Tuesday, March 22nd

Smog Level: 1 Mountain

Early morning, early class. A bottle of yogurt for breakfast as I head out the door, mumbling a goodbye to Josh. I’m glad the commute is easy, and that I’ve kind of gotten the hang of crossing the street. The easiest way is simply to go when someone else does and make sure they’re between you and traffic. Today I was a little overly conservative, and the lights for the crosswalk weren’t on. 4 lanes of traffic with a concrete divider in the middle. Real-life Frogger while groggy. Traffic Roulette.

Monday, March 21st, 2016

Smog Level: 2/3 Mountains

Given that I have the luxury and I couldn’t shut down yesterday, I take the opportunity sleeping in. Feels good, and the sickness keeps fooling me with a disappearing act whenever I wake up. Hey! Not congested! I must be better! Proceed to coughing up a lung. The cough and Beijing environment are going to be fast friends.

At school, I eat with some non-carden colleagues, going to the lounge with them. In the lounge, I nearly finish a post when Dan shows up and we talk a little bit. I don't resent this, but I'm falling behind. Live life, or catch up on writing about life? 

Baíjiǔ, aka Chinese Liquor
(Coworker's bottle he got as a gift)

I inch closer to the finish line when he introduces me to Susan, a very friendly non-carden teacher. We talk about her hometown of Chicago, her mom’s bakery, and somewhat about business philosophy. She hit the nail on the head that people are looking to buy a feeling more than the product itself, especially when the market is already flooded.

Sunday, March 20th, 2016

Smog Level: 0.5/3 Mountains (Note: Taken at time of Waking)

Today I didn’t waste any time. Got ready and started working immediately. Only one step toward doing work and then the rest was on autopilot, no resistance. So long as there are few distractions, or you get better at bringing yourself back on task, you can really plow through it. Edited Shimou’s resume, wrote and edited a few things, and chatted on Facebook. Finally caught up on some side projects I had agreed to do.

Gussied up, gobbled down, and headed out. Gotta tutor for a student, Maggie, who seems to like me, but blames me when her parents get down on her. She really likes to talk, hates writing, and doesn’t want to do vocab. In fact, she often flat-out doesn’t bring her vocab, but told her parents I’m bad at teaching it. In other words: her parents quizzed her and wondered why her vocabulary hasn’t been steadily increasing, so she said it was me. Great.

Saturday, March 19th, 2016

Smog Level: 1/3 Mountains

Well, I’m sick and we don’t have very much planned for today. It’s nice to have nothing to plan around, all the time in the world to get the procrastinated writing done. Even as I write this, there’s another one looming over my head. Part of me kicks myself for saying yes to writing random side things, while the other thinks it’s a good thing to push myself. You can get lost in too much time. In the same token, that’s why busy people get more done than people with lots of free time - there's a lot more pressure for you to fit things into small time spaces. Parkinson’s law - work expands to fill the amount of time allotted to it - is still alive and well.

Friday, March 18th, 2016

Smog Level: Horror Movie Set

The air is super dry here. My sickness has progressed into it’s climax of a head cold. Congestion, coughing, and general wooziness. I can’t stop sweating, and I figure that’s because it’s just hot in my room! I do my damnedest to get to the bus in time, and manage it well enough. I still can’t stop sweating, which says to me that I must have a fever. Great. Well, that's what I get for going out, shorting myself sleep, and being sick.