Returned

I am returned from Nanchang, but rather busy making my job interview power point. I shall have to update about the weekend at a later point. Suffice to say, it was a good one.

Goodnight!

Quickie...

Just a quick entry before I run to the train station.

Since I shall not be returning to the US of A this coming summer, I've decided to plan a trip.

Right now my plan is to go to Sichuan where I want to see the new panda reserve, then on to Tibet, eventually ending up in Bhutan where I want to see the Taktshang Monastery.

I've found a new blog which is a good read: http://bryceandmallory.blogspot.com/
Definitely check it out, their travels sound amazing.

That is all.

Well then.....

I give up on trying to teach references, they don't get it.

I'm off to Nanchang for the weekend, and since class has been canceled for me on Monday, I shan't be back until Monday evening. I know you'll all be sad not to have updates.

I don't look forward to teaching all day tomorrow.

I got nothin'.


P.S. Yes, size small. :)

Also... I would like the Twilight books for Christmas.

Obama!

Well, today history was made. Obama was elected president. It's so crazy and wonderful all at the same time. I look forward to seeing some positive changes start occurring in the country now.

I was a lucky bunny today, indeed. I received not one, not two, but THREE packages from friends and family.
- Three delicious blocks of velveeta from Dad and Renee
- A gorgeous shirt and workout dvd from Lauren
-A giant box full of cookies, goldfish, cute fish shaped ice cube tray, tortilla chips, a couple somewhat moldy gourds, and granola bars from Rachel

Fabulous. I am rather spoiled. :)

Today I taught references, resumes, and cover letters. The kids just don't understand references. It seems everyone gets jobs through their guanxi (connections) and that's what they think I mean. It's been rather difficult attempting to explain that this is not how it works in the U.S. but I can't come up with a more effective way of teaching.

We got paid today which is lovely. I shall slip out to do some Christmas shopping at some point and mail those off so they get to their various destinations on time.

I think I might make myself a grilled cheese sandwich for dinner.

Updating early today.....

I'm updating early so I can have a relaxing evening watching Boston Legal.

Mom said that people have been wondering about Christmas presents (already!), so I figured I would list some things I would like and/or need:

-Contact solution - Opti Free
-Crest white strips
-Suave sweet pea and violet deodorant
-The Trapeze Diaries - Marie Carter
-The Early Arrival of Dreams : A year in China - Rosemary Mahoney
-The Bean Trees - Barbara Kingsolver
-Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
-The Good Women of China - Xinran Xue (looks amazing!)
-I've also picked out some awesome clothes which can be seen (listed in order of would like most):
here, here, here, here, here (in lavender), here, here (in magenta), here, here, here, here (wine), here (navy/cream), here (navy), here, and here.


I was farting around on the internet reading blogs and one of them mentioned this site where you can morph your pictures with your partner to see what your children would look like. So... I did it for Nathan and I. And the results were amusing.

I don't really think they look much like us at all, but it was a fun experiment. It's unfortunate that they have inherited my large forehead. Haha. They look a little bit like aliens.

I've made it through 2 seasons of Boston Legal already. I only have four, so that stinks. It's such a good show.

Today I lectured about resumes, cover letters, and references. I'm pretty sure they still didn't get it, even though I made a power point, took two hours to explain three documents. I don't know how to get them to pay attention. I guess we'll see how they do for their midterm, they're required to bring in a copy of each when I interview them. If they get a bad grade they'll probably start paying more attention.

I'm off to loaf.

Well I was going to go to bed, but they are setting off fireworks 50 feet from my window again, so I'm going to give a quick update.

I'm sleepy.
Good times teaching my secretaries about American universities today. This week the rest of the kids are learning about cover letters, resumes, and references. So exciting.
Next week we're learning about job interviews, and the week after that are midterm exams. We live in such exciting times.

Hope everyone has been rocking the vote. I, of course, missed the deadline which is rather unfortunate.

Jennifer bought me snuggly pajamas for my birthday today. They are wonderful. I'll post a picture later.

There are really not enough hours in the day.

Goonight and good luck.

It's my party...

Nathan arrived around 8:30pm on Friday. Qiao, Jennifer, Nathan, and I (dressed as an angel) immediately headed to Le Nest (a club) to meet David who was already there holding a table for us. The place was packed! It was a rather grand time in which we danced and stood for many hours. I even ended up breaking a heel! Good times indeed.





The next day we slept in rather late. We decided to go dvd shopping and have McDonalds for lunch. Tasty. We were pretty successful in our dvd shopping and came away with some good finds, including Teeth.
We headed to the pizza place with Jennifer and Sophie around 6:30pm. Hamlin dropped off a gift for me, but unfortunately couldn't stay. David also had plans, so it was just the four of us. It still ended up being fun, and I'm glad I got to experience Sophie trying pizza for the first time.


We went to the grocery store after pizza because I wanted spaghetti sauce, but didn't find anything.
We returned to the apartment where we bid goodbye to Jenn and Sophie. Nathan and I spent the rest of the night watching movies.

Today was my actual birthday and I spent it alone for the most part watching Boston Legal and playing on the internet. I opened my gifts before Nathan left this morning, and I got some great stuff.



Sophie and her friend came over for about half an hour to make me long life noodles for my birthday which were delicious. She also brought me a nice cactus.


Cary was also kind enough to bring me a small cake and nice umbrella.

Now I've got to make up a lesson for tomorrow and continue working on my laptop. It's quasi-working at this point. Thanks again for the disks, Grandpa.