~*~ chicken scratch ~*~

I'm registered for classes, I've got my loans, and now all I need is an apartment and a job! Whee. The job application process is going to be interesting. The one I really want on the BU main campus required three letters of recommendation, which to me seems a bit excessive, even with its ridiculously high salary/hours ratio. I managed to cobble together the few from China that I have. Hopefully they'll at least land me an interview.

In other news, So You Think You Can Dance! I won't spoil any of last night's episode, but I will say that this season, while I'm much impressed with the overall caliber of dancing and choreography, I'm starting to hate the judges. Especially Mia, who has double standards up the wazoo and can give you a roadmap of her menstrual cycle based on her overall bitchiness, and Mary, who's gotten ten times more annoying since the last season and whose screaming and cheesy comments have gotten me to change the channel more than once. I think I can already predict a winner to the season, and not based on dancing so much as the judges' blatant favoritism. Bleh. If the dancing weren't so awesome, I'd consider dropping the show.

I really, really need to invest some hard time and energy into going through my stuff and throwing away, selling, or otherwise organizing the lot of it. It's just that my parents have never thrown anything away since dinosaurs roamed the earth, so now the pile has a life of its own, and just looking at all of it just gives me a headache and make me want to ostrich myself into a hole somewhere. *whimper* And life lesson to be learned: small apartments can be a blessing in disguise, because it definitely keeps you from acquiring excess amounts of stuff. Speaking of getting rid of stuff though, any advice on getting rid of old textbooks that you no longer have a use for? I'm thinking Ebay, although lord knows if I still remember my account password.....

They've added BOLLYWOOD as a dance style! It's awesomeness. The rehearsal footage has the choreographer teaching the dancers the hand formations.

Choreographer: "Now, the hand signal has to look like this." [demonstrates the correct way] "If you do it like this--" [demonstrates the way the dancer did it] "-- then you offend half the world."

Dancer: "Whoa! Okay, let's not do that then!" [eyes like saucers]

Last week they had Benji and Lacey in to choreograph a swing number. It was okay, but not quite as fun as the one Sara and Neil (?) did last season. This week they had a Anya and Pasha back to choreograph a cha cha! Aww, love. Those two are absolutely adorable.

( Spoilers for the top 10 )

It's definitely an interesting experience being back. First and foremost, I've noticed that while people, cars, and food are all bigger in this country, the places are definitely smaller. I know that's because I've gone from a city of 17+ million, a capital city of the largest country in the world, to a dinky little podunk town of 100,000 in the middle of podunk Connecticut. Still, it feels weird to see such large people and vehicles try to make their ways on these teeny tiny little roads descended from horse-cart trails. ^^;

Speaking on the subject of big people... ( small rant on the size of people in this country )

Okay, rant over. Now let's get on to the good things about being back. Hmm, for one thing, my internet is once again unblocked, I can visit whatever blog sites I wish, and my Podcasts work once again! Yay! For another, I've had a wonderful wonderful July 4th holiday in Boston, although I'm still a bit jetlagged and fell asleep during the fireworks show on TV. And of course, the thing I've enjoyed immensely over the past few days-- cable TV. I spent a goodly amount of time yesterday watching movies on TV. Including the 4th Harry Potter (more on that later), The Fifth Element, and Kill Bill 2. Interspersed, of course, with reruns of Law and Order. The commercials still annoy me as much as ever, but it's kind of nice to have shows I can watch on TV.

( Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: the breakdown )

Overall rating: 3.8 out of 5.

I've just ordered a phone online, so I will post my digits when I have them. In the meantime, there is much cleaning in my room to be done.

I'm home! And enjoying internet that's not restricted!!!

The flight was surprisingly pleasant. There was no one in the seat next to me, I had a pleasant chat with the guy two seats over and the other guy across the aisle, all 50 children on the flight were incredibly quiet and well-behaved, and we had 3 full meals. All in all, the 13+ hours passed fairly quickly. Customs and security was easy at both ends, and although I packed my suitcases to the brim, they weren't over the weight limit. I'm pretty happy.

Now I'm back... still phone-less and trying to remedy that situation. I'll be making calls as soon as I unpack. But in the meantime, hi everybody!!

Friday:
Did my taxes, taught a class, saw a bunch of friends for dinner and post-dinner festivities, including live music at an open-air bar located by a lake in a park.

Saturday:
Went shopping with friends, bought a fake Gucci (aka guh-kee) watch to replace the one I lost while exiting an extremely crowded subway during rush hour, then spent the rest of the day watching Law and Order SVU and drawing.

Sunday:
Worked on financial aid stuff, got paid for teaching, then went to a friend's house for food and movies before we all decided to visit a local Chinese massage place. I tried cupping. It's supposed to draw out all the toxins in one's body, and looks pretty insane. It doesn't hurt when you do it, UNLESS the masseuse-person hits a spot that's been having problems, and then it might hurt anywhere from a slight pinch to searing (depending on how bad the problem is) and turns the skin all kinds of pretty rainbow colors. I didn't feel any pain, just tingling and the awkward sensation that this is what a turtle must feel like, like I had a complete tea set on my back. The masseuse pointed out my left shoulder as having caught a draft (which is true; I sleep on my side and my shoulder's usually exposed), and it felt like she was waxing my shoulder as she took the jar off-- now it's a lovely purple circle. The middle of my back doesn't have any marks, but my kidneys also look like I had a run-in with a giant octopus:




My pediatrician used to freak out about my fencing bruises; I'd love to see the look on her face at this! My shoulder does feel better today despite the residual tenderness. I'm definitely going to see if I can find someone in Chinatown Boston who does this; every summer I get horrible shoulder pains from sleeping under a fan, and my old doctor used to put me on Vioxx, which (a) has side effects and (b) costs $5 a pill. I think this would be much more effective, if somewhat unsightly.

Today:
I avoided touching my shoulder to the backs of any chairs, did laundry, finished my financial aid stuff (ALL DONE! WHEE!), bought groceries, called the landlord to give him my notice, and made a lovely dinner of tomato garlic prawns. I watched Big Fish while I ate, started another picture, and started segregating my stuff into "pack", "ship", "give away", and "toss" piles. All in all, productive and enjoyable. Now I'm gonna go to sleep... on my side away from the tender shoulder.

Things I will miss when I leave China:

- Chuan (or chuar if you have a Beijing accent), is the term for little pieces of food-- usually meats, but can also be garlic or cartilage or other varieties of food-- stuck on a stick and fire roasted over charcoal, then peppered with seasoning. Lamb is the most popular kind, followed by chicken wings, squid, garlic, various organs of animals (chicken hearts and gizzards are a favorite), and if you go to the place near my apartment, even frogs. Sounds strange, but it's QUITE tasty, extremely cheap, and perfect for snacking when you feel a bit peckish but don't want a full meal. The character for it also looks like what it is: 串, which amuses me endlessly.

- Other street foods, like 肉夹莫 (rou jia mo), chopped up stewed pork and peppers in an English muffin-type thing (the Chinese equivalent of a burger); 凉皮 (liang pi), cold rice noodles with cucumbers and tofu, usually made with garlic, chili, and sesame sauces; and 陷饼 (xian bing), which is a layered bread with bits of ground meat in the layers. All of them are extremely cheap and portable.

- A cell phone system that makes you pay in advance for as much you use, nothing more, and doesn't have monthly bills attached to it. Makes a LOT more sense, really, than the U.S. way.

- Lovely places to spend time at in Beijing. Parks with skating in the winter and boating in the summer. Little alleyways, called hutong (胡同) full of shops and cafes.

- Um, yeah, mostly the food here. There's a huge variety, most of it is fairly affordable, and all of it is very good. I am pigging out before I go home.


Things I look forward to at home:

- BATH TUB! I've lived for nearly 3 years now without one and am dying for a hot soak.

- Driving. I love it, but I wouldn't be caught dead driving in Beijing. Or no, actually-- if I drove in Beijing, I would be caught dead, which is kind of the problem. It'll be a dream to be able to go places when I want to, without having to figure out bus routes, and also, without needing an hour to get there.

- Clean air. Less traffic. You know, breathing. And not having to dust my apartment every day.

- Cable TV. For the time I'll have at home, I can at least catch up on my trashy American TV shows as well as my South Park and Law and Order.

- An internet connection that doesn't block websites. My podcasts have stopped working. I am very unpleased.

- Shakespeare in the Park. One of the few great things about New Haven during the summer. Now, who can I get to go with me....

Today I just spent about $50 US EMSing my acceptance response to BU and my 2007 tax returns to the IRS. I am not a happy camper.

While I am ecstatic to begin grad school, I am less than happy with the slew of paperwork involved in getting there. The past few days have been spent on various financial aid and the IRS websites. The slew of information is staggering.

FYI- in case anyone reading this ever plans to spend a year abroad working-- you must file a tax return if your yearly income exceeds $8000 + change when converted to USD. You may claim up to $85,000 in exclusion from taxation, however, so filing does not necessarily mean paying taxes. To file, you must complete a regular 1040 with a 2555 or 2555EZ attachment, as well as a 4868 if you want the automatic 2-month extension on filing deadlines for being out of the country. I spent about 3 hours getting this information from their website, so I'm posting it here to save other people the hassle.

The fun part of the pre-grad school process? Looking at the courses. Although it'll be a few days before I can register for classes, I think I have more or less got my schedule for the fall planned out.

Despite the flurry of papers, my week has been a rather good, relaxing one. I've spent most of it at home planning instead of running around like last week. Beijing's become a bit of a dusty place however, which means daily sandsweeping of the apartment (the volume of dust and sand has exceeded a mere "dusting"). This weekend, I plan to tackle my FAFSA and Profile forms. Life of excitement!

Now, the other fun part. Other than "look on Craig's list", any advice on apartment hunting?

In preparation for becoming repatriated again, I've been investigating the nitty gritty details I'll have to take care of, such as driver's license, phones, etc. I have a couple of questions for those of you who have, in fact, been living in the country for the past three years.

Question 1: Cell phones.
I feel like every first-year at Wellesley when I ask, but I do need some opinions: Verizon or Cingular/AT&T? Off their website, I can tell you that the price is essentially the same (39.99 for your basic nationwide plan). Verizon does have better coverage, and I tend to like their phones a bit better. But Cingular has Rollover minutes! Decisions, decisions.... thoughts? I'm so used to the system here, where you top up the balance on your card as you go and texting is way cheaper than calling so everyone does it.

Question 2: Financial aid forms and taxes.
This is for those of you who've lived abroad for more than a year before. I've been in China for 3 years now and since I've worked only in local companies and institutions, I literally have no paperwork of my payroll. No I-9 or W-4 type documents, and barely any electronic records from my old company. Not to mention, the majority of the work I'm doing now is paid in cash. I didn't make enough money to need to declare to the IRS, but I literally only have a lump of cash and my verbal record of my pay. So how exactly does one file the requisite paperwork to be able to complete a FAFSA? I've been hunting on their website and not found the right page.

Question 3: Credit card?
I canceled my old one during my first year in China. Should I bother getting a new one? Pro's? Con's?

Just thought I'd share. :-)

::happy dance::

Today kicked off a 3-day mourning period for the whole nation, beginning at 2:28 this afternoon with a 3-minute period of silence, during which sirens were sounded.

Moments of silence are quite common in the U.S., but I'd never seen it observed so much as it was today. Traffic stopped in the roads and people got out of their cars. Entire companies stopped working and employees stood in silence. The stock exchange stopped. Many bars, clubs, KTVs, and theaters have canceled shows and events for the next 3 days-- voluntarily, as a sign of respect. It's been rather intense.

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Otherwise, life continues as normal here in Beijing. I am teaching several students, working on various other projects, and enjoying the company of friends for the remainder. I am thankful to have all of this. For those of you who I haven't spoken to online recently, I am planning to come home at the end of next month. I owe everyone presents and visits, and as soon as I sort out the 12 thousand logistical issues attached to this decision (not the least of which is getting a new driver's license), I will be making my rounds. In the meantime, just wanted to thank you guys for simply being here and being people I call friends. *hugs f-list*