And the pics...

This is my compound. It is one city block. Surrounded by a fence with 3 gates. Mom, I am pretty safe in this place.

This is the entry way. I live on the first floor so I share this one gated door with only one other apartment.

My apartment. The door has a nice little window that opens so a breeze can go through.

My living room. I am not finished decorating.

This couch keeps me away of my bad posture.

My New Place...but first the hunt.

As of today, my apartment is finally organized and packed with the essentials...except food. Which, by the way, I need to do immediately. I don't want what happened last night to happen again.

Last Tuesday, the 9th, I began apartment hunting. I should have known from the moment I got an email stating my budget was too low that this would be a nightmare. The agent shows up and leads me to my first and only option for the day. The apartment was literally half the size of my college dorm room - no kitchen, living room, or desk. It was home to a bathroom larger than anyone would ever need, a table, a bed on the floor, and a TV. I said no way. (I thought she was doing this to encourage me to raise my budget so they could make more off the commission, but it turns out my budget was really low for what I was looking to rent.) She left, which was ridiculous because it takes her an hour by bus to get here. I feel like efficiency just escaped her.

The next day, after telling her my apartment didn't have to be "western" or furnished as I would be living there for a few years and I could collect furniture on my own, we went and looked at 2 other apartments. I walked in the first apartment and started screaming in my head. What was this lady thinking? Apparently, "unfurnished" meant unfinished. There was bare concrete walls with no tile or sink or...or...or anything. I left. The second one, well, we didn't see because we walked into a real estate agency to ask for other options. It was here we found the one.

So, in 2 days, I found the apartment I was looking for. It was a little bit out of my budget but I splurged for comfort and convenience. The landlords were excited to have me until the next day when I would need to post payment. Long story short, I had to go to the ATM 8 times in over the course of the following days because my accounts would only let me withdrawal so much per period. The landlords went crazy. They thought it was too much "mafan" (trouble) to receive payment over a few days. What? They couldn't wait to go to the bank until after they received all their money? I understand though. No one likes to be cheated.

Now back to the pantry. 2 days ago I ordered internet. And like in Yichang, people just say, go home and wait. Wait? I like appointments. Be here at 2. Be here at 3. Way more efficient for everyone. They said, "Go home and wait from 1 pm to 5 pm." Argh. Well, I forgot to buy food for the day because I was cleaning and so 1 pm came and I had no food and had only eaten oatmeal. By 5 pm, I was done waiting and they hadn't shown up yet. I was agitated. They finally showed up to install the internet and asked me where I wanted the hole drilled for the line. I kept telling them where but they would only do it where they wanted so I kept asking them why they asked me why cared where it went. Turns out, where I wanted it was twice as thick as I had actually thought. So after arguing for 15 mins, I lost and lost face really badly. I blame it on the lack of food or maybe the fact that 3 bowls of oatmeal just doesn't cut it for someone who wants CHOCOLATE!

So now you get to see pics. Check them out in the next post or on facebook.

Science Experiment or Death Wish...

So as many of you may not know, I have been interested in this Large
Hadron Collider for many years. Actually, I remember seeing a picture
of it in some middle school science textbook and was mesmerized my it.
Of course, I haven't researched it thoroughly over the last many years
but I do know that it has always intrigued me. Now it is in the news
again but this time it is a bigger, better, and more expensive one. 5
billion USD. Ok. Whatever. Spend in the name of science. I am sure
others of you think that the money could be used elsewhere - maybe it
could but that is not the reason for this post. My reason for writing
is born out of this weird peace with the possible consequences of this
experiment that some people seem to have.

This is it. A 17 mile circumference circle of superconducting magnets
will send upwards of 600 billion particles in this ring with the
purpose of trying to make them collide with each other. Now,
obviously, the scientist probably have things under control. And as
you are reading this, the experiment has probably already begun.
Projections show that data won't be extrapolated until months from now
when these particles will finally reach 99.9% the speed of light. 0-60
in 5 seconds cannot be compared to 0-some umpteen million miles per
hour in a few months. Scientist want to find a particle, among other
things, that will help them understand the beginning of the universe.
Some people have expressed concern over this project and after reading
the following paragraph you might see why.

"If all goes according to plan, the Large Hadron Collider, a gigantic
particle accelerator underground near Geneva, could re-create the very
moment 13 billion years ago when scientists believe a tremendous
explosion known as the "big bang" created the universe."

Didn't that very moment rupture time and space catapulting all matter
(AND THE EARTH) as we know into the vast expanse? Big bang. Explosion.
Bigger than Krakatoa or a nuclear blast. Who is ok with this?

"Hey Pinky, are you thinking what I'm thinking?
"Let's take over the world like you always want to do?"
"No Pinky. Let's re-create the big bang."
"Narf."

The Arrival

So, I just wanted everyone to know that I have made it to Shanghai.
Flight wasn't bad. Korean Air's service is amazing. They walk around
and offer drinks the whole time where as on China Southern I am stuck
pushing the call button to no avail. I landed in Shanghai at 8 pm on
Monday night. Not a bad time to get in. By then, the heat had
subsided. The only snag I hit was after I got off the shuttle bus in a
district near where I work, I found myself in the middle of no where.
I thought, "Well now, Dawson, what are you going to do now?" (In a
fashion that reminds me of my granny speaking to me.) I mean, I
couldn't just leave my luggage on the sidewalk and go chase down
taxi's a few streets away. Luckily, a few passed by and another
foreigner got their attention. The first taxi drive looks at the
foreigner's stuff and starts yelling, "too much luggage. 4 pieces are
too heavy." and backs away. (In Chinese, of course.) Now I am getting
nervous about my driver. He looks at my stuff and starts yelling the
same thing. But he had exited his car before he noticed how much I
had. So I started yelling back (in Chinese, I am so proud) "If you
don't help me, who will?" I said it about 3 times, each time
significantly louder. He caved. I threw my stuff in the car hoping for
a fast and easy getaway but I had lost my address. So now, after
begging him to do his job, I had him stop in the middle of a back
alley and let me look for the address. It took 15 minutes or so. By
this time I was embarrassed, though I had no reason to be. Well, to
end this segment of the story, I got to the hotel just fine. It is
near the hospital where I will work. The only thing about it though,
was that it was missing the cryogenic freezing chamber-esque shower in
the middle of the room (that I had seen at other hotels in this chain)
where I could shower and watch TV at the same time. In fact, the room
is so small that I have no where to walk. My luggage literally takes
up every ounce of floor space in this tiny closet of a room.

It really is great to be back in China. It is even better being in
Shanghai starting my career. I was so excited that I slept 4 hours my
first night back. I woke up at 4 am checked on a few emails and then
started roaming the district for a few hours. I was up with the street
sweepers and the morning tai chi-ers. Pretty refreshing. I found the
fresh food market I will be shopping at. The veggies and fruit look
amazing. I did go apartment hunting. My agent found me one place but
it was actually smaller than the hotel room with no kitchen or washing
machine. We had a long discussion and cleared up some things and so I
think now she will be able to find me something more suitable.

Well, I have no pictures to post now but I will in the future. And the
Tale continues...

Testing

Does this really work? Can this thing really post text and pics from
email? This could really reduce the amount of frustration blogging in
China. Testing. Testing. 考一考。

Therapy Session Part 2

Acupuncture. Needles. Sharp. Electricity. Twitching. Violently. Ridiculous.

Ｉ dared to use cool...

and Chinese hospital in the same sentence.

Ａ couple of weeks ago, Ｉ hurt my back. Ｔhe moment it happened, Ｉ knew it was a big deal. Ｉ mean, Ｉ could move. Ｉ could walk. Ｉ could even squeak and squack. Ｉf Ｉ want to say a something Ｉ just open up and talk. Ｉ can talk...argh. Ｃharlotte's Ｗeb - curses！

Ｉf you know me really well, you know that Ｉ don't trust 3 types of people in this world - mechanics, politicians, and doctors. Ｗell, imagine me trying to trust a doctor in a second language. Ｉt doesn't work. Ａlso, anyone who knows me, knows that Ｉ love to diagnose myself. Ｓo basically, Ｉ went to the hospital with different friends and made them translate my concerns and desires in such a way that Ｉ could lead the doctor to my diagnosis. Ｐrobably not a very good thing in the first place, but it is fun. To make a long story short, Ｉ have...Ｉ am not going to tell you. Ｉt isn't personal but maybe you can look at the ＭＲＩ results and try diagnosing me. ＢＴＷ, ＭＲＩ machines are by far in my "top 5 coolest machines in the the world" list. Ｄon't ask what the others are. Ｉ have no idea.

Ｗell, since we are on ＭＲＩ's, Ｉ have to say this. One of my friends translated for me that day. Ｈe is a Ｆrench major. Ｈis Ｅnglish is great but Ｉ was concerned with the technical language. Ｓo, he asked me if Ｉ had any metal on me, which he said at my prompting, Ｉ said no. Ｎothing on the outside or the inside. Ｗho knows what the others requirements and safety precautions were. Ｉ got inside the machine. Ｉt was tight. Ｉ could have fit in better before when Ｉ had lost weight due to a 2 year diet of veggies and rice but alas, Ｉ gained it all back with a steady diet of chocolate my Ｍom has been feeding me with from overseas.

Ｂack to the topic, Ｉ had done some reading on ＭＲＩ machines. Ｉt seems that they are just some huge electronic magnets. Ａfter watching ＨＯＵＳＥ, ＭＤ, Ｉ know what metal does in one of those machines. （Ｅpisodes 2-1 (prisoner with tatoo metal) and 4-7 (magician with key in stomach).） Ｉ get in the machine and start freakin' out. Ｉ didn't ask my mom if my medical history hinted about any metallic additions to my body or if I was part RoboCop. Oh, and Ｉ am adopted so who knows anyway. Ｉ was just hoping that the metal plate that could be in my head doesn't come lose when the machine starts and goes straight out my forehead. Ｇrotesque, huh？ Ｉ was a little nervous. Ｔurns out the machine didn't hurt me.

Ｓo now Ｉ am suffering from....you thought Ｉ would tell you but you are wrong. Ｉ get to go to therapy now everyday for probably 1/2 a month to a whole month. Ｉ started today. Ｓee pictures below. Ｉ laid on a bed that basically pulled my lower half from my upper half like some medieval torture device. Ｉ liked it. Ｔhen electricity flows through my back in another session and last but not least, Ｉ got to lay on a massaging heat compress. Ｆabulous. Ｉ hope the school pays for this.