been interested all summer, of course, reading memoirs and such, but lately I've been trolling the Chinese English-speaking blogs on overload. There are many more that I check daily than what I have listed on this site. It's become an OCD thing, but I'm telling myself that it's for my own good. Only a couple more weeks and I will be in Beijing, dealing with all the things I have been reading about.

It's funny but I can't remember having such enthusiasm/anxiety when I was preparing to go to London. I guess I figured, it's not that different there... we all speak English. And in truth the culture shock was not noticeable, until, of course, I returned to the States. Then it was: what are these huge cars? Why are the eggs white? Why is the American Deal or No Deal so bad? And most importantly: Why can't I drink???

China, understandably, causes more worry as I prepare to depart and leave the relative ease with which I live my everyday life here. Not to say that NYC is by any means a stress-free living environment, but at least I know that going to the bank, or buy groceries, and taking the subway is an easy affair. Most particularly because of the language thing. I've been wringing my hands the past couple years about how terrible my spoken Chinese is. Right now I'm pretty confident in my reading ability, since that's what we focused on most last semester in class (thanks, Laoshi?). But when it comes to listening comprehension, I more often than not fail. FAIL.

Anyway, from what I've been reading, apparently the Chinese language is not all that difficult to pick up when you're forced to use it. In terms of grammar I suppose it's less complicated than English; the tones are what usually trip me up, and that ties in to the vocab. Which is probably why I'm so dependent on characters: I need to be able to visualize words when I hear/speak them, so if there's a word I don't know, simply saying it slowly with the correct tones probably won't help much.

And the second concern after language difficulties: air pollution! I really, really don't want to wear a mask while I walk or bike around the city. I'm used to walking everywhere and love going to parks when I get the chance. NYC is perhaps not the cleanest city, but it's nowhere near as smoggy as Beijing or even LA. So I'll be home for a week in Ohio, sucking up as much fresh Midwestern air as possible, and then resign myself to four months of foulness, unfortunately. I'm crossing my fingers that Olympic pollution precautions will remain in effect. It seems rational to me that if you have to take measures to make air clean for world healthy standards you would want to keep it clean so that the natives can enjoy that, too. Indefinitely. But perhaps hoping for rationality is too much...

Anyway, everyone's eyes are on China now, and I will be watching closely to see how the Olympics pan out. The interesting thing will be to compare the media's coverage with the blogs' and see if they match up. Funny that I somehow trust the blogged opinions of people living in Beijing over what the NYTimes or other "reputable" sources have to say on matters. Just the crazy world we live in today, I guess.

Disorientation

Only two and a half weeks left till I go home! What?? Crazy! That means, of course, that it's time for some evaluation of how the summer has gone so far. Have I been putting my time to good use? Getting the most out of living in the city? Getting the most out of my job? Getting through my reading list? Trying enough new restaurants? (Btw I just went and updated my Places I've Eaten map. Still need to go to Red Hook though… darn).

I think I'm doing ok. And I've still got two more weekends to accomplish some things. Such as this weekend, we are having a picnic. And going to Red Hook will accomplish the goal of riding a ferry, although it will be the Ikea ferry which admittedly is not as cool as the Staten Island ferry.

And then the last weekend here, Mom and Peggy will be visiting, so that should be fun. An entire Saturday to meander around the city on Mom's dime (haha, yes!). Don't worry, we will definitely pay a visit to the Pickle Guys. As for other activities, I will leave the planning up to you guys, though I put my foot down against purse shopping in Chinatown. (Which reminds me, do I need to do dimsum before I leave? I mean, I am going to be in China for 4 months, so it's not like the option won't be available there…).

In other news, I get a paycheck tomorrow. With the money, I will be:

1. Paying off my credit card for groceries.
2. Paying the Coned bill
3. Buying something nice for myself, like a new purse
4. Spending all my remaining money on food, as usual
5. All of the above… except for C

I know it's a hard quiz, but unsurprisingly enough, the answer is…. E! How depressing.

In order to think more positively and try not to dwell on bill payments etc, I've been compiling a list in my head (whoa, what a crazy concept for me, I know) about Things I Want To Do While I Am Home [For A Week].

--Get a dollar burger at the Blue Danube

--Eat lots of Mom's cooking, most especially corn

--Eat lots of Mom's baking, most especially whatever comes out of the oven first

--Go to the pool, try and get tan

--Ride my bike, for practice

--Take Apollo to the dog park (note: this might involve dog-napping)

--Visit Julia, and of course see all my other friends

Lastly, the Thing I Don't Really Look Forward To But Must Do Anyway: Pack for China!!!

Listssss

Some things I've been up to recently:

--Reading lots of blogs (note the new blogroll).

I wish I could say books, but unfortunately my eyes have been staring at a computer screen more than paper recently. Woeeee.

--Went to an art exhibit down by the White Hall stop.

Then walked up South Street to the Seaport.

--Got some moneyz. Paid some bills. Boooo.

--Had lunch with my boss (finally!).

It went well J

--Saw WALL-E!! Amazingggggg.

--Had brunch with mimosas.

Unfortunately, there were too many and by 2pm I was done for the day.

--Got my hair cut. Now if I wear a headband I look like a flapper. For realz.

--Spent 4^th of July on Long Island.

--Went bar-hopping! I've decided that bars with outdoor gardens in the back are the best.

I like how I have a terrible time remembering these things unless I've taken photos of them.

So this weekend the plans are to go to Westchester on Saturday for a birthday party/bbq (love those) and then on Sunday maybe see a concert in Central Park. Although there is a slight chance of thunderstorms sooooo might not wanna risk it. Although what are the chances of two storms of the century happening in one summer on the exact two days I try to attend a free concert at Summerstage? Stay tuned to find out, I guess.

Then next week might get a little crazy in terms of guests coming to visit. But it's always fun when people come to stay so I'm excited.

Man! Only two time sheets left! That means only a month of summer to go! Or at least, a month till I go home, and have to somehow pack for 4 months in China. That's going to be fun. But seriously, summer has already passed the halfway mark and on one hand I feel sad that I'll be leaving my New York friends so soon, but on the other I can't wait to go home and not have to work 35 hours a week anymore. And not pay for groceries/subway/electricity. And not have to deal with all the other splendors of city-living. Such a terrible trade off though... though at least so far, I've been enjoying myself so that I don't think I'll have regrets like, Oh I should have taken the time to do this. But I still need to go to Red Hook! Maybe… next next weekend…

Sex and the City: The Cinderella Movie

So I think I had the opposite reaction from what the movie-makers intended for everything in this movie. WARNING!! SPOILERS!! Let me break it down:

Carrie: I thought she was kind of annoying in the show, and the movie was no different. From the way she just accepts Big’s terrible proposal to get married for real estate convenience’s sake, to the way she beats him over the head with her flowers when he gets cold feet. I actually felt bad for the guy for most of the movie! And I used to think he was a … you know… lame (censored). All in all, for being a writer, Carrie is very bad at communicating and it drives me crazy.

Miranda: Also thought her character acted ridiculously. Yes, Steve cheats on her, but again I felt bad for the guy. He had a one night stand because he couldn’t get any lovin from his own wife. And I thought Miranda liked sex?? I guess it just goes to show how terrible it is to be a working mom, that you just ignore your husband and are drained of all sexual energy. Right. But I don’t entirely blame her. Steve should have spoken up if he was in such a bad place, before the cheating could occur. So I’m glad Miranda got her senses back in the end… and they all lived happily ever after.

Charlotte: The most Cinderella story of them all, which left me scratching my head. What are these producers telling us? That true, terrifying happiness can be achieved… as long as you have a happy (and sex-filled) marriage, are making a family, and don’t have to worry about money/working? Well, gee, no kidding. And how many people can actually claim these things? Not to mention, if you’re pregnant and you’re over the age of 40, aren’t there bound to be certain complications? But no, not for Charlotte. Because somehow she played her cards right and hit the Park Avenue jackpot.

Samantha: Why was she in LA?? The movie is not “Sex and the Two Coastal Cities.” The movie could have been a lot funnier (and it was missing a lot of the show’s original humor) if she had left Smith (sorry, Smith!) earlier on and come back to NY for some real hijinks. Not just staring at her neighbors so viewers got some soft-corn action. Boring. But then I just had a thought… Samantha is turning 50?? That’s like… my mom’s age (no offense intended). It’s just now that I think about it, What are these girls doing??

I’m probably coming off as very anti-feminist right now. So I have to remind myself that this IS a fairy-tale/fantasy. I think these characters exist for other women to live vicariously through, regardless of whether or not they could actually exist in real life. And apparently a lot of women liked the movie (and now they’re going to do a sequel?? What kind of storylines are left??) but I felt it too melodramatic and materialistic. And maybe the age-thing factored in—so would I have enjoyed it more if it centered around characters like Carrie’s personal assistant? Perhaps. Then again I’m reminded of why I normally steer clear from chick flicks: they’re unsatisfying. Unrealistic, predictable, and pretty clichéd. So Cheng, you should be grateful I didn’t make you watch this one with me!

Starting up the posts again

So I’ve been in the city for the summer a little over a month now. I thought now would be a good time to update on my recent-past activities (this is sad but I might have to look at my pictures to remember all the things):

--Had my bday dinner at Les Halles

--Had bday Banana Split at Serendipity

--Went to J’s house on Long Island for a BBQ J

--Went dancing at Kiss and Fly

--Saw the Cai Guoqiang exhibit at the Guggenheim with Melody. Awesome!

--Ate lots of Red Mango

--Walked the Brooklyn Bridge (twice?)

--Walked to the West Side Highway dock/park

--SHAKE SHACK and ARTICHOKE

--Ate Ethiopian food

--Watched lots of NBA games

--Visited to Coney Island, sat in the sand

--Got caught in a crazy storm/hurricane at Central Park

--Had tea and big ass scones at Alice’s Tea Cup

--Danced at La Caverna and then got Pommes Frites

--Made treks out to Brooklyn AND Queens

There’s probably more I’m forgetting.

And here’s another list that I’ve been composing in my head. I like lists, ok?

Bad things about walking home from work:

--It’s hot.

--Walking for 45 minutes makes me pretty tired.

--Other people don’t know how to walk. Get out of my way if you’re just gonna stroll!

--Certain blocks smell really badly. Seriously.

Good things about walking home from work:

--Saves me two dollars in subway fare!

--Walking is the only form of exercise I get. Ever.

--I get to walk by the puppy store on 6^th and 13^th .

--The subway is probably hotter than the air outside (but faster… meh).

And file this under both categories:

--I can go shopping on my way home.

And lastly, Upcoming Activities/Things I Still Want to Do:

--Brunch on LES including Mimosas

--See Wall-E!!

--Dim Sum in Chinatown (it’s been done before, but needs repeating)

--Take a weekend trip… upstate, Philly, DC, wherever

--Trip to Red Hook, Brooklyn (and Park Slope) via the Ikea ferry to visit Baked/Flea Market/Latino Food Vendors/Prospect Park

Mi Espanol

It has come to my attention that I may need to brush up on my Spanish if I plan on continuing to live in the city much longer. Yesterday I was pretty embarrassed that I couldn't ask a simple question to a landlady about her apartment we were looking at.

I wanted to ask if we could move in on May 1st. So I tried something like, "Pueden se mueveren primero del Mayo?" Which is terrible, and even worse with my accent. Later I tried to think of how I should've said it, something like "Quieren movarse a este apartimiento en el primero del Mayo, okay?" (Because OK is universal). Trying to conjugate verbs on the spot like that was way too stressful. And she only sort of understood... she kept saying, before May is ok, so we were like, does that mean the lease starts April 15th? And all to no avail because we wanted to shop around some more.

I seem to recall another time when knowing Spanish better would have been helpful. And according to our Big Onion tour guide, the greatest number of immigrants to the city right now is Dominican people. It's pretty sad that four years of high school Spanish gets me no where in the real world. Although part of the reason it's so hard is because my brain keeps interjecting Chinese words, since that's the other language I'm used to thinking in. Like, Women yao... movarse... zhege fangjian... And so on until I pretty much resort to English. Failure!

How people can speak more than one language fluently is a great mystery to me, especially if they learned the second language as an adult. But I know it's possible (for instance, our broker speaks English, Japanese, Arabic, and Hebrew) so I'm trying not to give up hope. My brain just needs to compartmentalize things better, or something.