Persevere. Persist. Pursue.

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Life has continued on its mad merry way.

It seems that since the dawn of this new semester I haven't caught hold of two consecutive moments to claim my own. My world has been filled with book weeks, UN Day, glue, glitter and paint-streaked jeans. Outside of this I have been slogging through a Multiple Intelligence Institute Course for a certificate in MI Theory (for school) and preparing for Parent-Teacher Conferences which are underway this week. Whew!

Blistering barnacles, Beijing is cold! As usual, the weather here changes from balmy to bitter in the blink of an eye. November is one of the most miserable months here, as the government does not turn on the heat until mid-month... no matter the temperature. So Simon and I have experienced many the night of wrapping ourselves like tortillas in all the blankets (and towels!) we own and (still) shivering our way until morning. We are now about to herald in December with our heat still not on! I suspect that our gracious landbaron has neglected to pay the heating bill and thus, I am withholding our rental payment until I am able to enter a tolerably heated home. There are things I had forgotten about the past winter: one being the wind! It's truly wild here. Home being a habitat some 20-odd floors high makes for excellent acoustics of shrill whistles and shrieks. We have to stop our bedroom doorways with socks as our hall possess a draft which rattles the daylights out of the doors. Quite a charmed life I lead.

While riding my bicycle - peddling furiously against the wind as it wills me to topple over - I truly have to appreciate the strength of Nature. There have been a few times where I have removed my nose from the jumble of paperwork and hopped on the bike to squeeze out the joy of soaking in the last trickling remnants of warmth from the overhead sunshine and seek out the many forms of beauty made available to me. There was one day where I was biking through some narrow, tree-laden avenues and the wind was just beginning to enter the city. It was golden hour and I had been marveling over how glorious the faded red paint and grey stone looked in its glow. The breeze increased it's ferocity and I was suddenly swept up into this magical atmosphere of heaps and heaps of dried, yellowed leaves being cast up and swirled in the air and whipping all around me and my bicycle. I began laughing hysterically, turned up the volume of my ipod, began to chase the leaves and allowed myself to surrender completely to the majesty of my life movie moment. .

With the temperature drop the amount of people commuting has exponentially increased. Now, the buses are crowded at the best of times, but these recent mornings have been to such a ridiculous quantity that has inspired worrying little niggles over, "Really, what can the total GVW of this machine be, and when are the axles going to just pop off?" (I betcha it's happened before). Now I always try to position myself near a door, but they crowd so many people in that it is often impossible to open one (or in some cases) both doors. If you happen to be near the front door sometimes the driver will refuse to open it, as he doesn't wish to force the levers through flesh, and insist for you to exit through the rear door. (Fat chance). To move the space of two feet requires feats of limber and strength (and nearly three minutes) that render the task of switching exit points a fete de l impossible. Consequently you have the option to turn red, grimace with fury, burst into tears, pound ferociously on the door (and other passengers), and howl, "wǒ​ dào​le!!!" until the bus folk begrudgingly scrunch miraculously together a micro-smidgen more and wonders of wonders the doors swing open and I am able to worm my way out and be spat into the street. There is one driver I admire greatly who I sometimes am able to catch a ride back on the way home. He has no patience for crowds on his bus and tries to trick the populace by stopping an odd distance past each bus stop and never truly coming to a complete stop. You have to race to catch up, and hurtle yourself on, but the effort is well worth it as this Master of Confusion rarely fills over half the vehicle.

Our school has begun it's Christmas decorations and I am beginning to feel festive. I expect to be quite deserted again this holiday, but hopefully something distracting and random shall present itself​. I wonder if we shall experience another White Christmas?

Farewell for now!

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Photos

Maggie Cheng?
For Halloween I dressed up as a character from a Wan Kar Wai film.

"In The Mood For Love"
... I wish I lived in Shanghai during the 20s.