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This is the journal of an overeducated, indie, totally pretentious, snarky, Hong Kong-born, Los Angeles-raised ex-New Yorker masquerading as a bright young thing working in Beijing, China. Cry with our heroine as she discovers the deadly subway squish! Cheer as our heroine triumphs against deadly mosquito infestations, water and power outages, truly awful squat toilets, and crazy taxis! Laugh as our heroine screws up her Chinese so badly that no one understands her!

Read the authorized autobiography!

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I also write the changchunguide and maintain the china_expats community.

Mostly public, but some entries are friends-locked and/or filtered. That's just the way it is, folks.

If I don't respond to your comment immediately, that's because Livejournal is generally blocked in China, and it can be a hassle to access even with a proxy.

Friending: go right ahead! Defriending: go right ahead! Every day is Friending and Defriending Amnesty Day!

I got the Hanban scholarship! I'll be studying the major of teaching foreigners Chinese (对外汉语). Ha ha! Those of you who know Chinese can imagine what that actually means. If I remember correctly the scholarship is actually for a master's degree in that major.

At least I'll never be out of a job with a degree like that!

OK! Before I start my semester, I think I'll do something crazy. LIKE, go to Korea for a weekend!

Well, that will teach me to make pre-emptive plans, I was all set to go home!

You know what is the absolutely saddest thing that I discovered while in England? That in the years since I had Neko, I have become horribly allergic to cats.

Every single one of the places that we stayed in - including Scott's house and his friend's place in Edinburgh - had at least one cat, sometimes two. And stupid, stupid me, I had brought the wrong packet of allergy medicine. Instead of the one that I thought was a full packet, I had brought the one that I had nearly used up. And it turned out that the allergy medicine that was in England was completely useless for me, including the generic version of Claritin.

In the two weeks I was in England I barely got any sleep. Scott barely got any sleep because my cat asthma was so extreme. Every single night I was wheezing and hacking away, but once we were out in the open air again I was fine. In Edinburgh we ended up having to run away to a hostel because the spare bed there was covered in cat fur. That was the only night I managed to have a good night's sleep.

This is so sad. I mean, how can I be an organic farmer and not have a cat to keep the mice away?! Or not have a cat to purr in my lap when I am reading the New Yorker and having a cup of tea on a rainy day? (This is my favourite memory that I associate with Neko.)

Because I'm on holiday now and only working two afternoons a week, I am cooking a lot.  I was inspired to write a post about the food blogs I love.

• Smitten Kitchen - My little sister tummybumps  loves Smitten Kitchen and she has got me hooked too.  First of all, the name itself forces me to love it.  Secondly, her photos are gorgeous. (Photos hosted on Flickr so they are inconsistently blocked in China.) Thirdly, the recipes themselves are fairly simple and exceedingly tasty, and for the most part I can easily find substitutes for the ingredients.  Try: Broccoli Slaw Smitten Kitchen-style, just had this for a nice, light summer lunch.

• Bitten - Mark BIttman is my hero for simple, easy recipes that are not particularly fussy.  He also discusses food politics a lot on his blog, which is definitely something I'd like to see more food bloggers discuss in tandem with their recipes. The comment section is also well worth reading.  His recipe for sorbet has long been a favourite of mine (and my friends who come over to eat my sorbet).

• SimplyRecipes.com - Whenever I plug in general search terms for a recipe with ingredients that I happen to have, Elise's recipes often come up. For some reason, her chicken recipes are the ones that I return to again and again: Lemon Chicken and Buttermilk Fried Chicken.

• Appetite For China - This is the blog of a Chinese-American (who grew up in Puerto Rico) who now lives in Shanghai.  I visit this website all the time for recipes, since I've long discovered that if I make local favorites myself, it tastes far better.  Two particular recipes that I love: Fish-Fragrant Eggplant (recently figured out how to make a vegetarian version of this: just substitute minced five-spice tofu for pork) and Gong Bao Chicken.  Mmm...Sichuan cuisine. A lot of the recipes on here are ones that I'm storing up for the eventual day when I do leave China and cry quietly in my sleep because I can't get Fish-Fragrant Eggplant with proper Sichuanese spices.

• Manjula's Kitchen - Manjula is the Indian mother that you always wished that you had.  Her website also has videos to help you cook (although they are blocked in China since they are hosted on YouTube).  So far, Manjula's Kitchen has been purely aspirational for me, but one day, I really will get myself down to the Indian market and pick up the appropriate spices to make aloo gobi and samosas.

• Just Hungry - If Manjula is the Indian mother that you always wish you had, then Just Hungry is the Japanese version.  Most of the recipes are from a Japanese-American living abroad in Europe, cooking her mother's recipes.  She also has a companion website called Just Bento. Another purely aspirational website so far, owing to the fact that my counter space is already crammed with Chinese sauces so not a lot of room for Japanese ones, but if I ever get a takoyaki maker, I'm going to make takoyaki.

What are your favourite food blogs?  Do share them! 

Asian Poses (with lots of cute Asian girls!)

I've spent my whole day entertained by this, since, no joke, I have done every single one of these poses. Guess I am secretly Asian after all!  However, I call the Louder pose "jazz hands" or "Judy Garland in A Star is Born."  Also, personally this pose was inspired by, you guessed it, My Sassy Girl.

Dude, I should be too old for this kind of stuff, but the guy is right when he says that posing makes photos more interesting. At least it's better than "drunk pose"!

I'm curious, for no reason whatsoever, about what the flist's skin care routine might be.
Poll #1413072
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 9

Describe your skin care routine:

When will I ever have free time again?!

I'm seriously tempted to check into a five star hotel in Tianjin and a lot of trashy novels over the upcoming Duan Wu Jie holiday.  Hotel. Bath. Trashy novels. Room service. Sounds lovely.

From a month-old post on the comm <lj comm=brits_americans>:

--
Regarding tea, while that may be a part of British culture it isn't exclusive and you didn't think of it first.

Tsk. We were drinking tea before your country existed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_tea_culture
http://www.britainexpress.com/History/tea-in-britain.htm
--

Speaking as someone who has lived far too long in China, this made me really laugh.

Was reading the Indiepop Mailing List so that I wouldn't feel so terribly out of touch and I came across this message:

--
When I first moved to Bloomington there was a girl in one of my
classes who really liked Jay-Jay Johanson and I really liked Jens
Lekman and I was like "you should listen to Jens" and she was like
"you should listen to Jay-Jay" and I don't think either of us ever
did.

But I'm listening to him now and it's nice.
--

Wow, the Indiepop Mailing List totally lives up to its name.  <3

• 15:03 The exciting world of my container garden, in photos! www.flickr.com/photos/moderntime/sets/72157615101878019 #

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The exciting world of my container garden, in photos!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/moderntime/sets/72157615101878019

• 22:17 Forgetting a child in the back seat of a hot, parked car is a horrifying, inexcusable mistake. But is it a crime? is.gd/mkTw #

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• 23:13 Whoa, my former self, definitely smarter than my current self, was prepared for visa problems. Thank you younger self!!! You saved my ass! #

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• 16:00 Got my back cracked by TCM doctor, I have never stood straighter in my life. #

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• 15:05 At book swap and board games, it's crazy crowded and really busy today! #

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• 18:02 Now I have visa problems too...converting work visa to student visa apparently mafan. #

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• 06:54 gave 4 stars to A Room With a View by E.M. Forster - tinyurl.com/bjjl9j #
• 07:19 Getting ready for my first day of classes. Been lazy these two months, all I did was work, when I should have been studying. #
• 15:21 Get your books and board games on this Sat at Sequoia Cafe! Over 200 books, great coffee, and at least 3 cute girls. XD is.gd/lxYa #
• 21:59 If it's not one thing it's another. Best tips for dealing with carpal tunnel and wrist/finger pain from mouse and keyboard? #

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• 18:13 Listening to Korean version of The Origin of Love from Hedwig & the Angry Inch. Between ideas of Platonic love & this song, ruined for life. #
• 22:37 Early but want to put the word out: want to sublet my apt for 2 months in Jul-Aug, w/ poss. of extending if I find a job once I'm home in LA #

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(If you're on Facebook you've probably already seen this!)

I'm planning to go home in July and start looking for a job. During that time, I'd like to sublet my flat. My lease doesn't run out until the end of September, so there is a possibility that whoever was subletting could take over the flat. I *may* return to Beijing in September, but I really hope not to, and if you decide to stay on, that's fine with me.

About the flat:

Where: In Sihui Dong, Tong Hui Jia Yuan (right above the Sihui Dong subway station)

2 bedrooms (one of which is currently a study), 1 bathroom, small kitchen and living room
South-facing terrace (which I use for laundry and container garden!)

Note: There is a breakfast bar but not really room for a dining table.

Furniture and appliances generally good, although there are definitely things that need to be fixed.

Rent: 2800 RMB/month

Landlords: Extremely nice people, and they conveniently live next door. They are classic rising middle-class Chinese so they are usually too busy to bother you! But it's entertaining when your landlord comes over in his Mickey Mouse pjs to fix something. They are not great about fixing things that are more quality-of-life issues rather than flat-out broken. Flat-out broken, they are great about fixing.

Neighborhood: Very, very local. There are quite a few foreigners, but for the most part it's definitely middle-class Chinese and young families living here.

• 09:46 Going down the job ladder, from executive pay to hourly wage: is.gd/lguh #

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