:: 2004 5 January :: 2.09 am

I have to get up in four and a half hours, but surpringly I'm not stressing out. I got my english paper done, but I still have to read 70 pages of Great Expectations (doubt that's going to happen!). I called Katie tonight to find out how far they got in calc, and she reminded me that I forgot all about the review packet. So that's not going to get done tonight either. We have a test on Tuesday, but hopefully I won't have to take it since I've been gone so long. Do you see why we desperately need a snow day tomorrow...actually, today, since it's already monday morning........DANG! I just looked outside. The snow's pretty high on our deck, and it's still snowing! Hopefully, we will get hit with just enough snow and just right time whereas they cannot clear the roads, thus making it dangerous to go to school. Who wouldn't like an extra day of christmas break? I think that cappicino I drank at midnight is working. I hope I dont' have to drudge around the halls tomorrow morning.

Do you want to play with fire?

:: 2004 4 January :: 3.00 am
:: Music: brand new

1 burn | Do you want to play with fire?

:: 2004 2 January :: 10.57 pm

Just got back from Melissa's not too long ago. It was kind of nice to see everyone I haven't seen in weeks. Katie went to Jamaica while I was gone! Last night a friend told me that she liked me. This is someone I've liked in the past, but now I'm not sure. I haven't liked anyone for a long time. I'm not even sure what kind of relationship I want with anyone right now. I don't even think I like relationships at all. My brain hurts.

1 burn | Do you want to play with fire?

:: 2004 1 January :: 6.07 pm
:: Mood: contemplative

2004, Day 1, Perfect Day for Thinking
You know, I didn't make any new years resolutions. Oh well. Standing on the edge of something this big (the future) seems a little more important than any petty resolutions. One of the best things of being in China was the all the relief I got from having to deal with my college search. Now that I'm back, I'm back to worrying if I'm good enough for that college, or if I want to go to this college, or why I shouldn't just graduate and be done with education altogether. Okay, I exagerate, but all of this is still on my mind. I have a faint feeling that I may want to go to Loyola, however I don't know if I want to go there because it'll be easier now in terms of stopping my college search or if it's because I really want to go there. Yesterday I rushed to get my Northwestern application done, but then I realized I had to have the supplemental forms turned in Jan. 1st as well. Fortuneately, the admission officers are accepting my delayed forms. I like the school, and it's supposed to be good for business, but what would I major in? (no business major). Then there's NYU. That application is so fricken discouraging. Once again, I like the school but would it be overwhelming to go to college with the best of the best, all majoring in the same field? That's if I even got in. Mrs. Wiewora doesn't seem to think so (not that I care what she thinks). I registered to retake the ACT, but I'm not even sure that these schools will accept the February one. And then there's Fordham. I'm not trying to be egotistical, but I believe I'll have no trouble getting accepted there. But do I want to go to school in the Bronx? Lol. I can't even remember whether or not I applied there! (I think I did) And finally...there is good, old MSU. Nothing wrong with the school, just not my top choice. It's my dad's top choice, though, just because it's cheaper. I told him if I go there he has to buy me a jag! Or...I could go out of state and not need a car! Well, I still have homework to do, my head is spinning, and I feel like I either need to do something or I need to sleep. At least play starts soon and that should be fun.

Do you want to play with fire?

:: 2003 29 December :: 11.42 pm
:: Music: No Doubt "It's my Life"

2 burns | Do you want to play with fire?

:: 2003 28 December :: 10.26 pm
:: Mood: tired

It feels like I got a lot accomplished today, but then I look at my homework and I still have none of that done. After going to church by myself this morning, I headed over to Target where I bought a new printer/copier/scanner. Guess who I saw there but the one and only erin sprague. It's kinda funny because then I saw her family at Best Buy where I bought the new Brand New CD (very good) and MTV Advance Warning. Later on I had to call Target about missing ink cartridges for the printer and guess who I got to talk to buy erin! lol. To top it off I go to Radio Shack and see katie Carlson working. I also went to American Eagle today and bought some new pants where I think I saw Jenna Jones. Well, I'm tired and tomorrow I have to let the cable guy in (yes, we're getting cable).
later

Do you want to play with fire?

:: 2003 27 December :: 9.11 pm
:: Mood: accomplished

finally home
After spending a few days in detroit, with all the modern convienences plus some, it feels depressing to be back in this trashy place. Namely, my family members are slobs. After I got home this evening I went through the stuff I bought from China and only some of the pictures we took. I gave my mom, dad, and sister the gifts I bought for them: avril lavigne CD, silk scarves, a china doll, and a gucci wallet for my dad (suits his character). The 25th didn't feel like christmas for me, and I wasn't expecting any christmas gifts, but nonetheless I got some. I know I sound ungreatful, but sometimes I think it would be better to get me nothing at all. My dad got me two things: a personal gromming set and a crappy-looking laundry bag which was probably cheaper than it's $14.99 sticker price (would it be bad for me to sell that on ebay?). My sister actually got me somethign I wanted, which was the GRD bootlegger CD, but that turned out to be a little bit of a disappointment. It's not even 9:30 and I am exhausted. Tomorrow I need to do stuff...and I still have all that homework to catch up on. I'll try to stay optimistic.

Do you want to play with fire?

:: 2003 25 December :: 7.20 pm
:: Mood: exhausted

Merry Christmas everyone. It's a white christmas in Detroit, and I presume it's also white in Muskegon? I'm not entirely sure that it is christmas, and perhaps that is due to the jet lag/exhaustion/extremely long christmas eve spent in an airplane. We just got back yesterday around 4:30 pm. With 17 hours in the air (accumulated from 3 flights), getting up at 4:45 am, crossing the international date line, yesterday was a loong day. It was funny because my aunt, my uncle, and I were all zoned last night. I'm tired today because I've been up since 6:30. Anyways, the flight coming back was much easier than going there. I watched all 5 of the inflight movies, so the time went by quicker. The only problem was that we lost 3 bags. Two we got back today and one is still in Hong Kong. Trying to remember what we did before we left all I can think of was my excursion to Beijing Road. My uncle and I rode the subway. We were the only westerners on that thing, lol. It was a little hard getting there, considering that we got on the wrong line, but we eventually made it. Beijing Road (referred to us by either an educated Chinese man or a Chinese American man) was compared to 5th Avenue in NY. Not that I knew what 5th ave. was like, but this place was packed with little stores. We didn't buy anything because it was mostly clothes, crap, and expensive watches. Oddly, we didn't see electronics, but I guess china isn't really known for that stuff. That's all I can think of for now. Oh yeah, I was told that my ying and yang are unbalanced. This chinese guy told me that my pimples mean I have too much yang, lol. Anyone want any of my yang? haha

1 burn | Do you want to play with fire?

:: 2003 21 December :: 9.58 am

Well, I got to see Buddah today...actually, I got to see a lot of buddahs. You see, we went to one of the Temples in Guangzhou today for the "blessing of the babies." I guess Buddhism is the most followed religion in China with 4 million followers (even though China's population is 1 billion). Then comes Islam, Christianity, and some ancient Chinese religion. For dinner tonight we went to a place called Lucy's which was a nice american-type restuarant. Quite quaint. Well, tomorrow I get to sleep in because my aunt and uncle have to go early to get Racheal a medical exam. Random thought: I can't believe I go home in only a few days!

Do you want to play with fire?

:: 2003 20 December :: 7.16 am

This is more like it! Civilization at last! We made it to Guangzhou today and are staying at the White Swan hotel on the island, or as my uncle calls it, the 6-star hotel. I admit, it is very nice. They even have attendants on each floor and they go as far as to push the elevator button and hold the door for you! Not to mention, they actually have computers that work! (Having a problem singing into AOL...but that's not the computer's fault). They said that Guangzhou was the first commercial city in China, plus the weather is warm. It kind of reminds me of florida. Anyways, I hope everyone is having an enjoyable christmas break. Later.

1 burn | Do you want to play with fire?

:: 2003 19 December :: 8.22 am

Being an American in China does come with some celebrity status. The natives stare at you. Some girls even asked some of the blond-haired ladies in our group to take a picture with them. So far in China I've had two encounters with the real celebrity world. The first was on the plane from Chicago to Tokyo when we sat next to the band Andrew W.K. and their managers (minus Andrew - he was sitting at another part of the plane). The second was yesterday on our way to the Ming Tomb. A movie was being filmed, and I think we pissed off the film crew by walking through their set with all those babies. They had to stop, let us through, film, stop, and let us back out. At least I got to see 30 seconds of some up-and-coming foreign film with some famous asian actor that I've never heard of before.

This morning I went to the Nanjing museum. Kinda boring stuff. I got to see a bunch of old jade, porcelin, and folk art from the Ming, Qing, and Song Dynasties. I also learned how to tell the difference between fake jade (lower pitch) and real jade (higher pitch). Not that I'll ever use those skills. As for lunch, I made my 4th stop to McDonald's in the 5 days I've been here, eaten from there at least 3 times. They're beginning to know me by name, lol. Actually, my diet in china has consisted mostly of: rice, sprite, various forms of sugar. Sound healthy? Only a few days left. Tomorrow we have to get up around 5-6:00 am because we leave early from Nanjing airport for Guanjo (spelled phonetically).

Do you want to play with fire?

:: 2003 18 December :: 7.38 am

The "stroll through the park," which ended up not to be a park was suspended until 3:00pm this afternoon. Since we were already up, my uncle and I decided to take a cab to the "Chinese Dept. Store" which was really "Nanjing Arts & Crafts" or some store like that. By now, my uncle and I have had enough chinese shopping experiences. To buy something in China you must first tell the person at that section of the store that you want to buy that particular item. Then they write it down on a receipt that you take to the cashier. Then you go back to the area of the thing you wanted to buy, give them the receipt, and pick it up. Inconvienenty? I think stupid. Anyways, after that ordeal, we walked up to a cab at a red light and hopped in. Later this afternoon we went to visit the Ming Tomb a.k.a the stroll through the park. That was neat to see, but it gets redundant. I felt like I had seen it before, but the tour guide did say that the Forbidden City in Beijing was modeled after it. Yesterday I opted to stay at the hotel while my aunt and uncle visited Racheal's orphanage. They said that the outside actually looked nice but once they stepped inside it had a foul smell and the babies were put in metal cribs lined up next to each other kinda like cages in a kennel. While they were gone I got to walk to the McDonald's and order lunch (hey, I was desperate). Then I walked around, eventually ending up at the store. At least this time I didn't almost get ran over by a car or bike (happened to me a few days ago when I was going to the store). Okay, well my evening was topped off by the most unforgettable experience of Racheal's first poo. My aunt wasn't feeling good yesterday. So, my uncle and I took Racheal around the hotel in her stroller so that my aunt could get some rest. We eventually ended up at the book/craft store where the workers were all playing with racheal. Out of nowhere comes this gaudy looking chinese woman who starts teasing Racheal by making her think she's going to take her out of her stroller (she doesn't like being in that thing). All throughout this ordeal I'm laughing because I could smell something stinky. I thought that it was Rachael just having gas again, however, when the gaudy-looking woman picked her up I knew otherwise. That was a loaded diaper! My uncle said he thought that some "residue" got on the women's suit jacket. HAHAHA! Oh well, that's it for now. Tomorrow I get to go to the Nanjing museum.

3 burns | Do you want to play with fire?

:: 2003 16 December :: 10.09 am
:: Mood: excited

I finally called home today. It was only 9 am there so my sister was in school and my dad was at work. At least I didn't get the voice mail! So I hear that I may have gotten a small part in the play? Or so my dad says..hmm. Did they announce parts earlier this year? Hopefully I'll make it back alive, seeing as I almost got ran over TWICE last night, lol. I was going to the store last night and on my way I almost got ran over by bike and by car. You see, China has TONS of bikes, and the people ride them in swarms. When I stepped out on the sidewalk they all came at me! Then, when I went to cross the street I thought it was one way, but soon found out it wasn't! Well, at least I made it out okay. It's a challenge to cross the street though. Random observations about China:
1) I can eat with chopsticks. never could before.
2) food is smaller here (ie Pringles and Oreos)
3)there are fat chinese people. I never knew that. (maybe it's our fault)
4)where in the U.S. do you get food served to 3 people by 3 different waiters? The service is exceptional.
5) this computer isn't as slow tonight
6) it's hard to to homework
7) Racheal hasn't pooped yet
8) TV shows look low-budget
9) if you go into a store, you will not find a chinese doll. they're all caucasian. So are some of the advertisements.
10) I don't know what day it is!

7 burns | Do you want to play with fire?

:: 2003 15 December :: 4.26 am

THIS COMPUTER IS REALLY PISSING ME OFF! I have to PAY for the world's slowest internet...I can read my email, but I CAN'T REPLY! If anyone gets this just tell everyone that I'd like to email them but can't. Also, anyone know what part I got in the play?

2 burns | Do you want to play with fire?

:: 2003 15 December :: 3.41 am

Week 2 in China
Yesterday I got to meet my new cousin, Rachael Bei Yi Voss. She's only 19 months old, and of course she is cute, especially when she smiles. My aunt and uncle went down to this room in the hotel where all 9 babies were being held. They found her and took her up to their room. It was funny because she didn't really cry much expect for a few 10 second outburts. What was really strange was seeing my aunt and uncle start baby talking when she came. I can tell they'll make good parents, especially my aunt because she's been the first to make Rachel laugh.

On Sunday we flew from Beijing to Nanjing, the capital of Rachel's province. Nanjing is a LOT more westernized than Beijing. It actually looks like a decent city. We're staying downtown in the ritz, lol. Seriously, this is the nicest hotel I've ever stayed in (5 stars), but they still don't speak great english. Last night my uncle and I wandered over to the golden arches for some Mc D's. We only went there because it was late and were were too tired to search out something chinese and decent to eat. Anyways, it was funny because none of them spoke english either. Amazingly, we got our order, thanks to a lot of menu pointing.

Today I'm just recuperating. I haven't done most of my homework yet, but this week should be pretty slow. Anyone feel free to tell me how the christmas dance went or how your audition went!

Later

Do you want to play with fire?