Excuse Me, Hm?

Massuese Rich

2010-08-06T00:34:00.005-04:00

Today my neck and shoulders were incredibly stiff. And I know why. It's from constantly playing this new dinosaur hunting game I got on my iPhone. Such an awesome game and I don't really know why. The only way to kill a T-rex is to shoot it directly in the eye. It's almost impossible. I've killed 4. You are supposed to to snipe it in the eye, but one time I killed one with a shotgun. It was awesome, but before I could escape another T-rex ate me. I was actually sad.

Anyways, my neck and shoulders were painfully tight. So I made my brother give me a neck and shoulder massage. Now I'm no wimp but even his massages make me cringe. But this time even his super aggressive massage (probably anger from his older brother forcing massages out of him) were halted by how tight my shoulder and neck muscles were. He was visibly taken aback and acknowledged the situation with a, "Wow, it is tight," but eventually his kung fu hands did the trick. And I feel so much more relaxed now. Normally after those "therapeutic massages" you just end up hurting like crazy and the relief never sets in. But I am relieved right now.

I love massages. My favorite thing in the world. I am always stretching and cracking my back and my limbs never feel quite right. Massages just feel so damn good. I've decided I want to be rich enough one day to have a personal masseuse. Someone to keep around to give me massages whenever I want, which is always.

One day I'm gonna be masseuse rich. Gyea

Snooki couldn't do this (Warning, explicit NSFW)

2010-07-29T21:36:00.008-04:00

If you haven't heard, they are coming out with an Asian version of Jersey Shore.

Now the people look crazy and the show looks atrocious. There have been cries that "they are going to embarrass all the Asians" and what not. Maybe. But I never watched Jersey Shore and I sure as hell am going to watch this show. Why? Because they are Asian and I want to see what to see all the crazy ish they get into it. It looks disgusting but I have to see.

Now obviously its riding off the wave of Jersey Shore. But this KTown cast is even more outrageous. They have some dude name Peter Le who I think is a pornstar of some sort. Either way he has a website www.peterfever.com where you can see pictures of him and his giant penis.

Then there is a girl named Scarlet Chan who appeared at first glance to be one of those typical "I'm super open about everything and I don't give a fuck what you think" kind of girl. I found her blog and her opening description alluded to this "I dedicate this blog to everyone who don't belong, who are outside of the box. To my hookers, whores, and cross-dressers... to my mother who taught me strength and courage... to the gays who embrace my slutty ways... I heart you." (www.scarletchan.blogspot.com)

Scarlet is a stripper. But apparently she is a pretty smart and definitely very articulate. She may be a stripper but she is a writing a thesis on exotic dancing. She also writes poetry. And whenever says they write poetry, you generally laugh at them because its generally bad. But her style is really engaging.

Here are two I really like:
Trigger
11-weeks of stripping

I don't know much about poetry but hers are very visceral and real. It creates a powerful narrative that paints a clear picture of a dark industry. I think the best part is that it doesn't wrap itself in excuses but rather is very self-aware and frank. I especially like the style of "11 weeks of stripping", the way its formatted and the way it displays emotion. It addresses a complex emotional story with a nice mix matter-of-fact acceptance and vulnerability. I definitely recommend you read it.

There is no way Snooki could write any of that.

Home is wherever I'm with you

2010-07-26T11:31:00.003-04:00

A great song. Its one of those songs where you are like, "I have heard this somewhere before!" It has a modern yet old timey feel to it and you just can't help but feel...happy. I love that the singers seems to be in love, listen towards the end where they have this little conversation with each other, super sweet. Overall there is just a refreshing simplicity to it all. Good lyrics as well.

More posts soon and hopefully a design change!

I get cake like every day my birthday

2010-07-12T09:17:00.002-04:00

Last night I had a series of extremely strange dreams. During one part, I was in my old house celebrating my birthday. And guess who was there? Lil Wayne. And he helped me bake a chocolate cake. But he wasn't that helpful, he just compared it to cooking crack the whole time. Thanks for NOTHING Lil Wayne.

Back to business

2010-07-05T19:16:00.004-04:00

Well it has been a long, long time since my last post. Life is nothing close to the way it was 4 months ago. Example: Back in March, I was in college, now I am a UNC alumni. At the time of my last post, I was on Spring Break. Now I'm working ten hours a day at an ad agency in Raleigh.

So I'm not going to waste any time attempting to play catch up so here is the quick summary. Life is incredibly fast. I feel like I've been through a million ups and downs in the past for months. And every time something bad happened, I thought it was the end of the world. But here I am, alive and kicking!

So now I'm back to do what I does. Write about whatever I want. My goal is at least one post every week, hopefully more. Stories, thoughts, and more! I'm crossing my fingers that my handful of faithful readers are still down to pay me some attention!

I'll kick it off with some gems gleamed from the real world.

In college, I always had older guys warning me about treasuring my time in college. And now that I'm graduated, I can definitely see how true it is. And I know for a lot of undergrads, the constant struggle is between work and play, the classic battle of "I need good grades" versus "But college is about the experience, the memories, the relationships!"

My two cents is that in the end, its up to you how you spend your time. Just use it in a way that you won't leave you with any regrets when you're done. And that goes either way. Don't party to hard and have nothing to show for your four years but don't spend all your time with the books and have nothing to show for that either, nahmean.

For me, working 10 hours a day leaves me exhausted. These days'm dying for some human social interaction, to go and hang out with my friends in Chapel Hill, to see all the people I've been missing but after work I am just too tired to do anything. In college you have the luxury of time for play. In the real world, it is much more rare. Graduated 2 months and I already feel like an old man. So take advantage of that precious time.

My goal is to force myself to go out and have fun. I am definitely not ready for work to consume my life. Whats the point of working all the time...so you can have fun later? Nah, like I said, I don't want to spend my time in way that will leaving me feeling regretful later. I can't wait till I'm old, I need to live while I'm young.

This post was a little scattered but bear with me as I warm up my literary skills once again!

We didn't make it to DC but.....

2010-03-13T05:40:00.007-05:00

So these past two days have been extremely trying. A earth-shattering event that shook my whole world took place right before I departed for this adventure. My heart at the time was broken into tiny little pieces. I left North Carolina completely devastated and angry and suddenly this trip took on new meaning. It become very much more a journey.

But I was determined to stick to my code of adventure, so here I am blogging faithfully at 5:43 AM after a long night of fill in with your imagination.

We planned to leave at 11:00 Am. We didn't leave until 2:30 PM and as I was backing out of the driveway, I hit a garbage can. The trip was off to a great start.

The ride was relatively uneventful. The first half was filled with great conversation but then the passenger fell asleep and I was left alone with my thoughts. We listened to a lot of Allen Mask, Eminem and then I listened to the Avett Brothers as she slept. Eclectic. Notable details are that we bought some old school lunchables to kick it oldschool. Other than that, the drive was smooth but very rainy.

So far our plan had been up in the air, but little did I know that we were about to meet with the most interesting man in the world.

We arrived in the neighborhood of my friend (henceforth known as Sanchez) and were astonished at how lavish the houses were. We were stunned that we could potentially be staying in one of these houses. We joked that maybe these were the nice houses but the house we would be staying at would actually be a shitty house stuck in between the richness. We were wrong, it was equally as baller.

And so I re-united with Sanchez. A guy I had met freshmen year of highschool, never hung out with, but had an instant deep connection. I knew he was a nice a guy, but little did I know I was about to develop my new man crush.

Sanchez took us to K-Town and it felt like we had entered another country. Literally Korean was the first language here....I felt like a complete foreigner. We had dinner at a Korean BBQ place, which apparently is quite renown but I can't pronounce so I'll just post a picture, and had some amazing food. He re-introduced me to soju and slowly the stories began to trickle out.

After finishing our meal we continued to the second stop on our K-Town tour. We went to a bar called Baden where there was a big screen constantly playing K-pop videos and had one lone karaoke room where I heard Korean music, Green Day, and hardcore gangster rap being recited. The cool thing is that they served popcorn with your drinks.

We finished our night off at another bar in K-town called Ara and had more food and drank then headed back to his home for yet more drink and stories.

I would say this night was an sheer success just because of the stories that Sanchez had to tell. I don't know if he would appreciate me blogging about them but they completely blew my mind. He is by far the most interesting person I met. The sticking point is that he has done so many crazy things (ie. ending up in a Nepal prison for four days) but all along the way stuck to a strong moral compass. I may talk about it more tomorrow but needless to say I am ending the day with huge admiration and respected for this dude. But honestly, if I wasn't concerned about his privacy, he has the craziest stories ever. We are writing a book about them. It will be a best seller.

So we didn't quite get to DC. We set the Whitehouse as the destination for our GPS but we stopped about 10 miles short. But its okay. The night was insane. Like I said, I felt like I was in a different country. On our way here we made a list of things we wanted to accomplish. We will get on those tomorrow. For now I must sleep.

DC sleeps alone tonight

2010-03-11T19:00:00.002-05:00

Status: Delayed

So after a rousing and dramatic post, I am anti-climatically still not in DC. Instead I will be leaving tomorrow morning. I will still be bringing a sleeping bag, half handle of Crown, and a sense of adventure but I will also be bringing a semi-plan and a friend.

Unfortunately it won't be the self-reliant, but hey, I journeyed in China and Japan by myself so whatup.

So here is the revised plan:

-Leave in the morning
-Journey around DC
-Meet up with friend

See..it somewhat of a plan but still leave plenty room for adventure. Next post will be from DC, foreal this time!

On the road again

2010-03-10T13:55:00.007-05:00

Tomorrow I will be going on the most random road trip ever.

After missing out on an epic Bahamas trip because I had to work, I was determined not to waste my last Spring Break ever staying at home. This kind of behavior showed hints of the perpetual sacrifice for career and it was too early in for my life to embark on that path. I decided I had to take this trip to prevent myself from becoming the dad who puts work before everything and ends up alienating himself from his wife and kids, finally missing one too many birthdays and his son wishes that he can’t lie and he is forced to re-win his family by chancing them down a landing strip. This one is for my future.

So I spontaneously decided DC. Yes, its only a meager four hours and all my out of state friends who regularly drive 8-9 hours to get home are laughing at me. But don’t you know the journey is the destination? This will be the first time I’ve driven that far completely solo and I'm excited.

The plan: none.

Do I know what I plan on doing? No. I contacted some old friends and acquaintances, but have no concrete plans laid out yet. I figure as long as I know someone there it can't be that bad. All I'm going to do is bring my sleeping bag, half gallon of Crown, and a sense of adventure. I'm leaving the details ambiguous on purpose and anything is possible. Next post will be from the District of Columbia!

And why are you asking me?

2010-02-09T02:31:00.002-05:00

So today I was talking to a friend of mine who is a couple years younger than me. He was in a tough jam and I was giving him a shoulder to lean on (more like an ear to talk to but that just doesn't have the same ring. Its almost gross). This might seem normal except for that fact that at the age of 19, he is already accomplished more than I will perhaps ever be. I'm talking six figure salaries, insane (super, super insane) industry connections like you wouldn't imagine, and penthouse parties with P Diddy that are too explicit for this blog. Straight up balling outrageous.

And the craziest part was that he was asking me for advice.

Well to be fair, he probably didn't really care what I had to say. But I was pretty amazed that he at least seemed to be affected by the words of wisdom I had to offer. And at the end of the talk, I felt like I had in some way made him feel better. I would like to think I was part of the process.

So I basically took two things away from this:

1. His problems were like my dreams come true. This depressed me. I can't go into details for confidentially reasons, but lets just say this kid is a coveted top hire for three industry giants. And I mean giants.

2. It felt good that after all this time, people still looked up to me. Technically, he used to really look up to me, but he grew taller and now we are pretty much eye level. But the respect was appreciated.

Poor Ad Placement

2010-02-04T16:32:00.002-05:00

I was surfing through CNN and decided that I wanted to read the article "Sharks kill man at Florida Beach". (You catch that clever wordplay?)

There was a video that went along with the article at the top and my interest was further piqued so I clicked on that as well.

The ad was for a product that I can't remember but it consisted of a bikini clad woman frolicking in the ocean, splashing about happily and without a care in serene crystal waters.

It then launches into a story about how a kite-boarder was killed not by one, but a group of sharks.

Nice.

C'mon BBDO (Ecuador)

2010-01-28T16:17:00.004-05:00

This ad was entitled, "Whore". The tag line is "Eliminate all parasites". What? This image just brought about weird Equus-esque connations or some sort of weird show that you would find in back alley Mexico (is that politically correct?).

Comment Culture

2010-01-19T10:30:00.004-05:00

I've decided to create more conversation in my life, starting with internet commenting. Generally I used to scoff at people who have long conversations via picture comments on Facebook. As a rule of thumb I would just post my one witty quip and never respond again. But I realized that would be like me walking up to someone in real life, laying down a sweet zinger and immediately walking away. Or better yet, immediately walk away to hide behind something to see how they react. But sometimes when people would post questions about my pictures, like "where are you?", and still I would also never respond. I'm not quite sure what the logic was, but I felt good about what I was doing.

I have decided I am going to start giving back the love. I still refuse to become the picture conversationalist, but I am will now engage much much more. After blogs are all about conversation right? Maybe not.

Yes, the title suggests a much more profound post. Sorry! You can comment about that if you want.

A short story

2010-01-12T21:04:00.005-05:00

Here is a short story I wrote for an application I did recently. It is very, very short and how much of a story it is depends on you. Everyone read it and comment about how amazing it is, because if the agency liked my resume enough, they might even be reading this blog.

For the application there was a hundred-word limit but what I was more curious about was what images people associate with certain words. For example, the phrase "jump off a bridge" makes me think of jumping off bridge that is built over water or chasm or something. But perhaps the images in someone else's head would be like an overpass. I mean, the result would be pretty different depending on what was under that bridge.

Yesterday I saw my friend and he was wearing a tan, olive colored sweater and some thin, intellectual-type glasses (what image is conjured up for you?) and rocking some ideal stubble. When I saw him, I immeasurably pictured him in a movie that was set in Africa, and he is working there as an underpaid, overstressed writer. He is unhappily married since the pressures of his work have driven a wedge between him and his wife. But suddenly he finds himself caught up in some governmental conspiracy and soon finds him fighting for his life. And through this life-threatening experience he realizes that his relationships are the most important thing in his life and vows to change his ways. Or something like that. Yup, thought of that from just one look.

Anyways, here is the story:

She told him she didn't believe him anymore. He told her he didn't believe in himself.
That was a lie, because he knew she would believe that.

Pop champagne

2010-01-08T02:24:00.003-05:00

Here is a picture I edited that I think is cool:

I don't know if anyone else will think its cool, but I just like the contrast of the colors. I didn't actually edit it, I just cut it out of this photo:

But its all about vision right? Anyways, I think it looks cool.

Six Minutes of Inspiring

2010-01-05T21:25:00.005-05:00

What an incredible video. Its hard to believe that ten years have really gone by. I want to say that it just seems like yesterday, but so many things have happened that have already become mere memories, if that. Just look at the world of sports. Huge,amazing moments that blew our minds are already forgotten.

But I caught myself cheering like it was happening live when Michael Phelps reached out and barely snagged that gold medal by a finger tip. And nodded when I saw Kobe still playing with Shaq. UNC even got a shoutout. And of course, there were other touching moments...like the solemn remembrance of the Virginia Tech shooting and 9/11. Things you don't forgot about but somehow get pushed to the back of your mind.

Either way, this was six minutes of inspiration. That is one thing that sports is: inspiring. Look at the way it rallied people together and gave them something during times of immense tragedy. So many incredible things that just give you hope and make you feel like, as KG would put it, "ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!" At some parts, I felt like I was almost at the point of shedding a tear or two. But of course I didn't, because I am man. And men just watch sports instead.

Who is the artist?

2010-01-04T19:01:00.003-05:00

Okay so this might sound dumb, but I'm just talking here.

What makes a photographer an artist?

Is it their ability to capture an image a certain way? Is it mastery of the technical aspects of the lighting and framing? Is it how they can create scenes that fascinate us? Is it how they capture capturing moments?

Is the art in the actual photographing or the creation of the photograph? Does the skill lie in taking the picture or is it conceptualizing the picture?

I mean obviously not everyone can be a photographer but why not? I guess its vision.

Tyler Shields is a great photographer. I'm just trying to figure out why. All his pictures are captivating. They intrigue the senses. But is because of the way he took the photograph or the content of the photo itself? Should we thank Tyler for bringing us the photo or should we thank the model the picture is of? Who is doing the work here?

Once again, I would have to say its vision.

Check out his work here: http://www.tylershields.com/ Here's a taste:

New Year...Stuff

2010-01-03T09:11:00.002-05:00

So here are my New Years resolutions (as for as I know of now):

1. Write more
2. Get a job.

I'm going to start on the first resolution now. I'm currently sitting in my room at home and I happened to glance out my and what do I see? A deer with a huge white ear sitting in the woods that are connected to my backyard. It and another deer are literally chilling twenty feet away from me. Now for some reason the thought of another living creature who is a stranger to me being so close weirds me out

I think this is compounded by the fact that every time I look out the window, the deer is staring at me. Straight at me, with those black, shapeless eyes, its head not moving at all. It is really creepy. It definitely knows I'm here. It actually looked away for a little bit but as soon as I started blogigng about it, it started staring again. And as I write this now, it is still staring.

I am resisting the urge to close my blinds since I am a human and it is a deer, but I have to admit its pretty intimidating. Wow, it must have realized its triumph because right as I typed out my defeat, it looked away.

Innovative...or obnoxious?

2009-12-17T01:27:00.002-05:00

Check out this campaign that was run for Ikea by DDB Germany Berlin. Its pretty creative, but also may come across as pretty obnoxious. I'm not certain that if I was attending that movie I would appreciate Ikea messing with my movie going experience.

Keeping it Old School

2009-12-08T08:12:00.003-05:00

Yesterday I came upon this sweet blog, Myparentswereawesome.com. It is a tumblr where people submit pictures of their parents being awesome. Some parents apparently were more awesome than others though.

These are some of my favorites. This picture was probably taken just as randomly as most of our pictures but for some reason it just carries a certain quality that casual modern photographs lack. Is it because cameras weren't as accessible or is that people were just cooler than? That picture looks so natural, unlike a lot of beer chugging pictures that get put up on face book these days. It invokes a certain tenderness you never think you would get out of beer chugging. And that pint glass is huge.

I think these kind of pictures are just sweet. I love the colors and quality of pictures from back in the day. Everything just seems so much cooler. It is interesting to look back at photographs from different time periods and see the way people pose and interacted. It gives you a certain sense of the way people thought of themselves and their relation with the world. Even with bad hair and worse fashion, they emit a sense of confidence so strong you just wonder where it is coming from. And if you go past our parents to our grandparents, they are even more badass. Smiles were aren't as common, so maybe the rarity made them more valuable. People don't pose like that anymore.

I'm going to start carrying around a camera and try to get at least a picture a day. Doesn't mean it will be post worthy, but I think it will be interesting. I know I'll risk looking like an Asian tourist, walking around UNC with my point and click, but that is a chance I'll just have to take.

Friendship

2009-11-15T19:13:00.002-05:00

I wanted to share this ad for Carling, a great little spot about friendship.

Personally I thought it could have ran a little tighter, maybe leaving out the part about the coconuts and just cutting it after, "We'll catch the next one."

But the idea of choosing to be stranded together rather than getting rescued alone is extremely powerful. Honestly for me, I'd rather be a crappy situation with a bunch of good friends than enjoying the good life by myself. I feel like today these ideals of loyalty and trust have been lost or cast to the wayside. Who do you know that you can bank on to have your back at all times? True friendship is really tested when one person is off acting a fool and collecting coconuts. When it is easiest to jump ship (or in the case, get on one), it usually the most important time to stay. Usually when someone needs you to be their friend the most is when you least want to.

On the other, more pragmatic, hand, wouldn't it have worked best if at least one of them got on the ship and came back and rescued everyone? Maybe the challenge is how to maximize your potential while maintaining your integrity.

Let it take you where you want to go

2009-11-11T11:12:00.005-05:00

Here are some drafts for the mockups I made for fictional brand "White Fence Lager". Its a beer that targets men ages 25-40 and wants you to "Celebrate with Bold Taste".

Here is the bottle that I designed.

The face to face

2009-11-05T12:48:00.006-05:00

The power of the face to face is not to be underestimated. Often times in the day of easy communication through e-mail and facebook, people begin to rely more on electronic means of connection. But the joy of seeing the face of someone you are not expecting is something that can't be replaced.

Recently I was trying to get into a class that had a program restriction. So I took the usual steps and e-mailed the professor to try to see if I could get in. He told me I had to go into the actual department and talk to the program director there.

Well grudgingly I made my way to the department where I was confronted by woman who was borderline hostile and pretty adamant that I would not get into the class. I gave a her passionate defense of why I should and belong in the class to no avail. I left her office in defeat.

I then appeared again on a day I wasn't supposed to. She was not pleased to see me. I was reminded that once again, I most likely won't get into the class.

The next day I went to see her again. She was on the phone and when her eyes saw me standing in her door, her already dour expression darkened. I waited patiently and finally I was allowed into her office.

"Sit down," she said, staring into her computer.

"Whats your PID?" she asked me. I told her.

"There are 21 people on the waiting list," she mused to herself as she sat typing.

And then came the magic words.

"Your lucky, you are now enrolled."

And then she turned to me and gave me the first smile I had seen since we began our relationships.

"I hope you like this class...I know you'll love it," she said with a big smile.

And that is on example of the power of the face to face. Or the power of this face.

And I had the feeling I could be someone

2009-10-27T13:33:00.002-04:00

This past week or so has been eventful. I wanted to sit down and write about several things, but before I could, something else would happen. So I'm just going to do a quick run through.

New York City

Over Fall Break, I went on a trip to New York City courtesy of the Workroom program. It was pretty amazing, I got to meet a lot of great people and eat a lot of delicious food (90% of which was paid for). I definitely felt out of place, the dress code was definitely Jay Z's "All black everything". My blue button ups marked me as a noob. Some of the highlights:

Meeting Mark Finna, creative director for Grey Group's Beauty department. Highlight of that meeting: when girls in our group would pull out their Covergirl Lipstick and Mark would be like,"Oh yea, I designed that". What a baller.

Going to Silvercup Studios, where they film 30 Rock, Gossip Girls and previously The Sopranos. Highlight of that visit: Meeting Michael Bay's agent who took us on a guided tour of the studios.

Meeting Alexander Duckworth, president and founder of Point One Percent, an agency that helps clients communicate with the weathiest .1% of the population. Highlight of that visit: Having him give us a tour of Tiffany's and explain that the richest of rich no longer consider Tiffany's as legit.

Flying back to RDU. One of the girls on our trip is afraid of flying and somehow ended up sitting next to some other lady who was afraid of flying. They spent the entire flight crying softly and holding each others hands. It turns out that other lady worked at Mckinney-Silver, one of the top creative agencies in the country that happens to be located in Durham. Talk about connections.

Saturday:

I was betrayed by one of my closest friends. Unknown to me at the time, another friend of mine was killed in a fatal car accident. I found out the next morning when a friend I hadn't talked to in a while called me. I thought it was a fucked up joke. His birthday was in a week.

Sunday:

I couldn't get anything done. I sat in a vapid daze unable to focus. I drank beer by myself and went to bed.

I made a list of simple yet extremely powerful phrases, especially if you think about them.

Its too late

Goodbye

Why did you have to go?

I need you

Fuck you

I don't care

We all have our reasons for being sad. I saw this note that his ex-girlfriend had written and it destroyed me. Even though I haven't seen him in a while, even though we weren't that close....the thought that you will never see someone again kills me. There are people that come through in your life that you think, "Oh I probably won't see them again." And most likely you wont...but at least there is at that tiny chance that you will. Now for him, there isn't. The fact that one of my friends is dead blows my mind. When I see someone cry, it makes me that much more sad. All the tears and pain is just too real.

Final thoughts: I am not a good person. Sorry for this disorganized post.

Its too late. Why did you have to go?

Sydney International Food Festival

2009-09-08T18:32:00.004-04:00

Here are a couple cool ads for the Sydney International Food Festival.

India:

Greece:

Japan:

Great concept to turn the food into flags. For some reason, I especially love great visuals for sushi. Like these:

You can't really convey a feeling of freshness better than that. I'm probably blogging about food right now because I'm starving right now and about to go eat Japanese food.

Anything is possible

2009-08-15T02:54:00.003-04:00

As I was driving home tonight, a car zipped by me that had emblazoned on its back window, "Cage Fighter...That's right, I will hurt you" in big letters. As a follow up, his (I assume) licence plate said, "No mrcy". That's right, so merciless that it left out the E. It is my deepest wish that in fact, Jason Statham was driving that car. And that car was a death car defying fate.

Today I also went to McDonalds. There I saw this girl I had worked with the summer of senior year as a camp counselor standing behind the counter. At the time, she had to been about 24 and had an attitude about her that nicely put, informed of all us that she had it together and was going places that were probably better than us. Not so nicely put, she was kind of a bitch. Only kind of though. Today she was wearing the terrible McDonalds uniform and had the same posture before. But now the slouch she always had seemed more prominent with the burden of subtle defeat. We definitely recognized each other, but neither of us acknowledged it.

As we avoided eye contact, I felt myself burning with embarrassment. Why? Here are some thoughts.

1. It was sad to see someone formerly so proud reduced to so little. She handed me my order and verified whether I had ordered the McNuggets for me. It was truly sad.

2. Why didn't we say hello to each other? I think we both wanted to pretend that this incident never happened and just move on with on our lives. I however, decided to blog about it.

3. I felt bad because I am in a better place than her. Which leads to #4.

4. Is it bad to work at McDonalds? Probably not, but I hope I never do. I am just determined to do more. But that leads to another question. Is that being arrogant? No, I just want more for my life. Is that me looking down on another person's lifestyle? I guess so. Weird.

You Belong With Me...not that bitch!

2009-07-31T13:43:00.006-04:00

Taylor Swift is America's new sweetheart. Well, maybe not quite but she seems like a nice, country gal who sings about nice, country gal things. What a sweet girl right?

Wrong!

Taylor Swift is actually an evil home-wrecker. She is the classic Passive Aggressive home-wrecker type. Her latest radio single,"You Belong with Me", seems like a song about destined love. Swift sings, "If you could see that I'm the one who understands you. Been here all along so why can't you see? You belong with me."

(An aside: Check out the video. Crazy Taylor Swift is sending messages via paper signs and just generally being a weirdo. If I was that guy, I would never leave my curtain open. Apparently, Taylor Swift is better than the other girl because while that other bitch wears "short skirts", Taylor Swift would never do that. She wears t-shirts. What? That doesn't make sense, those two articles of clothing aren't even comparable. Does Taylor Swift wear the t-shirts as dresses? It should be "She wears short skirts, I wear long skirts" or "She wears short skirts, I wear pants".)

Anyways, Taylor Swift is attempting the "nice guy homewreck maneuver. " While nice guys generally employ this approach by always being there for the girl they are secretly in love with, it almost always fails because that stupid girl never realizes that they were destined to be together. Damn you stupid girl, sorry nice guy. However, this strategy does work better for cute girls. I wonder why.

Then there is Avril Lavigne, the super rebellious pop princess. She just straight up tells the other guy she does not like his girlfriend, and that she instead could be his girlfriend. Check out the video. Unlike passive-aggressive Taylor Swift, cool Avril Lavigne expertly chips a golf ball into the girls head and knocks her into a pond.

Aren't both of these actions equally unacceptable? No one likes the "best friend" of your significant other who hangs around them all the time. And while both parties claim they are just "best friends and always will be", only one of them actually believes that. And I'm sure no one likes the golf-ball-chipping, dance-up-on-your-mans-in-front-of-you, Avril Lavigne type. But if these dudes are really with such terrible girls...aren't Taylor and Avril actually doing them a favor? It still comes down to: is home-wrecking harmful or helpful? Are you saving a loved one (they may or may not know it) or are you sticking your nose, or something else, where it doesn't belong?!

For more thoughts on scoring on a guarded goal, click here. Just for the record, I don't necessarily condone home-wrecking because karma can be cruel. But as my friend Nike once told me, "Just Do It".

Just because there is a goalie...

2009-07-30T00:32:00.007-04:00

(David Beckham scoring a free kick against Genoa)

...doesn't mean you can't score.

But should you be even shooting? Here is an interesting conundrum. If a girl (or a guy), has a significant other, does that really put them off the market? To boil it down, is spitting game at a girl in a relationship wrong?

Yes:

She has a boyfriend for goodness sake, respect the relationship!

No:

A Darwinian approach to relationships would be: may the best man win. It does show a clear disrespect to the boyfriend, but that doesn't matter because by trying to steal his girl you are actually saying, "I'm taking your bitch therefore you are also my bitch."

Lets approach this from the pursuer's perspective. What if you meet a girl that has a boyfriend and you know (you just know) that you are better for her than him (or just better than him). Shouldn't you be allowed to make a move? So many movies are about the nice guy who is in love with the girl with that douche-bag boyfriend, and we cheer him on as he tries to derail that relationship. That's right, derail. That's not a nice guy at all....that nice guy who "wants the best" for the girl is actually a dirty home-wrecker.

Or is he a home-fixer? If he really is better than the current douche, why can't he try to prove it? He is like the Martha Stewart of relationships. Should he be applauded for making the home a warmer, nicer place using baked goods and crafts or should he be locked up for lying about stock sale? If he can really bake the superior pie, whats wrong with trying to get her to taste a slice? Its up to the girl to decide whose icing she likes better anyways. Er...

That may seem alright (sans cake metaphor), but what about when the current boyfriend is a nice guy? Then people start to feel bad. I guess the line is drawn at the intent behind the action. Are you trying to be a home-fixer or you just home-wrecking for wrecking's sake. Like if you tried to break up a healthy relationship just because you wanted some and ruined some poor girl's life, that would be bad. But what if he is a nice guy, but you are just nicer?

Get 'er Done

2009-07-25T04:12:00.004-04:00

I feel accomplished.

Today, I worked out, worked the lawn, worked as a waiter, worked as an intern, worked as a president, and finally...yes finally, fixed my background.

Half of those things were accomplished after 1 AM. Who says I'm not a morning person.

An unforgettable soundtrack

2009-07-15T12:28:00.005-04:00

Everytime I look at my messed up background, I die a little bit inside. So I am (slowly) making my own website, and it will be awesome.

In the meantime, enjoy this trailer of the newest and hippest (or hippiest) indie film: My Mothers Red Hat.

It features an unforgettable story but an even more unforgettable soundtrack. Kind of reminds me of this movie. "Is this a cd or is this a movie?"

Its the wrong size

2009-06-14T00:13:00.003-04:00

Thats what she said.

Anyways, I've found out that my cool new background is not resizing properly. While I figure out how to fix it, here is what it should look like: HERE

A Dangerous Solution

2009-06-12T18:23:00.003-04:00

I miss the days of travelling and writing about my life. I would write more about my life but it just isn't as interesting as when I was travelling around in China.

This summer I could have been blogging for The Shanghaiist in, obviously, Shanghai. Instead, I am doing market research and creating a media kit for a local Chinese paper here in North Carolina. Just a dollop of irony.

So if you couldn't tell, I updated the background of the blog. What do ya'll think? Just a little dollop of Illustrator.

I have two brief stories to tell, filled with pointlessness and puns.

Yesterday an Asian friend and I were at the pool. It is actually important to state that he is Asian. We were lounging against the wall of the deep end and had our backs turned towards the rest of the pool. When we first turned our backs, the area before was calm. When we turned back around, it was polluted with a gang of prepubescent ruffians. You know, the young pool bullies, or "poolies" as I like to call them. The kids who don't have anything better to during the summer than lounge around in the neighborhood pool (which makes me wonder what I was doing there). To paint a better picture, these gangly armed youngsters brought their lacrosse sticks to the pool, because the pool is a great place for lacrosse sticks.

Anyways, one of the kids put a pool frisbee on his head and started doing an "Asian accent". The Asian accent is when you have the inability to pronounce the letter L, turning"Hello" to "Herro". However, two of his friends noticed us and with urgent whispers that we could clearly hear, hissed at the Asian impersonator to stop and that there were, "There are two of them right there." I laughed, loudly so they could clearly hear, as they awkwardly aqua-shuffled away.

So that story was a lot of buildup for nothing. I will now talk briefly about a Dangerous Solution.

I crashed at my friends place last night and borrowed her contact solution. Little did I know that her contact solution contained 90% hydrochloric acid. I found this out first hand as I seared my eyeball when I tried putting in my contact. I literally collapsed on the floor in pain. However, I didn't make a sound. Picture that, me silently postrated on the ground in agony. Apparently her solution was for "sensitive eyes", which totally explains why there was a necessity for the use of eye burning acid. It was indeed, a Dangerous Solution

So I am so near-sighted that it borders blindness. Now I was even more blind because I had burned my pupils. This was a predicament because I was in Chapel Hill and needed to return to Cary. So I decided to drive blind (It's okay, I took the back-route country roads and made it home safely to blog about it). But that too was also, a Dangerous Solution.

This is our future

2009-06-09T12:14:00.002-04:00

Project Natal is X-box's re-definition of what of the meaning of "interactive." Watch the video and prepared to be absolutely astounded. Imagine if this is what game designers are working on, what new wonders are "real" scientists creating? Peter Molynuex says that this is going to change the landscape of games that we play. I think that is clearly an understatement. This is going to change the landscape of the world today. It gives me a shiver of excitement just to think about all the crazy things we will bear witness to.

Arrival

2009-06-08T02:50:00.008-04:00

You know you have made your mark on pop culture when LeAnn Rimes, Chris Isaak, and Forrest Whitaker are performing opry-esque covers of your music. And LeAnn sings "Jizz in my pants" with such sincerity, what a moving rendition. The overall performance is so moving and extremely hilarious.

I've watched The Lonely Island go from making sketches online to blowing up on SNL, and now this. Truly amazing, it is just so beautiful. I love seeing Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, and even people like Bill Hader finally breaking through and landing all these new roles. Its gives me hope.

Life is for sharing

2009-05-16T21:35:00.005-04:00

This is old but good:

While the idea is not completely original (at all), T-Mobile does a great job in exemplifying their "Life's for sharing" slogan through the dancers slowly bringing in unsuspecting "bystanders" and by the end of the dance, the whole station is filled with people dancing. Great guerrilla campaign, I hope to be doing something like that soon.

Of course, the making of is always interesting as well, shows you how much work really goes into it:

Let me give you some Insight

2009-05-01T11:30:00.004-04:00

This is easily one the best example of maximizing the potential of the space given to you. It is quite literally thinking outside of the box. From the start to finish, the ad utilizes every inch of space available. Its unique use of the entire webpage captures your attention and leaves even the ADD unwilling to click away. It has a whimsical, enchanting touch to it, like you were witnessing the unfolding of a fairy tale.

Even more impressive is the making of this ad. The web ad was already dazzling, but the creation is something else. The lights in the ad could have easily been animated or done on the computer. Nope. Too easy. They had to do something that no one else had ever done before. Instead they decided to use "hundreds of headlights to create one of the world's largest LED screens".

Now that's pure ingenuity. This is why W+K is one of the best agencys around.

Creepy or creepily effective?

2009-04-30T23:11:00.000-04:00

Just creepy. This makes me not want to drive the car, but run away and report it to the police.

Oh baby you, you got what I need

2009-04-29T22:31:00.005-04:00

Pretty good advertisement. A Heineken ad by W+K Portland. It did a great job of making you want to crack open a Heineken and getting the message across that even after the night is done, with Heineken the fun still continues. Nothing better than some terrible late night karaoke with some pretty girls. Essentially if you throw that Biz Markie song on anything and it will look fun. Good job casting the taxi driver, jovial and doesn't give away the wit behind the tagline. Also the title, "Let a stranger take you home"is clever but I'm not really sure how the "Give yourself a good name" part relates.

Asian Obama

2009-04-15T00:20:00.008-04:00

Today someone told me that I had been introduced to someone else as, "The most white-washed Asian you will ever meet."

Later that night, I won the election to become President of the Chinese Undergraduate Student Association at the University of North Carolina.

As far as I know, these are the main reasons why people think I'm white washed:

1. I'm in a predominately white, southern fraternity

2. I don't hang out with Asian people that often

These are the reasons why I don't think I'm white washed:

1. Some of my closest friends are Asian

2. My girlfriend is Asian

3. I love eating Asian food and listening to Asians speak their native tongue

4. I watch Asian movies, listening to Asian songs and read manga

5. I know I'm in touch with my culture. Just scroll back a couple posts and check my adventures in the Far East.

Boom, roasted. However, when I talked to some people about this, they also said I was white washed. That included my close Asian friend and my girlfriend, who others consider white-washed as well. When I told my fraternity brother about me being white washed, he was furious.

"I hate when people say things like that. Barack Obama was white-washed, and look where that got him," he said.

I guess that makes me like an Asian Obama.

Cut

2009-04-10T11:52:00.004-04:00

Sometimes mobilizing some star power can really bring your message across. Here is an intense aid for women's aid starring Keira Knightely.

The message is straightforward and cuts deep and the ad is graphic and gut wrenching. My stomach felt uneasy after watching. I really had to resist the urge to turn away.

Its a good ad but I think in part that is because of the spectacular acting prowess of Keira Knightely (I may be biased). But having a notable and pretty face like that getting pummeled just attacks your heart. I think it makes it a stronger ad than if you had an "average" woman.

Also Keira Knightely is an actress, so it reinforces the whole "cut" message. It blends the Hollywood with reality, when she turns and says, "We didn't agree to that, that wasn't in the script" you have doubts whether she is acting or was it real. I almost expected her to deliver the typical PSA line then but instead she gets decked in the face. It is a powerful image when the camera zooms out on the desolate looking set. You realize the scene unfolding before you is a scene gone seriously awry and in desperate need of a director to step in and end it.

Clever

2009-04-09T15:39:00.005-04:00

These first two ads are clever. I like them because you actually have to think about it for a little bit and when that "Aha!" moment hits you, its awesome.

The special touch is the addresses. They made two other ones and they hotel that was on Mediterranean Avenue was more like a hostel and less luxurious than a hotel on Boardwalk.

The bottom two ads, not so much. Crank did not require a sequel.

This doesn't happen to everyone

2009-04-07T14:07:00.004-04:00

I am a lucky person.

I am attending the University of North Carolina, one of the finest universities in the nation. And as if that wasn't enough, they go out and and win a NCAA Championship. And they win it easily.

I am lucky because I' m a Tar Heel, which means I go to school in Chapel Hill. So when we win, I get the opportunity to rush Franklin Street with thousands of other Tar Heels. It is like a scene you think would only be possible in a movie. It was pure mayhem. There was just a constant roar of celebration. High fives and hugs were a plenty that night. I was like a piece of seaweed swimming in a sea of Carolina Blue. I didn't even have to stand up or try to move myself, I was just carried away by the energy of the masses. I started on the outskirts of the crowd, but thanks to the pushing of the estatic crowd, I ended up in the middle, jumping up and down and cheering my head off.

It was a night of utter chaos as Franklin Street turned into standing room only with thousands of people who had only one thought in their minds: we are number one. The streets were littered with shoes, cameras, and cell phones but no one seemed to really care at that moment. They must have accepted it as a small price to pay for experience they were now a part of.

That night, I I jumped fires, caught a guy who jumped from a sign post, stopped a fight, and cheered and chanted till my voice was gone. I got to embrace the Carolina Experience for all it was worth and get swept away in a whirlwind of sudden passion. I took part of an experience that truly, most can only dream of.

Whats in a name?

2009-03-28T21:21:00.008-04:00

For those of you don't really know me, I consider myself a honest person.

That being said, I am honest but I do enjoy making up the occasional tall tale. And by occasional, I mean all the time.

As people get to know me better, they begin to understand my (strange) sense of humor and the enjoyment I get out of making up stories.

So today I met a girl name Sara(h) Beth at my fraternity. Here is how the conversation went:

Sara(h) Beth: Oh, by the way I'm Sara(h) Beth.

Me: Hey, I'm Daniel Chen

David Reynolds: And I'm David Reynolds, but everyone calls me Reynolds

Me: Oh yea, you'll probably never hear our first names again. People just call me Chen (amongst Chens).

Sara(h) Beth: Sorry, did you say Chad?

This is where my love for stories kicked in. I told her yes, my last name was Chad. In fact, I was adopted but because everyone at my fraternity is racist, they call me Chen because I'm the only Asian and they thought it was funny. My friend Reynolds quickly confirmed the story and Sara(h) Beth bought it. You can't fault her though, because you really don't expect strangers to lie to you about their names.

The kicker is though another girl I've known for a while overheard the story and came over with an appalled look on her face.

"Oh my god," she said. "I never knew that, I'm so sorry. I've been calling you Chen this whole time. I'll call you Chad from now on."

Just give me 8.2 seconds

2009-03-25T15:08:00.004-04:00

So apparently it only takes 8.2 seconds to fall in love.

The article says that "The longer a man's gaze rests on a woman when they meet for the first time, the more interested he is."

Four seconds means he is not that impressed, but if it is more than 8.2 seconds he could be in love.

Two thoughts:

1. It is interesting that the longer a male looks, the more attracted he is while for females there is no correlation. I feel like that is incorrect. Have I been mistaking all the stares I get from the ladies? This study is probably wrong, but still interesting.

2. 8.2 seconds a really long time to stare at some one. So if the falling in love part doesn't work out, you just end up looking really weird and creepy.

3. Editted point: Chloe notes astutely that the last line of the article, "But women are more wary of attracting unwanted attention because of the risks of unwanted pregnancy and single parenthood."takes a large jump to conclusions. This only further enforces that while interesting, this study probably has zero scientific significance

So next time a guy is staring intently at you, watch out. He could already be smitten in love. And you could be pregnant.

Celebration

2009-03-24T22:28:00.005-04:00

My blog is finally starting to matter.

I started blogging in an effort to become more connected to the world. I never thought that the world would slowly start connecting to me.

I received this comment from Raul, a representative from Donate a Meal.com, in response to my last post. I thought I could poke fun from anonymously from a blog that I haven't spent any time publicizing (yet). Wrong. Thanks to the way the internet works these days, someone from Donate A Meal must have webcrawled and stumbled upon my usage/linkage to their site. And I was rewarded with a stern, but rewarding comment. On that matter, they have a very valid point and I was just being smart.

However, it makes me feel good that I managed to attract someones attention besides Chloe's. I also love how things like blogging and twitter are so relevant for the field I hope to go into after graduation. This is why I love advertising.

Their comment shows how important a role blogs play in today's world. A bunch of irrate bloggers can shut a project down while a happy bloggers can propel and idea to success. Either way, you can say the power they wield from the fact that some PR rep commented on my puny blog. Because alone I am nothing, but combined with thousands of other bloggers, we are everything.

I wonder if I'll get another comment because I mentioned: Donate a Meal.com.

Please sir, can I have some more?

2009-03-23T20:48:00.004-04:00

These days, people are finding more and more creative ways to raise money for charity. But still, there is nothing as timeless as a good 'ol guilt trip.

Donate A Meal.com has found the weirdest way to try and make you donate food for starving children: by taking the guilt trip method and creating a game out of it.

When you click on the site, you are immediately greeted by a sad looking child holding an empty plate. His dead eyes sear into you as if trying to determine whether you have an humanity in you and his stare suggests he doesn't expect much.

Then you enter the site and there is not just one child, but an endless of line of children, all assaulting you with their painful stares, admonishing you with their sad little eyes as they hold out their plates. Around them float food that you can put on their plates, which at the end, will be calculated and that is the amount of money you will donate.

I don't know how effective this is, but the whole things weirds me out. First of all, none of these children look that hungry. They are all wearing decent clothes, are well groomed, and are white. When I see them, I don't think starvation, I think suburbs. Also, some of the kids haven't really gotten the "pathetic puppy dog" aesthetic quite down and just looking nonchalant about the whole thing. I think it is the kid after the cute little girl in pink with the pigtails. He just looks like he is bored and doesn't really care whether you give him food or not. He is this little badass who if you wait long enough, will hold out his plate and sighs as if saying, "Whatever dude, just hurry up and decide".

The strangest part is the food selection floating around them. The variety is just so odd. Schnitzel and curd dessert? They all look picture perfect and look like they were taken from a Denny's menu.

The whole thing reminds me of the famous scene from Oliver Twist. But instead of gruel, they just have schnitzel floating around their heads.

Ugly people

2009-02-25T15:25:00.008-05:00

Today in my Current Issues in Mass Communication class we discussed (used loosely) how the advertising industry is evil because it objectifies women and reduces them to nothing to nothing but sexual objects. But instead of giving you a breakdown on the validity and misconceptions about that statement from a scholarly advertising standpoint, I will offer you two videos we watched. I may write an actual academic defense if someone actually cares.

The first is video is an award winning that is part of Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty. The other is a parody.

I don't know about all the gluttony, but I think the last phrase sums it up pretty well. No one wants to look at ugly people.

So this post goes out to the disenfranchised, overweight feminist. I thinks it interesting how other girls in the class defended, or at least understood, why advertising sometimes chooses to utilize this approach. Maybe there is a different underlying issue that is upsetting you. I hate to say it, but putting a fat, unattractive girl on ad is not going to move BMWs. Unless you are going for humor or she is actually moving the BMW. I think the phrase "shake what your mama gave ya" fits appropriately. If you are hot, lucky you, use it. If you are not, suck it up and work harder. Also, take an ad class or two and get some basis for what you are talking about.

Because I am in the Journalism School at UNC, my class is predominantly female. I'm sure half of them hate me now because I defended the use of sexual advertising in certain situations.

You can call me chauvinistic, but I'll just call you a suckup. The main reason I was so vocal today because I hate when people immediately jump on the good grade bandwagon. They regurgitate the PC answer they know the professor wants to hear. It is the easiest thing in the world to say "Oh em gee, advertising is bad because it is objectifying women! That is soo bad! Society is so twisted." That takes no balls to say. Granted, today it was mostly said by people with no balls, at least you are pretty sure they don't.

Unrealistic

2009-02-23T02:20:00.004-05:00

For some (poor) reason tonight, I decided to watch Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. And despite all the unrealistic things that happen in the movie, I just couldn't get over one thing.

How are they constantly driving around on this awesome alternative indie adventure and constantly conviently finding parking everywhere they sojourn? If I couldn't find parking, I would have gotten fustrated and went home. Trust me, I would. Also he lets the (a) girl drive his car near the end. Foolish.

What the Hell

2009-02-19T16:35:00.002-05:00

Stolen from the Funny or Die blog, but it made me laugh a loud in class so I figured it was worth sharing.

Bonus Question: Is Hell exothermic (gives off heat) or endothermic (absorbs heat)?

Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle's Law (gas cools when it expands and heats when it is compressed) or some variant.

One student, however, wrote the following:

First, we need to know how the mass of Hell is changing in time. So we need to know the rate at which souls are moving into Hell and the rate at which they are leaving. I think that we can safely assume that once a soul gets to Hell, it will not leave. Therefore, no souls are leaving. As for how many souls are entering Hell, let's look at the different religions that exist in the world today. Most of these religions state that if you are not a member of their religion, you will go to Hell. Since there is more than one of these religions and since people do not belong t more than one religion, we can project that all souls go to Hell. With birth and death rates as they are, we can expect the number of souls in Hell to increase exponentially. Now, we look at the rate of change of the volume in Hell because Boyle's Law states that in order for the temperature and pressure in Hell to stay the same, the volume of Hell has to expand proportionately as souls are added.

This gives two possibilities:

1. If Hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate at which souls enter Hell, then the temperature and pressure in Hell will increase until all Hell breaks loose.
2. If Hell is expanding at a rate faster than the increase of souls in Hell, then the temperature and pressure will drop until Hell freezes over.

So which is it?

If we accept the postulate given to me by Teresa during my Freshman year that, "It will be a cold day in Hell before I sleep with you," and take into account the fact that I slept with her last night,

then number two must be true, and thus I am sure that Hell is exothermic and has already frozen over. The corollary of this theory is that since Hell has frozen over, it follows that it is not accepting any more souls and is therefore, extinct......leaving only Heaven, thereby proving the existence of a divine being which explains why, last night, Teresa kept shouting "Oh my God."

The top of the world

2009-02-15T18:21:00.002-05:00

Its all about perspective. In reality, you are always on top of the world. Think about it.

Stupid fate

2009-02-14T18:58:00.006-05:00

I am not one for superstitions but yesterday was too weird for me.

Yesterday, Friday the 13th, was a great day.

I got everything I wanted to do accomplish done. I played some great basketball. I had a great a cocktail and a great night. I felt on top of the world. I went to bed a happy man.

Today was terrible. Pretty much the opposite of everything that happened last night occured. I got nothing done, played terrible basketball and torpedoed (which is definitely the most appropriate verb) everything that I had accomplished last night.

I had started writing a post last night about how awesome things were going because thanks to the experience I had gained from my mistakes, I was now able to avoid them. That turned out to be completely false.

I love blaming my problems on other things. But maybe this is karma coming back to slap me in the face.

Alone tonight

2009-02-11T03:11:00.003-05:00

This post is going to make every male reader I have go wtf. But since my readership is primarly female (aka Chloe), it doesn't matter. Actually, she may go wtf as well, it doesnt matter. I was discussing today with a friend that for a lot of guys, their primary goal for going out is to hook up. Why else would they be spending that money at bars? But though this may sound weird, there is something to be said for going home alone. In fact, I think its rather refreshing.

I guess in a way, I like my life to be segemented. I block off my life so during this time, I'm doing this and during that time, I'm doing that. And when things interrupt that schedule, like a chat with an old friend you haven't seen in a while, that is cool and fun because you are doing something unexpected.

But when it comes to going out, I like to see a definitive beginning and end. I like to go out, have a good time, come home and pass out comfortably. However, when you throw a girl into the equation, everything gets screwed. I realized tonight that I like talking to girls and having a great time when I'm out, but for the most part, I don't want it to extend beyond that. I think its more fun to mess with a girl and make her think you are trying to go home with her (not creepily) than actually do it.

On the most basic of level, it is no longer your night ends when you pass out in bed but it overlaps into the next morning when you wake up and there is someone next to you. And even worse is when feelings become involved it its not just you go out one night, the end, but you go out one night and things become complicated for the next three weeks.

When I come home from going out, most of of the time I just want to relax. I want to sprawl out on my bed, wriggle around a little bit, then drift off in to sweet sweet slumber. Throwing a girl into that mix just completely ruins everything. You have to worry about how she is doing, how she feels, does she need water, is she comfortable, is that rufi wearing off? No, I don't do that.

But seriously, hooking up is fun but adds an extra pressure that I don't want to deal with, such as having a good hook up or dealing with the ramifcations of said hook up. Most often than not, I'd rather just sleep in peace. I'm just trying to chill brah. Feelings are cool and everything, but not after or because of a night out.

Typical

2009-02-01T16:17:00.004-05:00

Not ever stereotype is true, but sometimes when you happen to catch one, it can be so sweet.

Last night, or at four in the morning, I sat in the T.V room of my fraternity watching Federer and Nadal battle it out. I had to sit in a chair because on the three couchs in the room, two were individually occupied by two of the biggest guys in the fraternity slumbering away while the third was taken by an alumni who had passed out face first and subsequently gotten layers of things stacked on top of him, including a recliner. Frat.

Another gem occured this afternoon as I was riding home with a friend who happens to be an Asian female. Now out the millions of Asian women that inhabit this world, I'm sure there have to be at least 22 competent drivers among them. However, this friend was definitely not amongst them. She is the kind of person who drives like a drunk sober and that is not an exagerration.

She is giving me a ride home and we pull up the final stoplight before our apartment complex. All that is left between us and our destination is one last left turn. Despite taking the most round-about route ever, the ride so far had been pretty smooth. Still, I harrassed her about her driving regardless because I am a jerk.

Just as the words "You can't drive because you are an Asian girl" leaves my mouth, she starts inching towards the red light. I laugh because I think, "Maybe she is joking with me, like haha since I am terrible driver I'm going to run through the red light."

It wasn't a joke.

She slowly pulls out with no intention of stopping. Instead she planned on turning during the red light so she could avoid waiting for the cars with right-away to go first. I am completely stunned. I tell her, "Its a red light." I am ignored. I raise the volume of my voice but to no avail. It wasn't until I started protesting violently that she finally braked, leaving us sitting awkwardly in front of incoming traffic. I buried my head in shame, knowing that every other driver was staring at us and nodding in satisfaction and self-affirmation to themselves.

To top it all off, she didn't seem to understand that what she did was wrong. I told her that you can't do that. She responds with, "Shut the hell up, I do it all the time."

School is in, sucka

2009-01-13T14:22:00.001-05:00

Something strange happened yesterday. It was the first day of classes and as I sat in various chairs listening to my professors throughout the day, I felt chills go down my spine. For the first time in a long time, I was actually excited to be learning. The thought of gaining new knowledge actually made me shiver in anticipation. So weird.

Another thing about the first day of classes is that after being away from UNC for a month, you get to be suddenly reminded why Carolina girls are the best in the world. Simply put, UNC is full of fine women. And since I have the pleasure of being in the J-school, I am constantly among the three males in a class surrounded by roomful of beautiful ladies. Thank you J-school.

Another thing about the J-school is as I take more major specific courses, I start having a lot more of the same people in my classes. But although I may have three classes with someone, even sometimes back to back, we have never actually interacted. I feel like we should at least be acquaintances, but I don't even know their name. Is that my fault? Should I be seizing the opportunity and making new friends? Especially when most of my classmates are pretty girls?

Finally, my media law professor has a eerie resemblance to Patrick Bateman from American Pyscho. They both have the "almost too clean cut" look to them, with the neatly combed hair and the suits that fit not just right, but so right. But the most striking feature they share is that tailored monotone that has inflections in all the right places. Watch the movie and you'll know what I'm talking about. I'm not saying he is a psychopathic serial killer, I'm just saying he could be...at least he looks like one.

Home again

2009-01-11T06:30:00.001-05:00

So I have been home for about two days now and have been putting off writing a post to cap off the whole adventure. I have just been too lazy to find the words to sum up the entirety of my experience. But thanks to jet lag, here I am at 6 in the morning giving it a shot.

I have been home for about two days now. To be honest, when I first returned it felt weird. On one hand, it felt like I had been away for ages and on the other it felt like I never left. I just had this vague sadness resting in the back of my heart and it was hard to place the reason why. I figure it was because I had to leave some really good people behind and had no idea when or whether I will get to see them again. It wasn't until Thursday night when I went to Sushi Blues and got to see all my friends again that I was really happy to be home.

But now that I'm back, I guess it's time for a little trip overview.

Shanghai:

Pretty much all the bad things in my trip happened in Shanghai. If I hadn't lost my wallet or missed my flight, Japan would have much more awesome. My friend left me this comment on facebook that not only was the reason I missed my flight but shows that my feelings towards Shanghai are shared.

"Hey Dan, too bad you miss your flight. To make you feel better, I missed my flight once there too, coz the uninformed earlier check-in time and traffic jam on the freeway -- It's Shanghai."

Maybe it was just bad things happen to happen to me in Shanghai. But that is probably Shanghai's fault. Shanghai may get another shot from me. but right now the only thing that makes Shanghai okay is Daegan.

Xiamen:

I had a great time in Xiamen. Xiamen is so chill and relaxing. I got to experience a bunch of new things and be with a great group of friends. The food was delicious and the drink was plenty. Everything was cheap and life was good. I can't wait to go back.

Japan:

Stressful, lonely, but fun. I'm glad I went. Japan is such an interesting/weird place and there is always something cool to witness or something new to experience. The next time I go back though, its either with more money, a friend, or a wedding ring.

I guess if there was one lesson I have learned from this trip is the importance of friendship. As the saying goes, actions speak louder than words. Real friends do things for each other. I was really touched by the way my friends, and the friends I made, took care of me. None of the people I was with had known for more than a year but they treated me like we had been lifelong friends. When I sent Ah Ming an e-mail thanking him for taking care of me, he said "Taking care of you is what I should have done...because we are brothers."

This trip also opened up my eyes just how incredible it is to meet and connect with someone. Out of the billions of people in the world, the chance that two individuals cross paths is so rare. It important is to treasure the time you have with the people in your life because you never know when it will be the last time you see them. Whether it is when you graduate from college and go your separate paths or they are on the other side of the world, people have a way of melting out of your life if you let them. For the people you care about, hold on tightly to them and treat them right.

Well thank you readers for taking this journey with me. It really has been great knowing that people care about what is going on with me. Its actually Sunday now and tomorrow I start a new semester. I'm going to keep posting and I hope that ya'll will continue reading!

Just lost in general

2009-01-05T19:59:00.004-05:00

So much has happened in the past 24 hours that I'm kind of at lost as to what to write about. I guess some major news is I'm coming home early. One of the reasons is I'm almost broke but some of the other reasons are more private. Either way it feels like a defeat. The last leg of my trip has been a series of unfortunate events. But lets look at the bright side of things!

I have been leaving a capsule hotel. It is actually really nice. I have enough space to actually move around in there and the bed, which is the whole thing, is pretty comfortable. There is a TV with around ten channels, one of which is very scrambled porn. To get the real stuff, you have to pay 100 yen.

Yesterday I got to see Nobuko! She is still the best. But since I pretty much fell and love and got my heart completely broken again we are just going to leave it that. However, I will tell you about our Akihabra adventures.

Akihabra is the electronic and anime center of Japan. And that means you get some good 'ol Japanese weirdness. We got about 5 fliers for Maid Cafes, normal cafes except all the girls are dressed like maids, and was going to go but we ran out of time. The place in Shinjuku I am staying at is really close to the red light district, but Akihabra tops that in disturbing perverseness. We walked into what seemed like a normal anime store but halfway through turned into porn store and saw some messed up stuff. I feel like this should be illegal.

But to top things off, we got to go to an otaku rock show. An otaku is pretty much someone who is super hardcore into anime or gaming. So Nobuko and I are walking down the street when this girl dressed like some sort of anime character stops us and hands us a flier. She says that they are going to be performing a dance in 15 minutes. So why not? Nobuko and I shuffle in nervously, completely unsure of what we are about to witness. While we waited for the show to start, we got to enjoy the skills of this guy who was rocking out the music before hand. He was really going at it but I only managed to catch the tail end.

Finally after much waiting and Nobuko telling me she was getting scared, these two girls come on stage. They begin teaching the crowd some sort of dance and I was started to think we had wasted our time. Wrong. Suddenly the lights dim, music kicks on, and the girl in the pink begins to jam out. I wish they allowed photographs because it was one of the most intense experience of my life. The room was filled with more energy than a lot of the concerts I have been to. I think it was an anime theme song but the crowd, young and old, not only knew all the words, but also some uniformed dance that they did with some crazed frenzy. They knew all the right hand gestures, the right time to chant things, and they all did it at the exact same time. It was so awesome. I mean, halfway through some guy busted out glowsticks and started to rave. Thank you so much Japan.

Kind of lost in translation

2009-01-04T13:12:00.002-05:00

I finally arrived in Tokyo. So far it already has been quite the adventure. Right now I`m posting from a Japanese Internet cafe which is a lot different from the Chinese ones. Everyone has their own private room and there are not smoke fumes clogging up the Internet place. Plus there is bookshelves after bookshelves of manga here. Another difference is that Japanese internet cafes are $4+ USD and Chinese ones are 50 cents. And for some reason, I can`t access facebook so pictures will have to wait. I`ll probably edit this post tomorrow with some awesome photos.

I exited to the lobby area of Narita Airport and realized I was way out of my league. I had no idea how to get to my hostel. The directions they gave me were terrible, all it told me was to get on the Narita Express to Shinjuku station.

I had been calling Sai from a payphone but gave up because it was too frustrating to use and instead resorted to borrowing random people`s cellphone. I got on the train and saw a guy sitting in the row behind me. He looked young and kind of hip so I asked him if I could borrow his cellphone. I said "excuse me" in Japanese and the rest was in English. To my surprise, he responded in English.

And not only did he let me borrow his cellphone, he took me all the way the hostel. And even though he was supposed to meet a friend, he stayed with me while I battled credit card troubles at check in. He then invited me out to dinner with all his friends and showed me around the Shinjuku night life. How lucky am I. It seems like everywhere I go I meet a super nice guy who takes care of me...no homo.

His name is Shawn and turns out all him and all his friends are rich Taiwanese kids who happen to all be fluent in English, Japanese, and of course, Mandarin. It felt like I hadn't even left China since they were talking in Mandarin the whole time. Except for they were all balling like money ain't a thang. Even though Shawn offered to pay for part of my tabs, I still dropped a considerable amount of money.

So far a a good start to my Tokyo adventure. However, thanks to Shanghai my credit card is gone and I have a limited amount of funds. And fate would have it that the hostel I'm staying at can't just input a credit card number so my cash is real low. AND since its some sort of national holiday I have to wait to exchange the remains of my American currency.

So it really is turning into an adventure. This post was real rushed since I don't want to be cut off in the middle of my expensive internet time. Sorry for any grammar errors. Wish me luck and hopefully I'll make it back!

I hate Shanghai

2009-01-02T13:00:00.001-05:00

Why?

Because instead of being on a plane that is almost at Tokyo, I am currently writing this post from the hallway of my friends apartment.

Why?

Because I missed my flight.

Why?

Shanghai hates me, and I hate it.

Now I have to pay $250 extra plus forfeit $50 for the hostel room I booked because they only allow cancellations 1 day prior. I have no RMB left and had to borrow 20 from one of the ticketing agents just to get back to this hallway.

Now instead of spending time in cool Japan, experiencing new things and having adventures, I am stuck in a hallway because my friend doesn't know I missed my flight and I have no way of contacting her besides waiting for her to come home. I am so angry right now.

I hate Shanghai.

Shanghai loves me not

2009-01-01T03:22:00.004-05:00

So far my adventure in China has been relatively smooth sailing. Tonight will be my last night in China, but Shanghai just wasn't going to let me escape unscathed.

Last Thanksgiving, Shanghai wrecked me real hard and amidst the carnage, I lost my wallet. This time, I had been fortunate enough to have had a pleasant experienceso far during my stay in Shanghai. I returned to Shanghai today for one final night before I continue my journey on to Japan.

Slept all of the flight till approximately 15 minutes before landing, when I got horribly sick. There was vomit. I caught a cab to my friend apartment, paid the driver, got into the apartment only to realize my wallet was missing. I had the receipt for the cab, so I called them and they said the driver didn't find anything. I frantically run out and try to retrace to my steps in the slim hope that I had dropped it and someone hadn't picked it up (Yea right, China). Another wallet gone. Dang you, Shanghai.

I had planned to go exchange my dollas at the bank and spend the day finishing buying presents for everyone. But it turns out all the banks were closed today. Sorry friens. Dang you, Shanghai.

Since Shanghai sabotaged my plans completely, it gave me plenty of time to think back about my time in China. It is weird to think that I may never see some of this people again. I was only in Xiamen for two weeks but I has become so familiar to me. There is something about the way I watched my Chinese friends interact and banter with each other that really struck a chord with me. It is very 亲密, or intimate and warm. And it was great being a part of that. I will miss my friends, hearing my Chinese name all the time, the cheap food, the cheap everything, the delicious food, the freedom, the lack of responsibility, Ah Ming's roommates, and many other things.

I feel a little sad that I will be leaving it all behind but at the same time but I need to move on. Honestly, I'm pretty much ready to come home. One last week of craziness in Japan, here I come. I'm kind of scared because I don't speak any Japanese and have no plans. And unlike China, everything is expensive. I'm actually really nervous. Wish me luck.

Wedding Crasher

2008-12-28T06:08:00.009-05:00

Today I had the pleasure of crashing a wedding. Not really, I was invited, but it was my first Chinese wedding so it was still a lot of fun.

However, I'm not confident I fully understand all of it because no one could really give me an answer to my questions. But as far as I know, the bride and the groom get married legally by themselves and then had this celebration afterwards. So no "I do, I do, you may kiss the bride" for them, and none of the traditional red veil stuff either. However, I'm sure there is a lot of tradition that I am just missing out on.

My friend Michael, former captain of the XiaDa basketball team, invited me out to 喝喜酒, which I think is the celebration after a wedding. It was one of his classmates weddings and and a bunch of his close classmates were all attending. We went off the island part of Xiamen and to the mainland part. A long arduous drive/walk because Michael got us lost but in the end we made it. It felt very informal for a wedding, but I didn't mind. There was tons of awesome food and drink.

Dish after dish came, including crab, lobster, fish, this Xiamen bug delicacy, and of course, copious amounts of drink. To me, it was less of a celebration of the bride and groom and more of a college reunion. Chinese people don't love to drink, they love to get each other wasted. And the former classmates would play rock, paper, scissors and the loser had to chug red wine. It was still a celebration though, every time a big party came in they would set off some fireworks. The end result was this rose petal like effect of demolished artillery. Cute.

Their professor was there too along with his kids and it was funny watching them run around amidst the action. Thanks to the professor, I got to take a look at the marital bed and some of the behind the scene customs.

All and all in, not much of a story but I had a great time. You can't go wrong with lots of delicious food and drink. And a picture is worth a thousand words, so please just refer to facebook for the good stuff.

Girls and skills

2008-12-26T14:10:00.004-05:00

First off, I would I like to say thank you to all the people who actually read this. I don't know anything about witty, but it feels nice to know that someone actually cares (a little) about what I am doing and what I have to say.

Secondly, Merry Christmas! For some reason, all my dude friends were unavailable during Christmas so I had spent my holiday with an assortment of female company.

I spent Christmas Eve with this girl. Apparently we both share a passion for making things up. She told me a story about how one time at work she saw a big mouse crawling around the floor of her cafe. She saw it limping near one of the tables as she was taking the order of a customer. She decided it would be better if she noticed it first before the customers did so she told them that "I'm sorry, but do you see that mouse? That is our bosses pet and it must have escaped from the cage. It is so sad, it is actually kind of hurt." The customers bought it completely. She told the boss and he came out told a story about how he has had the mouse for over a year yet. Amazing. We stayed out till like 4 AM, playing dice and I watched her bully the neighboring table. It was a nice transition to Christmas.

Christmas Day I went searching for this massage place we went to last year. I walked by this little girl who announced to her mom, "I have to pee". She then proceeded to drop her pants and let it go right there on the street. I love taking pictures of little kids, but you can see how that would have been inappropriate. The rest of my massage story I'll save for another time.

That night, one of Ah Ming's roommates took me out to dinner. Just for the record, this girl had no idea I was American. She thought I was Ah Ming's cousin who was crashing on the couch for a while and asked me how many years I had been in Xiamen. She invited me to go out to a KTV with her co-workers later that night. Her friends couldn't to seem to comprehend I was American either and kept asking me for directions and to read things, and then making fun of me for not knowing my way around the area.

At the KTV, Ya Tou, a girl we met last year, was also there. She had changed a lot since our last encounter, when she was still like a little girl. Now she had all done grown up and threw some flirtatious advances at me, with the sly touch here and a coy brush there, which was all really weird for me. For some reason, I am unable to flirt with Chinese girls. It just feels so wrong, like kicking a little puppy.

The night began a little awkwardly since I didn't know anyone. But I soon won them over the way I win everyone over all in China: being American and having amazing dice skills. I gave them a nice rendition of Backstreet Boys "I want it that way" then proceeded to wreck everyone at suai zi. I think I was responsible for the inebriation of at least 3 people. Apparently this girl I was helping play was really impressed by my ability. She was getting decimated by this other girl, who had the aid of a dude, and I was having to drink for her every time she loss. So I took over the reigns and completely dominated the other team. By the end of the night, there were two dudes who weren't even pretending they were even playing her trying their hardest to defeat me, this errant American, without success. She really liked this and soon her arm was around mine, hand was on my leg, and of course employed the sly accidental caress. Dice must be like an aphrodisiac to them because the girl I hung out with on Christmas eve was also enamored by my prowess and would make me challenge the other customers.

Too bad I'm such a nice guy :P

I forgot to mention that at like 11:00, Girl sent me a text asking me if I was happy. I did not respond.

I am tired

2008-12-24T02:02:00.010-05:00

First off, its Christmas Eve but I'm not really feeling the spirit. The Chinese are, but once again I don't think they really get it.

This girl has some sort of bug mask on and this other guy was standing in front of a group kids, smoking a cigarette and looking all around very un-santa like.

Besides not being in the holiday spirit, this will be the first Christmas I will be away from my family and friends. Feels weird and I want to be home.

Girl (thats what I have her saved in my phone as) turns out to be a terrible, terrible...female. The more time I spent with her the more I felt the urge to either punch her in the face or strangle myself. We went on a "date" and decided to go to a cafe. She lives really close to a couple cool cafes that are really chill have a great atmosphere. But instead of going to one of those, we hop a 20 RMB cab ride to this hip new cafe because she doesn't like the 感觉 "feeling" the closer cafes give her. We then sat and drank pink tea from this cutesy little teaset where the handle of the teacup was too small for me to even hold. Note that that tea is actually sitting on a set of heart shaped candles. Awesome.

Then I got to hear about how rare it is for her to give out her number, and how a lot of foreigners think she is really pretty, and how she is better than every other girl. I don't really feel like writing about her but perhaps I'll embelish another time. Suffice to say she was devious and concieted.

Not in blog mood but I figured I should throw one up. I'll write about some of the more interestings things that have been happening later.

Of all the noodle joints in the world, you walked into mine

2008-12-22T16:47:00.001-05:00

It was love at first sight. Just kidding. But I do have a romance movie-esque story to share.

Remember the pretty girl I asked for directions my first day in Xiamen? She would occasionally cross my mind and I would think "Hm, she was really pretty. I should go back and talk to her." I had similar thoughts today about storming into her shop and sweeping her off her feet with my charm as I was riding the bus to Xia Da.

I head towards a dumpling place that we went to a lot and sadly, it was closed. I didn't mind though because there was another great dumpling place nearby and so I strolled over there. That was closed too. That made me sad as I thought back to how much Xiamen has changed since I was last here. So as a third option, I went to this noodle place we had been to once or twice.

Last year the place was pretty crowded, but when I walked up the stairs, I was the only one. I sit down and order then she walked in.

I remembered her immediately, but she peered at me inquiringly before recognition struck her. I sat at my table and waved at her. She responded timidly and we had a brief conversation and I asked if I could take her picture. I told her I wanted it because it was such a coincidence that met again, which is true, but in my head I just wanted a picture for my blog. She said something about how she doesn't like her picture to be taken so we made a little more conversation then she said "Okay, well I'm going to sit over here" and moves to table away from mine and sits down facing away from me.

She seemed pretty shy and I laughed to myself, thinking I must have scared. It was unfortunate that we were the only people in the restaurant yet she opted to sit so she doesn't even have to look at me. But I settled in my head that it was enough that she had happened to walk in and it would be a good story. But then she slowly turned around and started making conversation and next thing I knew, we were sitting a the same table eating lunch.

Turns out coincidence brought her here as well. She wasn't planning on coming (that's what she said) but ended up here anyways. Conversation got better and it appeared she was the ideal girl. She is incredibly pretty, the picture doesn't really do her justice. She models clothes for the shop she works for, spends her time studying or practicing piano, which she does because she thinks its good for a woman to be able to present herself. She is soft spoken and has an air of refinement to her, but as she informed me, when she "plays she can get crazy". She invited me to go rock climbing with her. Promises of English lessons were also made. Perhaps she is using me, but that is fine with me. She can use me all she wants. After lunch, I walked her home and she asked for my number. She gave me the real close, shoulder to shoulder treatment as she typed her number into my phone. We said our goodbyes and I turned around and started walking away when she called out after me "Thanks for walking me home" and kind of ran away.

Oh I can put up pictures now, hopefully all them on facebook soon. No one likes picture overloads on facebook so I'll try to upload them in dosages.

They just don't get it

2008-12-20T21:13:00.003-05:00

Tyler Hansborough just broke UNC's scoring record. Chinese college's are still struggling to figure out what game they are playing.

Today I went with Ah Ming to watch a Xiamen University (Xia Da) basketball game. It was one of the worst display of ballership I have ever seen. It looked like a taller version of the random people I played basketball with last semester. When the Xia Da player threw the ball to an attempt a half court point before the quarter ended, it missed the backboard and went into the stands. I don't think I saw a single play run. Except for the end, when the Xia Da coach called a timeout with only 1 second left. That's smart coaching right? Too bad that Xia Da was already up by 10 points.

But that wasn't really thanks to the skill of the players but the referees. Over excited and extremely biased, they didn't even pretend to be fair. Every time they made a terrible call they would leap at the player, fingers pointing accusingly, with some weird hop step. For instance, every time someone on the opposing team even brushed someone from XiaDa, a foul was called. That was until the last minute, with the game still winnable for the other team, and the other team tried to foul on purpose, the ref just didn't call it. And then he decided to give one a flagarant foul just for kicks. At the end when Xia Da was about to run their brilliant last second play, the other teams players just stood on the other side of the court and waited for the game to end. The Xia Da players complained that that the other time weren't being good sportsman and they ref sped over, fingers wagging, as he lectured the other team's coach.

Another thing they don't seem to get is rap music. They don't seem to understand that poor replication of already terrible music won't make it any better. And this video is further proof that they just don't understand basketball. Sorry guys, the court is not for performing bad imitations of Soulja boy. Don't worry if you can't understand Chinese. I understand the lyrics but I still don't understand the lyrics. But none the less, I will end this post with few gems of their wisdom.

"Yea I am superman You are a loser".

Culture and couches

2008-12-20T13:33:00.001-05:00

I'm happy to report that for now, I have shaken off the blues.

Mostly because I am so consumed by frustration with Chinese computers and the internet. Every post takes twice as long because something always goes wrong. For instance, now its not letting me post pictures. I also have not really revisted the old spots we frequented during our semester here. Blogging has actually become very thearuptic for me.

I moved out of the hotel and moved on to my friend Ah Ming's couch. So now I went from a couch in Shanghai to a couch in Xiamen . Spent yesterday walking for an hour than talking for three more with this guy who used to be (is still ambiguously involved with) gangsters. I heard some of his crazy life stories and I feel like I should be kind of afraid around him but I'm not. But seriously, his life is the things movies are made of.

They asked me to show them some of American movies and Fight Club being one of my favorites, I decided upon that one. After we were five minutes into it, I realized I picked one of the worst choices ever. The American dilemna of middle class stagnancy and wasting your life probably isn't something that resonates with them.

For instance, after we got back from eating and drinking at this little place right down the road and by the street, we returned to Ah Ming's apartment and some how they got on the topic of the one child policy. One guy starts talking about when his mom was pregant with his brother, they had to go hide out at their grandmother. Someone told on them and they had to give up their house to pay the fine and their family fell into poverty. They were talking about it about all very casually, almost jokingly. He had a smile on his face and just shook his head as he said "Those couple of years were very harsh." Blows my mind.

Feelings are stupid

2008-12-18T03:49:00.007-05:00

The past 24 hours has been one giant mood swing for me.

I sit writing this post from Brown Sugar, a little cafe in Xiamen frequented by foreigners, listening to some relaxing Frank Sinatra-esque duet. Internet is super slow here, so I'm going to have to find a different place to upload my Shanghai pictures to facebook.

Spent my last night in Shanghai and it had a great time. I ate dinner with Daegan, Lizzy, and her Irish friend Sean. We started drinking at dinner, bought some more refreshments afterwards and played cards in Daegan's apartment where Ricky met up with us. After finishing our beverages, we headed out to this bar called Barbarossa that overlooks a small pond in the middle of the park I had explored yesterday. I actually stumbled upon it and thought “That looks cool but I'm never going in there". We met Daegan's Norweigian friends where the ladies got to enjoy a free open bar. And I got to enjoy finishing Daegan's free drinks.

We left Barbarossa and went to a bar called Candy where once again, there was another open bar this time for just 50 RMB (8ish USD). I learned my lesson about open bars from my last year during my Shanghai visit and did a little taste testing first. All the liquor there definitely was not real. We cavorted there for only a hot minute then we were off to another place called Zapatas.

Lots of dancing on bartops and one of Daegan's Norweigian friends kept coyly stealing my hat、I did not like that. I messed with the bartenders and told them I was an American journalist doing investigative reporting and when they asked for my credentials, I showed them my drivers license. All of them refused to have their picture taken and when I managed to snap some, they forced me to delete it. All these bars were filled with foreigners and I even got a free drink bought for me buy this guy who was hitting on Daegan. Maybe it was to distract me so he could pursue his pursuit of Daegan. It kind of worked, but I didn't stop me from taking a picture.

Stumbled out and I wanted to go to the infamous City Diner, which apparently was like the Time Out for foreigners in Shanghai. We got there and I went to the bathroom and when I came out I found Daegan like this:

So there was no eating and we headed back. Woke up next morning at 7:00 AM got ready to head to Xiamen.

Warning: Here begins the emotions, so emotions frighten you, then please skip down to the pictures. If you have no emotion, therefore nothing frightens you, read on.

Got there and checked into the hotel I lived in while studying abroad. On the way up the elevator, I was overcome by regret. What the hell was I doing here? I felt so lonely and homesick. I got in my room and just lay in bed. There are all these sick restaurants and things to do but who is going to go with me? I was utterly defeated. I missed Daegan a lot for some reason. It had been great to be able to explore Shanghai and see all these new things but at the end of the day come back and hang out with her. Now I was alone, a stranger in a place that used to be so familiar. Everything here has changed so much. A lot of the campus has been altered by construction and most of the neighboring streets have been torn down by construction. The room is smaller and the bed is harder than I remember. There are no UNC homies to go eat dinner every night at six, no little Nobuko to brighten my day. My friend just returned from Xiamen and she said though she loved Xiamen, it was time to close this chapter in her life. That is where I messed up, I never closed that chapter in my life. Now The whole thing is pretty sad because I should be super excited to be here. I guess I just hate being alone. To highlight how stupid I am, I was trying to find the hostel to see what the prices were there and I stopped to ask directions. She was a really pretty girl and gave me the biggest smile when I was talking to her and I immediately felt better. I even went back and asked for directions again. One thing that has changed for the better is Xiamen no longer is the land of ugly people. Guess what I loved about Xiamen wasn't Xiamen really, but loving Xiamen because I was here with great friends and I girl I loved.

After going to Brown Sugar I met up with my old buddy Ah Ming and we went to Landison's restaurant for dinner. These two guys are people I got pretty close to during our stay in Xiamen last semester and I hooked them up with some sweet UNC gear. We enjoyed some great food and had lots of drink. There is this stereotype that Asian's can't hold their alcohol. That must be Asian American's because the Chinese treat drinking almost competitively. Ah Ming told me about a girl who could drink 4-5 bowls of beer in a row, without being sick. That is the equivalent of drinking 4 or 5 34 oz beers in a row. Give her a bid.

Prostitute?

2008-12-17T19:11:00.001-05:00

After the day's wanderings I found myself on West Nanjing Lu. It is a cool street, lots of designer shops, brights lights and glass. The prettiest girls I had seen so far in Shanghai were all here for some reason.

Now its time to play the game "Was she a prostitute?"

Now I'm strolling down the street, headed for the subway station to go home. As I walk past this alley way this woman stops me and asks if I know where a certain road is. She is pretty, good not great, and like most asian girls, short. I smile apologetically and say that I don't. She then exclaims "You're not from Shanghai?" I say no, I'm from America. Suddenly her friend who had been standing at the side perks up and comes and joins the conversation. They comment on how much I look Chinese. That is the reaction I always get and I think they assume that I when I say I'm from America, that I am saying I'm white. We make a little chit-chat and I get confirmation that I'm headed towards the subway and I move on.

Prostitute? I didn't think so.

I continue walking and five to ten minutes later this woman literally springs out at me asking for directions. I mean, she legitimately spooked me. In fact, I didn't really hear what she said because she startled me so much. And while the previous lady was non-threatening, this one gave off some serious hooker vibes. She was older, thick blue eye makeup and a worn, mature look to her and looking at me with eyes of a predator. (Side note, she had younger, prettier, friend who was dressed modestly). In fact, I make this very obvious by standing very defensively...body tilted back and eyes looking at her with much caution and wary. This lady also says "You're not from Shanghai? Where are you from?" I hesitantly reply "America". This time instead of the usual "You look Chinese" response, asked how old I was. I told her and she laughed and said I looked like a "xiao hai zi" or a little kid." We made awkward conversation for a while with me leaning away and then she then asked if I wanted to buy them coffee. I declined.

Prostitute? Maybe.

I keep walking and I reach a crosswalk. I see two girls shoot looks at me and I kind of jumped. I have a habit of talking to myself when I'm walking alone and I start saying everything I'm thinking aloud. The girls look at each other and whisper, and I slowly back away. I take out my camera and was going to take a picture of something but apparently I must have looked frantic because another attractive lady asks me if I needed help taking a picture. I said no and then she asked me where I was from...she said I looked like I was ten. I told her she looked like she was ten. She said she was joking and that I looked 17. We are walking the whole time and I tell her about the previous two experiences. She tells me I think too evilly of Chinese people and I say clearly they didn't want coffee. She tells me again I think too evilly of Chinese people and plus whats wrong with coffee? Soon after she says is going to go get something to drink and we part ways.

Possible all three of them were prostitutes. Possible none of them were. I just told Daegan about my encounters, and after I told her it was on Nanjing Lu she said "That makes sense". All I know is that attractive girls don't just stop and talk to me. Maybe its the America in me. Or maybe they are prostitutes.

What put the thought of prostitutes in mind in the first place is that posted up next to girl one was a guy who overheard our conversation and asked me if I wanted to go a bar with prostitutes.

You can never be lost if you have no destination

2008-12-17T09:28:00.002-05:00

That is what I said to Daegan as I applauded myself for not getting lost yesterday. I'm pretty sure I ripped that off from somewhere, but if not, sage words from me. So yesterday I spent my time just wandering around Shanghai and people watching. I debated whether this was a good use of my limited time, but decided it didn't matter.

Started off the day with a delicious lunch that between the both of us was only 30 RMB or less than 5 USD. This is what I love about China.

We had the famous Shanghai Xiao Long Bao, which is a famous Shanghai specialty. It is the dish in the middle of the picture and is pretty much a steamed dumpling with soup in it. Note the coke, which Daegan and I decided taste good with everything.

After that Daegan went to work and I began my journeying. Walked to the nearest subway station and got off at the People's Square. There were lots of high rises and cool buildings. I have lot more picture but I'll just upload those to facebook later.

I meandered into the People' Park, a cool little garden/park thing tucked away in the middle of all the glass and metal. It had a mix of modern and old, from rock paths and stone arches you find in traditional Chinese parks to bright, neatly cut lawns and contemporary wooden benches.

They were advertising this modern contemporary art muesuem but when I finally found it, it turns out it was closed for renovations. Me and this old Shanghai dude happened to arrive at the same time, and when we asked a gaurd to verify whether it was closed, they got into a little argument. The old guy then ranted to me about how the Chinese govenrment was wasting their tax dollars and didn't care about the needs of the people.

Left the park and walked to the Subway station where I sat and just watched people walk by for a while. Saw a girl standing there so engrossed in her texting that she slowly started drifting away and almost walked into a wall. Her head jerked up in surprise and had a look of confusion on her face as to how she got there. I also saw a little kid latch on a to a passerby and try to take one of the man's Sprites. Turns out the little kid was begger.

Before you start feeling bad, I had watched this kid go from holding his hands with his mom, who was trying to feed him something (which he kept refusing), to attempting to steal sprites, to getting a little cup and begging for money. During the Sprite stealing and begging part, the mom had mysteriously and conveniently disappeared. And since in China, begging is like some organized guild, most people don't give money so he got a lot of cold shoulders. I also followed suit and instead of giving the kid money, I just took his picture. But once again, don't feel bad because after he walked a little off in the distance, I saw him throw his cup on the ground and his mom reappeared again.

I hopped onto the subway again and saw more sights and took more pictures. Then I returned back to Daegan's apartment and napped till she got back. We went to a Korean barbeque place, where you grill your own meat, but it was only good not great. We ordered the cheap stuff and the waitress shot me the"You are a cheap man" look as she tried to upsell me, accosting me on getting the "flakey meat". I think she assumed Daegan was my girlfriend and probably also assumed Daegan couldn't understand Chinese. So she probably thought I was trying to be as cheap as possible without Daegan knowning. It must have killed her when she asked me what beer I wanted and I said "the cheapest kind".

And since Daegan is old now and can't hang with the young people anymore (she said she would make up for it tonight), we took a night off and instead went and got massages. But it wasn't just an ordinary massage nor was it a "massage". In some ways it felt even more wrong. This place massaged you while you watched a movie. After finding amusement in watching a little kid scavage for money, I was finishing off the day with someone rubbing my feet while I enjoyed a movie. I felt guilty, but once again did not stop me from photographing it.

It was an appropriate way to end the day, having someone massage your feet after a long day of walking around everywhere. However, tonight will be my last night in Shanghai and I'm hoping to do it big. No repeats of my last last night in Shanghai though.

Hotpot and Foosball

2008-12-16T17:33:00.002-05:00

Last night we met up with Daegan's friend Ricky and her roommate Lizzy for some hotpot. An interesting group, Lizzy is half-British and Ricky is Chinese with near perfect English and good understanding of the American culture as well. After some explaining, he was able to comprehend "thats what she said", which was impressive.

Hotpot was good. We had lots of food and jokes, drinks and a good time. After dinner, we decided to go barhopping and went to this one street filled with as Daegan put it "sketchy bars".

At first our plan is to have one drink at every bar but the first one we arrive in has no one there and 60 RMB for a normal beer, which is the equivalent to about 8 USD. So we quickly leave and move down the line. However we decided to forsake the next bar as well because of the madam-esque woman outside yelling "Come in here! Free shot and table dance!". I had forgotten that in China, one main form of "advertisement" is for someone to stand outside their whatever and harass you about going inside. We decided to go next door instead, to a bar called Woodstock.

They had a great drink special, half-liter Tiger draft mugs for 40 RMB. But what impressed me even more was this special:

This bar eerily reminded me of Chapel Hill. We walk in the Wake Forest vs. WSU game is on and 80's rock is blasting away. We get some beer and play pool. Midway through the game, a drunk Brit comes over and starts talking to us and asking about next game. He sees that we are playing guys vs. girls and laughs assuming the dudes will win and walks away.

Unfortunately we lost. We then moved on to foosball and more beer and this time another Brit comes over and plays with us. And he was incredibly good. Until that night, I had never seen anyone dribble in foosball. He talked about how he and his friends used to hustle French guys at foosball for drinks. He then challenges us to play foosball for drinks as well.

Ofcourse I accept, even though I'm terrible at foosball. After seeing me play the first game, he set the wager as he had to score 10 before me and whoever scored 3. I picked another Brit there to be on my team. We lost. It was close though, it came down to 9-2, very intense.

Mystic Chinese Dumpers

2008-12-15T17:19:00.002-05:00

I woke up this morning after having a dream that I had overslept and everyone had left. Turns out it was 7 AM and I was the first one up. I meet Daegan's roommate for the first time as she stumbles out of her room. The first thing she says is "Good morning" which felt nice for some reason.

I went to work with Daegan today. I hung around for a little then went on a walk for an hour or

so then came back and met Daegan for lunch. We had some Dong Bei food, that is Daegan's favorite.

After lunch I decided to go to Yu Yuan, a great place for shopping, especially if you want to buy cheap fake things. We had a fun time there last year when we visited Shanghai during Thanksgiving of my study abroad. We haggled so much at one store that we became friends with the workers there, I even got invited to dinner by one of the girls.

I took a taxi there and it dropped me off in the actual Yu Yuan but I wanted to go to the outer,

older sectors that surround Yu Yuan where the cheap goods are. I also wanted to see if I could find those same people again. Unfortunately I had no idea where it was, everything looked different and I just had to wandered around for a while. But here is where I give my memory credit. First, I spotted this alleyway and I knew I had been down it before:

So I go down it, which lead me to this:

A sketchy blue door. But last year after haggling at one certain shop, they led us to where the good stuff was. One guy took us down some back alley to a treasure drove of fake Polo, Gucci, Armani, Northface, everything. So taking a leap of faith, I rang the bell on the door and sure enough...there it was. Apparently it was still owned by the same owner but they had shut down their actual street store. I was sad that I wouldn't be able to find those people again but proud of myself for finding the little hideaway.

I walk back out to the road when I see this face at one of the stores:

It was one of the girls we had met last year. She instantly recognized me. We struck up conversation and apparently she had started working at a different shop. I told her I wanted to buy sunglasses so she called up her boyfriend

who was the guy that led us to the sketchy blue door last time. They both remembered Angela as the short girl who was funny. This time he led me through an even longer series of back alleys to what looked like a place that sold medicines. Little did I know I was brought to one of the most mystic shops in China.

First the guy tells the girl at the shop I want to buy sunglasses and she slides out a tray of sunglasses hidden under one of the display stands of medicine. I thought that was interesting but as I was haggling, I watched them bring some other customers into the store. Next thing I know, they pushed back one of the shelves and disappeared into room full of fake loot.

The best part that is in that secret room, there is another hidden door to another secret room. Mystic.

No longer in America

2008-12-15T01:15:00.002-05:00

Hodgers and friends,

I was feeling a little bummed about being gone all break and after spending a night talking with one of my friends, felt like I would be missing out on so much when I was China. I woke up at 5:30 and the combination of being tired and wanting to sleep plus the sinking feeling of reluctance made me feel like I was making the biggest mistake ever. As I said goodbye to my parents and walked to the security check I had a case of mild depression.

I was sitting and waiting to board my flight to my connection in Minneapolis, feeling sad, until the craziest thing happened. A guy I know from UNC, Ivan Ng, shows up in the boarding line. And though we aren't really friends, more like acquaintances, I immediately felt revived and refreshed. Guess it shows how much I hate being alone.

From there on everything was pretty good...no more feelings of doubt and regret. Flights were smooth and everything was for the most part on time. Though there are some funny stories to share.

My connecting flight was in Minneapolis and me, Ivan, plus another guy I didn't know from UNC were sitting at a Mcdonalds using their power outlets. I'm idly working on a cover letter I didn't finish before I left the States when I hear some guy talking about me just loud enough so I could hear. He wanted to use an outlet to charge his DVD player and since me and the other guys I was with were all sitting at separate tables, was passive-aggressively asking us to move. So catching the hint, I re-situate myself and he goes and charges his DVD player. Now you hear the stereotypical stories of the overweight terrible white guy who gets the mail order bride. I wish I had a taken a picture of the guy, but I was distracted by this:

Anyways, this man had the worse haircut ever with mustache to match. He strikes up a conversation with a handicapped McDonald's worker. The following conversation went like this:

"Mama has changed for the worse."
"I just have to get rid of mama and everything will be fine."
"Her first husband died after a year and a half...I can see why."

This overweight white guy with a terrible mustache is complaining about how terrible his wife is when this small (equally terrible looking) asian woman comes over and proceeds to bitch him out. Though this affirms his story, I still couldn't feel any pity. Simply because the whole time, he was complaining, he was actually passive-aggressive posturing to the handicapped worker. For example:

"I do all the yard work...and my yard is big, I could build another house in my yard."

There are more examples, but its not that interesting so I will move on.

After much more flying....15 hrs+ I finally arrive in Shanghai. I believe that China has become much more progressive, but the experience was still a little weird. I walk down to where everyone has to go through security and there has to be at least a hundred people there, but there was no noise at all. Everyone was hushed and either whispering or silent. It was like a silent mob. I get in a line and midway I discover the reason why. There was a sign that said "Be quiet. No pictures." Wish I had got one.

Keep in mind this story is chronological but not exactly complete. Anyways, I get out of the airport and instead of catching a cab, take on of the illegal cabs where a guy approaches you and you just haggle for a price to get where you want to go. I knew he was ripping me off but I only haggled half heartedly and got in.

I arrive at my friends place and then I have the most fitting night for my return to China: beer and chau'r.

Chua'r is like little bar-b-que chicabobs that I ate all the time when I was studying abroad. Me and her had great night just drinking and catching up and then we went back to her apartment and here I am writing this post before passing out.

I'll try to take more pictures and write about more interesting things. Objectively the last time I was in Shanghai....you should ask me personally because putting those kind of things on the internet could be career damaging.

Anyways, I'm feeling pretty good and not sad at all. Looking forward to some sick adventures.

Getting ready for departure

2008-12-12T20:28:00.003-05:00

In about 12 hours, I will be sitting in a plane on my way to China. But for some reason, I don't feel excited.

Instead, I feel apprehensive and regretful.

When I studied abroad in China, that was one of the best times of my life. Now I'm starting to feel like this is an attempt to cling on to the happiness of days past.

I'm feeling like I haven't seen my family in a while and after being home for not even a day, I'm on my way out of the country. Can you be homesick when you haven't even left yet?

This will be the first time I travel alone alone. Before I have always been with someone I know. It is kind of sad (pathetic) that I'm already starting to feel lonely when once again, I haven't even left yet.

I don't feel at ease. My entire body feels out of sync, like my joints and tendons are misaligned. I keep feeling like I am spending way too much money.

On the bright-side, I am ready for adventure. I already paid for the ticket, might as well enjoy the ride.

Professionalism

2008-12-10T14:28:00.002-05:00

Recently have I discovered just how important roles blogs (can) play in today's world. It is a great tool for sharing information and networking.

Unfortunately, due to the nature of my blog, the content is not exactly flattering nor does it highlight my strengths in anyways. That is why for the most part, I have made no attempt to publicize my blog and left my identity as ambiguous as possible.

It is more just a formalized venue for complaining.

So I have a reached a crossroad in my short-lived blog journey. What direction should I take my blog?

Truth

2008-12-08T21:14:00.006-05:00

Cyanide & Happiness @ Explosm.net

I hear your voice on the phone and I.....

2008-12-07T17:46:00.001-05:00

Oh god, Oh god, I'm sorry...this never happens.

I followed these guys since their Lonely Island days. Now they are rocking it out on SNL and this is their latest hit.

The worst

2008-12-07T02:57:00.007-05:00

The kind of person I dislike more than anything is the person who while talking, is already looking around to see how their statement is received. That way since they are only mid-sentence through their unoriginal thought, they can find some way to amend their thought to appease whoever's favor they are trying to curry.

The kind of person I like a lot is the person who notices above person's antics, and purposely fucks with them.

Example:

Guy 1: I like eating apples.

Guy 2: Dude you would like eating apple because you are so gay.

Guy 3: Well..I actually like eating apples too.

Guy 2: Yea, I mean eating apples is alright.

Try to identify who is who and play the scenario out in your head. Seriously, grow some damn balls. Sometimes I just want to see someone have one original thought, just one. I cringe over how pathetic it is when someone tries to volunteer an original thought but their spine can't support that rash decision and it immediately buckles under any disapproval. That anxious, nervous glint in their eyes as they wait for the first response makes me so sad.

I hope someone reads this and tells me how wrong I am. I will then get blackout and punch them in the eye.

Also, I finally had an epiphany as to the purpose of my blog:

This is a way to communicate with the people who are desperately trying to talk to me but can't because I am playing Smash Brothers.

Smash-tifaction

2008-12-05T01:05:00.000-05:00

I am procrastinating from doing my work and decided to write about something much more important to me: Super Smash Brothers 64.

This game means a lot to me. I am going to explain why.

1. Controlled instability

These days, its hard to count on anything. Often times I am overwhelmed by everything that is going on around me. There are so many things I have to do, from school work to working on life, that I feel like I cannot get a firm grasp on anything. But in this world of too many things I find a comforting stability in Smash Brothers. In Smash, there are only so many moves you can do. However despite this simplicity, there is still challenge. It is just the right balance of unknown and certainty. For example, there is rush of adrenaline to see if you can fly past an aggressive Yoshi edge guard but you'll never have to worry about Kirby refusing to spike because of emotional stress.

2. Bonding

When I play Smash, I feel closer to my brahs. Though it is not the frattiest thing to do, I feel like it is a great time to bond completely free of posturing. Everyone just sits there and tries to Smash as hard as they can. And the contagious excitement that spreads during a a close match is exhilarating. Watching and being part of the yelling and fist pumps is addicting. And I love that although who is the winner doesn't really matter that much (false), everyone gets caught up in a whirlwind of sudden passion. It is similar to watching T.V. at the Lodge, where everyone is completely on the same wavelength. I just feel extra connected with everyone when I am smashing.

3. Self-esteem booster

Amidst a world where I am constantly failing morally, intellectually, and socially I can find solace in the fact that I am good at Smash. It was such a great feeling of slowly etching my way up to the upper tier of Lodge Smashers. It is a point in my day where I know I can walk away with at least a couple of w's. When hodgers associate me with Smash in derision, I think its funny and take it as a compliment. Though Lodge Smash skills are on the rise, the challenge makes playing even that much better.

To close this post, here are some videos of amazing game play:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ym-2iZtUcS8&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBPF2_hsfTk

Smashfaction

Gay

2008-12-02T00:32:00.004-05:00

I am extremely bored now, so I decided to write a defense of why I have this blog and why the content is often very gay.

I have had a blog for about seven years now. Recently I decided to follow in the footsteps of my fellow hodgers, I switched over to blogspot. I liked the layout and it seemed appropriate for the more mature, cool, me I was trying to develop.

I did not know whether or not I should make this public, so I decided to do it sneakily. By commenting on Pomer's blog, I established a link to my otherwise unknown blog.

That makes my writing more exciting, because people may or may not be reading this.

I couldn't decide the purpose of this blog though I knew it would be not nearly as entertaining to read as other lodge blogs. In fact, I had the sneaking suspicion that it would turn out the way it is now: gayly.

I think this blog is my outlet for things I would be too embarrassed to actually say to someone, mostly because feelings are gay. But they are still things I want people to..know about me? Or just realize that is part of who I am and what I think about. I guess these are things I want people to know about me, but I don't actually care if they do or not.

I want to establish depth. I don't like being underestimated or taken as a fool. Though gay blogs like this don't help my case.

I haven't really come up with a good purpose for this blog yet, hopefully direction will be found later. At least in two weeks it will turn into a travel blog, and I will wish the gay stuff would disappear so people following my blog won't think I'm a pussy.

Either way, I write what I want. Gay, or not gay.

I want to marry my aunt

2008-11-27T00:08:00.000-05:00

Not literally, but I want to find a woman like her. She is the wife of my oldest uncle and pictured above. I could sing her praises forever about how caring or sweet she is, there are so many things that make her such a amazing woman. But for now, I want to focus on the relationship between her and my uncle.

We arrived in at their apartment tonight where she, my oldest cousin and her husband had waited for us to arrive to eat dinner. During the meal, my uncle calls to her to see if we had arrived safely. The following conversation just warmed my heart. I think he asked her what she had served us for dinner and she laughing asked if she needed to give a report about what food she cooked. The whole time during the conversation she had a small, excited smile like a teenage girl on the phone with a boy she had a crush on. She had a knowing, suppressed grin as she hung up as though even though she didn't say "I love you" at the end, she knew he loved her and she loved him.

I want a love like that. They have been married at least 30 years now and you can still witness their love, and my uncle wasn't even home yet. I think I found a girl like that once. It made me want to call her up and propose to her right then and there.

As a bonus, my cousin was talking about how there was a mountain of laundry piling up a their house and my aunt asks, "Isn't that your job?". That's a keeper.

Thats what she said

2008-11-23T02:22:00.000-05:00

I accomplished a lot this week. I had a lot of meetings, a lot of things that needed to be done, and it felt good to just bang it all out. I love the feeling of just nailing things one after another and getting it done.

Here is another example of me exercising discipline.

I was working today with two girls in my Media Planning group. This how a conversation about power cords went.

Girl 1: The power cords are all different.
Girl 2: Will's didn't even fit in mine.
Girl 1: Yea, you think they are all the same size but they are not.

I was completely silent, I didn't even smile.

Thats what she said.

Note to self

2008-11-17T00:01:00.000-05:00

I wrote an interesting note to myself last night.

Tonight: Don't die from blood lost

Then:
-Quit drinking (After beer in fridge)
-Join boxing club
-Let nothing stop you

You have no friends, only potential enemies

This is my recipe to hardness. Drinking gets in the way of my ambition. And though I love it, I need to stop it. I also need an intensity that I have lost. I need passion. I also need to efficient time management. And self-discipline.

Self-reliance is the key. Trust no one else, blame no one else. Life is so unpredictable, you should try to take control of the things you can.