起来，起来，起来

So, I'm in China.

I haven't really been updating this blog (obviously), so I'm about to embark on a mad dash in the name of "making up for lost time" which means a lot of unfinished thoughts and incoherent sentences without structure or overall meaning.

I know it's somewhat distasteful to post pictures of, above all, my new "g4m33n gr4d3" mousepad before pictures of, say, the Bird's Nest stadium and my new apartment, but my brother was calling into question the firepaddiness of the "Fire Pad." To paraphrase him: "Wow. It really does say 'BURN IN HELL' on the pad." Also, I spent a year plus change here getting all cultural-y and shit. So fuck y'all.

Beijing hasn't really changed since I was last here, but in many ways, it has. The weather is still as grimy as I fondly remember, the people still haven't figured out the concept of lining up to avoid potentially disastrous bottlenecking situations, and I guess I still hate god-complex jocking expats. Well, that last one is more about me than the city itself, but isn't a person a reflection of where he calls home, for better or worse? Anyway, it feels strangely... good... to be back.

My time here will definitely be a different animal than last time. The honeymoon period is basically over, as all things I originally found new and fresh are now commonplace surroundings. Also, I'm missing two very dear part-time co-workers/full-time friends to discover new places with. So yeah, the honeymoon is over. But the romance is definitely still going strong. In more ways than one, wink wink fuckin' nudge.

The wink is directed towards my beautiful better half, she who makes me strive to kick ass at all things I might endeavor to undertake, be it powerleveling in WoW to get to level 55, or thinking with great speed and force all things regarding my future career. Yeah, I'm thinking ahead a lot. But I think I hit jackpot this time. And what does the book say about hitting jackpot? You cash out. Wait, scratch that analogy... that makes no sense. As for the nudge, it's for the cleverly placed towering edifice of an analogy I hath constructed with nothing but words as its foundation and wit as the girders and bricks that reaffirm and bolster its great power. I'm also running out of things to write about.

Same old song. Beijing rules, come out here when you have the chance.

Now, pictures:

The aquatic stadium thing-ish-ite (the actual name escapes me), where Michael Phelps blasted many a song by Lil' Wayne on his iPod. Brah. In the background is the Pangu Building, where monthly rent costs approximately my yearly salary. In America.

OMG, it's me. The Beijing subway is one of the best things ever, because it's cheap and takes you as far as your imagination can... imagine. I'm not sure what it is exactly that I'm looking at in this picture. In gaming related nonsense, that's an old-school FFIV action menu shirt from Penny Arcade.

I'll be honest, I don't know who this girl is. She's just a pretty girl I met at the Forbidden City. I pay her 8000 RMB a month to pretend to be my girlfriend and to pretend she's not completely repulsed by me.

The Olympic torch. Gives +15 agility if held on the off-hand, ranged DPS is over 9000.

The Bird's Nest at night. No captions here, except that they did a bang-up job with the lighting at night. Um, caption, caption. Chinese people like WoW?

I've gone about a week and half without any dairy products. Thanks for nothing, you dirty fucks.

These pictures were taken during the Paralympic Games, which really were a spectacle to behold. In the name of good sportsmanship and in doing it's job in symbolizing what the Olympics are really about, I'd say the Games were as much a success as the Olympics. At least little chicks weren't dubbed over because they weren't cute enough. When the Americans took first place in relay, I stood up and belted as much as I remembered of "The Star-Spangled Banner" in all its awkwardly-constructed-sentence glory. With my right hand over my left man-boob. I guess I'm still a big softie at heart.

In video game-related news, I can't get on Xbox Live here, thus negating the reason I brought my 360 out here in the first place. Fuck.