merrillrose

As we enter 2012, we could complain about the depressing the Republican presidential field that has commandeered the attention of the media like little moths crisped in a flame. We can complain about post-holiday blues and returning to the daily grind. Personally, I prefer to complain about the fair-weather January gym crowders, who have all made a New Year's resolution to attend the gym three times a week (please remind them to be careful for their safety, it concerns me when I see them trying to stretch their quads on a moving treadmill). Here's one New Year's resolution I intend to see through: complain less. Did you know that forcing yourself to smile actually puts you in a better mood? When the world feels unspeakably foul, which happens particularly frequently on Mondays and on mornings after ... read more

Just so you all know, this is a ten-minute blog-off competition, and my original opening sentence was "The alphabet is one of the first things we learn as children." This start was sarcastically and cruelly criticized as "exhilarating" and "original." It therefore now starts with "We eat alphabet soup." We eat alphabet soup. We sing the alphabet song. Little children learn to scrawl the letters out on lined paper in kindergarten class, and go home to their ecstatic parents who tape up the ugly, uneven lines on the refrigerator and coo over the achievement. I personally remember practising my letters at home (somewhere between the ages of 6 and 8 years old), and even recall a serious spelling altercation at age 6, when I vehemently stood by my claim that the word "from" was spelled f-o-r-m. ... read more

And so, here I sit ten months later in the Beijing airport. I am bored out of my skull, munching on sawdust muffins and chugging Diet Coke while I aimlessly surf the Web. You know the feeling - the Layover Black Hole. It causes you to wander, tired and puffy-eyed, in search of a Starbucks or Mickey D's. And upon discovering one of these hidden gems, you stuff your Zombie-like face with coffee and McNuggets until you find yourself in an uncomfortable food coma. Upon reaching this point it is probably STILL not time to board the plane, so, in desperation, you waste some money on gum, magazines, and a snow-globe souvenir you will never look at. I spent a lot of time in China missing the way things are done at home in the States. ... read more

It was fantastic to come to New York for the weekend and be at Josh and Elyssa's wedding. It was worth every second spent in cars, shuttles, taxis, airplanes, and buses. My favorite travel moment of the weekend: I read a newspaper on the plane and when I was done, stuck it underneath my seat. My pinched-face flight attendant came over, and with a major 'tude, she said: Flight Attendant: "You can't put that there." Me: "Sorry, why not?" Flight Attendant: "Newspapers are slippery. I could trip on it." Me: "It's under my seat." Flight Attendant: "Well it's slippery." Me: "But it's under my seat." One more explanation and two scowls later, I removed my newspaper and stuck it in the seat pocket. The wedding was beautiful and it was a real treat to see so ... read more

Environmental and health protection has become a contentious global issue in recent years, and with all the finger-pointing going on between the United States and China, I decided to present my own observations of how both environmental awareness and health awareness differ in the two countries. China does it better: - In some ways, China is much better at preventing waste. You won't find any plastic bags at the supermarket, and if you forget to bring one, you'll have to buy a reusable fabric bag, instead. Very few children wear disposable diapers, and every city trash can has a recycling side and waste side (not that anyone distinguishes between the two). - Public transportation is much more popular here. People use the buses. Otherwise, residents drive silent, clean, electric scooters. Few people can afford cars, ... read more