I live with Eiffel, across from Figaro, and next door to Little Fat.
Oh right. . . and I work with River, my supervisor. 

oh China . . . . . . you amuse me. 

Ni Hao Ma from China.

Well, I figured it's about time I wrote an entry. . . You guys must be dying from curiosity, eh?  No?  Boo . . .
Let me tell y'all a little somethin somethin. . . Beijing is amazzing. . . well, China is amazing. I arrived here on August 25. . .so I've been here about three weeks, and I'm loving it.  Well, I don't love the nastyass pollution, smelly people on super super crowded buses, no throwing toilet paper into the toilet (gross), squat toilets (everywhere dudee), ridiculous staring, sketchy basketball players from Bei Da that ask "can you fly," lamb, tsingtao, getting hit by bikes and cars, and the rude awakening of how much my Chinese stinks . . . BUT other than that, it's all HEN HAO.  Hen Hao and HEN PIANYI (cheap).  A meal here is seriously $1 or less . . . and omg, KE, you would die if you came here.  The eggplant dish you get at Phoenix . . .Sunfire?  Phoenix fire (?) well, whatever it's called is wicked good here.  We could order a bloody wedding banquet for less than $5. . . okay, i liee. . .but it's still cheap.  Mmm . . . and the markets here are wonderful . . . minus the whole ripping me off and yelling Chinese curses at me.  Pearl Market, Silk Market, . . . uhhhhhhh and the fruit.  I bought a juicy watermelon the otherday for 10 kuai. . .(8 kuai to the $1).  Yummmmmy.

Unfortunately, though . . . I haven't been to any historical sites such as Great Wall, Tiananmen, Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace, etc.  I keep telling myself I have three months, but dammit. . . what if I keep saying that and don't end up going?  OOOh, starting this Saturday guess what I'm doing?  I'm going on a three week vacation throughout China . . . quite literally.  ( I think this is why the tuition was so damn high).  On this trip, we're traveling 2,500 + miles. . . just to give you a taste, I'mma gonna tell you the bits.  2 plane rides/3 train rides. . . going to Xi'an to see the Terra Cotta warriors and the desert where they shot Hero and to the rock where the two killed themselves . . . hmm . . .then to some other desert where we rides camels and whatnot. . .then blah blah I don't really remember the names of the others places, but at some point I'm going to Kashkar and we're going to the Sunday Bazaar which is apparently the biggest market either in the world or Asia.  40,000 people gather to sell everything. . . what's everything?  I don't bloody knwo. . . I asked like 10 people and they just told me "it's everything, dumbass."  After that, traveling back to Beijing for National Day and then off to Mongolia to live in tents with the Mongols (?) and to ride horses in the grassland . . . listen to the throat singing. . .  ooh and then we're taking "slippers" down the dunes in the desert . . . I have no clue what that means, but I keep picturing a surfboard type deal . . . that'd be sooo sweeet. 

Sigh . . .it sounds cool, but I hate taking part in travel agency tours. . . it's always too structured.  Can y'all believe I get this much time off for traveling?  Hey hey. . . no worries, I'm picking up Chinese because according to IES, China is our classroom.  And besides, I have 5 FREAKEN hours of Chinese EVERYDAYY . .. wait, except Wednesday. . . only 1, heehee. 

Uggh . . . come visit me. . . you who live in Asia.  You as in Aileen and Sunmin Unni. . .

Koreans are so funny . . . oh, I love it. 

A few of the amusing writings I've see on apparel:

D&G  
Dollars & Girls

The United Colors of Popeye
United Colors of Benetton

Eee. . . fun fun.  And Luxury Noraebang at Hongdae. . .
We got the "Winnie the Pooh" room  . . and we got to play with sparklers . . and jump on the tables 

The predators died in the clash Enlarge Image

An unusual clash between a 6-foot (1.8m) alligator and a 13-foot (3.9m) python has left two of the deadliest predators dead in Florida's swamps.

The Burmese python tried to swallow its fearsome rival whole but then exploded.

The remains of the two giant reptiles were found by astonished rangers in the Everglades National Park.

The rangers say the find suggests that non-native Burmese pythons might even challenge alligators' leading position in the food chain in the swamps.

Clearly, if they can kill an alligator they can kill other species Prof Frank Mazzotti

The python's remains with the victim's tail protruding from its burst midsection were found last week. The head of the python was missing.

"Encounters like that are almost never seen in the wild... And here we are," Frank Mazzotti, a University of Florida wildlife professor, was quoted as saying by the Associated Press news agency.

"They were probably evenly matched in size. If the python got a good grip on the alligator before the alligator got a good grip on him, he could win," Professor Mazzotti said.

He said the alligator may have clawed at the python's stomach, leading it to burst.

"Clearly, if they can kill an alligator they can kill other species," Prof Mazzotti said.

He said that there had been four known encounters between the two species in the past. In the other cases, the alligator won or the battle was an apparent draw.

Chart

The chart below helps explain cousin relationships.

Note that in informal usage, a granduncle is often called a great uncle and a grandaunt is often called a great aunt.

Chart relationships as sentences

• My sibling has the same parents as I do (NOTE:--- half-siblings share only one parent --- step-siblings share no biological parent)

• The child of my sibling is my nephew/niece and I am his/her uncle/aunt
• The grandchild of my sibling is my grand nephew/niece and I am his/her grand uncle/aunt
• The great grandchild of my sibling is my great grand nephew/niece and I am his/her great grand uncle/aunt

• If our parents are siblings we are first cousins, and have the same grandparents
• If our grandparents are siblings we are second cousins and have the same great grandparents
• If our great grandparents are siblings we are third cousins and have the same great-great grandparents

• My first cousin's child and I are first cousins once removed to each other (one generation difference between us)
• My first cousin's grandchild and I are first cousins twice removed to each other (two generations difference between us)

Similarly

• My parent's first cousin and I are first cousins once removed to each other (one generation difference between us)
• My grandparent's first cousin and I are first cousins twice removed to each other (two generations difference between us)

• My second cousin's child and I are second cousins once removed to each other (one generation difference between us)
• My second cousin's grandchild and I are second cousins twice removed to each other (two generations difference between us)

Similarly

• My parent's second cousin and I are second cousins once removed to each other (one generation difference between us)
• My grandparent's second cousin and I are second cousins twice removed to each other (two generations difference between us)

Following this pattern, it can be determined that xth cousin y-times removed means either of the following:

• The xth cousin of your direct ancestor y generations previously (eg. your great-grandparent's fifth cousin is your fifth cousin thrice removed); or
• Your xth cousin's direct descendant y generations away (eg. your fifth cousin's great-grandchild is also your fifth cousin thrice removed)