Joys of Christmas

Even with Christmas being spent in a city that I'm learning to call home, I really enjoyed my day. It had been planned that we would have to a family get together at mine & Jerry's place. A total of five people which would have been cramped quarters in our tiny apartment, but still possible. My sister and I had planned to make a traditional family dinner of spaghetti & meatballs that is generally associated with Christmas Eve, but that we moved to Christmas Day due to an exam of that my sister had.

For me, the day began with a trip to our morning market to buy tomatoes and green onions for dinner preparations. When I went back home, I began chopping 1/2 a yellow onion, 1 large green onion (Chinese scallion) and garlic into fine pieces. Once chopped, I tossed all the ingredients into my pot with 3 tablespoons of olive oil and began sautéing until the onions had become a little translucent. I added a cup of dry red wine from my collection of wine that I don't drink and only use for cooking. I then added a total of 6 large tomatoes that I had cut into large cubes as well as a 1-1/2 tablespoons of Italian Seasoning spice blend by Tone's. I allowed the mixture to simmer for the day, letting the tomatoes break down as they cooked. Oh my, the apartment smelled wonderful!

Later, I turned off the stove and headed to my local grocery market to acquire meat for making meatballs. I met my sister there and she helped me get 1 kilo of ground beef and 1/2 kilo of ground pork from the butcher. Back at my place, we mixed the meat with two eggs and 3/4 cup of crushed Pepperidge Farms stuffing. Then we formed it into meatballs and baked at 350˚ F for 20 minutes.

We had also made garlic bread rolls using the Buttery Sourdough Buns recipe from King Arthur, using olive oil, Italian Seasoning, and garlic powder instead of the butter and paprika topping recommended in their recipe.

What a wonderful feast!

Dihydrogen Monoxide and other dangerous chemicals

*Please note, this is a sarcastic piece of writing and does not mean to encourage FUD (Fear, Uncertainty & Doubt). I'm writing to encourage people to think and take what is found online with a grain of salt.

I have the pleasure of working in an industry where I get to work with small business owners as well as home crafters. I have heard a variety of questions over the years and while some make me laugh and some make me think, there are the questions that make me want to bite my tongue instead of being rude and asking about if they ever studied chemistry.

The one question that gets on my nerves the fastest is "But I don't want to use chemicals, do you have alternatives?" Well, last time I checked, I was enjoying a cup of Dihydrogen Monoxide while talking to you. Oh wait, yes, I'm talking about the stuff that killed an estimated 388,000 people in 2004. It is also 3rd on the list of accidental causes of death by WHO (World Health Organization) If you don't want to use chemicals, then I would recommend that Dihydrogen Monoxide is the first you stop using.

Don't forget the deadly chemicals in the air that we breathe! Everytime you breathe out, you release more carbonic anhydride which is also a deadly chemical, but you breathe in a mixture of 20%-ish diatomic oxygen gas, 78%-ish nitrogen (with the remaining being made up by other dangerous chemicals).

Save the world! Stop using dangerous chemicals!

*In the meantime, join me for a cup of tea?

Sensitive Ears

It has been ruled that my ears are sensitive enough to notice when someone is scratching a wound or irritated patch of skin. I have to laugh when I'm told this as I didn't think I had very sensitive ears in comparison to my own mom.

When I was a teen, mom would arrive home from work and instantly say "Turn off that shit!" What she was referring to was the music that either myself or my sister had been listening to that day. It couldn't be turned down, she could still hear it. When riding in the vehicle with mom, we could either listen to the radio or power it off.

Mind you, this isn't wasn't as hilarious as when, after a ridiculous visit to an ENT, mom was told to stop listening to loud music as it was making her ears produce excess ear wax. As a family, we had to laugh, mom is the only one in the family who listens to music only on low volume!

While I may not have mom's ears, I apparently still have sensitive ears. Snork!

Music = Me

I grew up listening to music. My childhood was filled with quite a diverse collection of music.

When with my mom, I listened to music on the Disney Channel radio station based in Salt Lake City. Sometimes we would try to call in and win prizes from the radio station. I remember winning a prize of a bag of Hershey Kisses. That was a fun prize even if the cost of the gas to the station and back home was more than the bag. Some of our favorite songs included "The Ballad of Lucy Lum" (unknown artist) and "Fish Heads" (Barnes & Barnes).

When I was with my dad, I listened to music on the Alternative Rock or Rock radio stations. From dad, I learned appreciation for R.E.M., Styx, Violent Femmes, David Bowie, Barenaked Ladies, Beck, and The Cure.

With my grandparents (there was a total of 9 regularly visited grandparents, including great-grandparents), I listened to various music types. Oldies, New Age, Classical, Pop and even some Jazz.

This is where the grounding of my own musical tastes began. As a young teen, I received the "White Album" and "Magical Mystery Tour" on CD. I believe that must have been for Christmas 2001 or my birthday 2002. I know I also received my first speaker set during the same time frame. They were wonderful speakers that had such a delicious sub-woofer. Combine speakers that could be adjusted to varying distances, a sub-woofer and The Beatles. That was the beginning of my love for bass in music.

I can pinpoint the changes in my musical tastes to one event. The theatrical (and subsequent soundtrack) release of Spiderman in 2002. I briefly found Toby Maguire to be one of the most fascinating and handsome actors that I had even seen. The soundtrack though, was the the music that really influenced my musical tastes. Thanks to songs by Aerosmith, Chad Kroeger, Theory of a Deadman, and Black Lab, I began looking for more music that really sounded good coming through my speakers. I was also introduced to the movie "XXX" and between the Vin Diesel and the soundtrack, I found myself addicted to action movies with rock music. The opening scene featuring Rammstein was addicting. I found that soundtracks contained the rock music that made the speakers pulse were the best music for me and my craving for more bass. Between "Music from and Inspired by Spider-Man" "XXX" and "Miss Congeniality", I found peace in playing music and boosting the bass.

In 2005, Fantastic Four hit the screens. My dad purchased "Fantastic 4: The Album" and I added another musical album to my collection of songs that sounded great with boosted bass. At this time, I had the ability to mix my playlists on my first iPod. I think I nearly drove my mom crazy with my loud and bass heavy music.

By this time, my parents knew when I had a bad day or was really stressed because the music was louder and the bass heavier. While my sister found peace and tranquility in Classical music, the sounds of composure for me were Rock, Metal and Industrial Rock.

Even today, my musical tastes vary and include almost every genre. While my trusty speakers bit the dust a few years ago, I still am fond of bass and one day I will be finding new speakers that allow for that bit of bass.

New Reading to Begin Understanding China

Jerry was such a sweetheart and got me a new book.

Actually since there are so many pages in the book, it was bound into four volumes. I'm going to start reading "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" (三國演義;sānguó yǎnyì) attributed to Luo Guanzhong and translated by Moss Roberts. I have an edition from the 15th printing released in 2011 by Foreign Languages Press, Beijing, China. ©1995. There are two lines on the print details page that make me laugh. "Printed in the People's Republic of china / Not for sale in North America"

I'm excited to start reading this book and I'll have to admit, I'm a little overwhelmed by the total of 2339 pages of this four volume set. I'm planning on starting the first volume tomorrow. Instead of my typical speed reading, I'll try to read it carefully to understand more about China and its people.

Here is to a new book!

Troubles Describing Faces

Sometimes as a writer, I find it difficult to describe the physical attributes of my characters. I mean, how much detail is too much detail and when should you add the necessary descriptors?

Face Shape?
Color of eyes?
Skin color?
Hair?
Figure?

What do I include?

Thanks to some handy searches via Google, I stumbled across this fantastic blog post on joshroby.com called "Handy Words for Skin Tones". I was so pleased to find a PDF of different colors and words that perfectly described those skin tones. Seriously, I was so pleased as punch that I made up a happy dance around my desk right then and there! I promptly saved the PDF so I could actually try keeping my sanity. (Let me know if that worked as I'm a lousy judge of that.)

I also stumbled across a blog post by Robert J. Sawyer on his blog, sfwriter.com. His post titled, "Should writers shy away from mentioning skin color?", is a fantastic read and great argument for describing ALL of your characters. I think I'll take his advice and just describe how I see fit!

Hmmm. I think I'll go digest this food for thought.

Life at 4.5 months in Beijing

I've been in Beijing since the beginning of June with the exception of a brief return trip to the USA in August. Those two weeks seem like they were in a previous lifetime and I'm finding it harder and harder to remember what life is like in the USA. I'm still having a hard time adjusting to life in Beijing and my frustrations with the language aren't helping. I'm struggling to hear the different tones and sounds of the words. What I hear isn't actually what is said and it doesn't help my flailing confidence.

There are some frustrations about shopping for clothes in Beijing. Mostly because all the girls here dress like they are fashion-istas. Which is great, if you can find clothes that fit you. Grrrr. Pants? Can't find ones to fit unless you buy men's pants. Shirts? Plus sized shirts, old lady shirts or men's shirts. Lingerie? Forget it! Underwear like panties and thongs are easier to find for any woman but if you don't belong to the "Itty Bitty Titty Committee", then you are S.O.L. for finding a bra. I'm looking at different options because my bras are failing and it is looking like I will have to order from the USA or Australia for a proper bra. Memo to all women potentially traveling to China for long term visits! MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A PILE OF BACK UP BRAS! Take the time to find bras that fit you properly and that you have back ups. You won't find your favorite bras here in China.

Life in October

So much has changed since July. I wish I could have recorded some of these changes, but there is so much to share.  

I made friends with some of the lovely ladies at the Beijing Guild. These ladies are knitters, crocheters and in general, crafters. Each one is a sweet heart and has her own talents. I have to admit that they help me keep my sanity just by going to the weekly sessions. I usually go on Tuesdays during the middle of the day because I want to spend time with DH on Thursday evenings when he is home.  

Being a 外国人 (wàiguó rén, foreigner) does make things hard when I go around the Chaoyang and Dongcheng Districts, but I'm learning to understand more of what people say. Even if I still have a hard time trying to say anything. Sometimes, the mere inability to speak with the locals has me frustrated when visiting morning market for produce or the grocery market for meat, flour and other foods. I can't ask 妈妈 (māma, my husband's mother)  to help me as I know she would because I have my pride and hope for myself. 

Finding classes to learn Chinese is important for me in the long term, but I don't want to put any financial strain on the budget. This limits me to trying to find free/inexpensive classes that don't chew up all of my time. 

I still find myself nervous about living in China, but the crowds on the subway and buses don't bother me as much as they used to. They still bother me when I'm alone, but I try to avoid instances where I have to use busy bus or subway lines. The whole thing makes me feel that I never realized how much I really like my personal bubble to be left alone. Standing in line at the grocery store is a great example, you could fit two people in the space between the two people at a grocery store in the states, but the Chinese have no problem with standing so closely that you can't move without bumping the person behind or in front of you. Don't even think about swinging your basket! No matter, the experiences here in China have taught this Western 女外国人(Nǚ wàiguó rén, foreign girl) to just take things one day at a time!

Starting Life in Beijing

I came to Beijing as a tourist to spend time with my husband and his family as well as give his family a Chinese wedding reception they could attend. Due to work projects and other reasons, we will be living in Beijing for the next year or so.

I look at the life we will be living and I'm nervous, yet super excited at the same time. I'll be living in the foreign country that also is the first stamp in my passport. I really don't know much Chinese other than, 我吃饱了 (wǒ chībǎole, I am full) and 你好 (nǐhǎo, How are you?) I'm slowly learning Chinese using a combination of education software, asking my husband, listening to 妈妈 (māma, my husband's mother) and 爸爸 (bàba, my husband's father), and using my iPad to translate.

The positive aspects of living in Beijing outweigh the negative aspects, but I have to still consciously look at the next year as an adventure. One day I'll be able to feel like I'm not shaking in my boots about living in Beijing. Such a big change for this small town Western girl, but she can do it!