KELLY IS HERE! Shin Ramen is Near...

Hi Everyone!

My lovely friend, Kelly Yen (KY for short) arrived last week for a 6 month project in Beijing!!  We went to the University of Washington together in Seattle for college, and then she went onto SLC, Utah until... well now ;)  I am ecstatic that she is here, and this is only the start of our 6 month adventure.  Here's a post from our weekend, which starts with picking up LOTS of food, and how we got to getting it into our bellies.  Neither of us have had Shin Ramen in ages, so what better way to celebrate than to get a bunch of veggies from the local market, pop in a few eggs, and do dinner?  Try not to drool on your keyboard.

The great thing about Beijing is how simple life can be through the hustle and bustle of it all.   Every week, I look forward to going downstairs to the local market around the corner, and it's as if you've stepped out of the city for a moment (shots below!)      

Egg Tarts 

My friend Ms. Gai who runs my favorite vegetable market

The ONE & ONLY... SHIN RAMYUN

Stay tuned for part deux of the weekend adventure to the flea-market!

Love,
Daze

Expat Cat

Sir Leopold was kind enough to take this transpacific journey with me this time back to Beijing.  Well, actually I just took his silence as an agreement when I told, I mean asked him on Christmas Day.  I had started planning Leo's paperwork since June of last year due to vaccination requirements and my travel dates.  With the help of Hainan Airlines and World Care Pet in Beijing, Leopold arrived safe & sound just in time for Chinese New Year :)

We first met 10 years ago at the Seattle Humane Society, during a 50% of all cats sale.  For those of you who know me, you know how crazy I can get about these ;) (both cats & good deals).   Anyway, so I had been visiting the shelter regularly, but this time I found a fat grey cat hiding in his litter pan and I knew it was meant to be.   When I saw Sir Leo’s big black dilated pupils that was all the confirmation I needed to know I wanted to spend the rest of his days with him. More here on Sir Leopold in Seattle :)

People say animals have feelings and emotions, and that certain animals have more than others, which is probably very true.  But this isn’t a competition, this isn’t about whether you’re a dog or a cat person; this is about the connection you have with your pet.  Sir Leo is on the timid side, and still runs from me when I stomp around the house, but it’s also his favorite time of day is also when it’s time to go to bed and he can sleep between my knees.  His personality reminds me of my innermost tendencies sometimes, except as a human I've learned to consciously work to improve certain aspects of myself that may affect my life. I think the main thing that separates humans from animals is our ability to hold back our feelings when we deem necessary, and seeing animals interact in their true nature brings a sense of ease.  What would we all be like if we had no filters?   

Shelters often campaign “Adopt a pet, save a life,” but one of the most beautiful things about any relationship is when you realize how naturally and effortlessly you’ve both become interwoven into each other’s lives.  I suppose “Adopt a pet, better two lives” isn’t as catchy ;)  

Love,
Daze

“Some people talk to animals. Not many listen though. That’s the problem.
”

— ― A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh

Happy 2014!

Happy 2014 Everyone! Here's the first post of the year, on my new blog.  Enjoy! :)

In the last year of my life in Beijing, I felt stress for the first time in my life.  It wasn't the kind of stress from an upcoming exam, or having too many drinks to make at the bar; it was the kind that felt like continuous weight that I HAD to be doing something every second of every day because I was running out of time.  I thought it was Beijing's fast-paced environment, that the excitement and life in the city was too fast for me--I was wrong, as I often am even though I prefer keeping that to myself.  (Pardon the run-on!)

Everyone has 24 hours in everyday.  Everyone gets the same amount of time each day.  Some may lose a few days, and some may gain some.  If you look at it on a micro level, we all get 24 hours, 1440 minutes, 86,400 seconds every day. (Thank you motha & fatha for sending me to mental math class ).  Or, if you want to look at it on a macro level, the seconds, minutes, and hours you get in a day don't really amount to anything because we're going to die out eventually probably before the sun goes out.  However you choose to look at it, or choose not to, enjoy it.  Find that bit of peace everywhere you look, and then the seconds stop mattering.  The best part is you end up doing much more when your heart and your mind have agreed on tea time.

 We are all a work in progress, and here I am one year later.  For the first time in my 24 years, I am starting to understand what it is to take the time to stop sometimes and just think.  As Winnie the Pooh would say,

"Don't underestimate the value of Doing Nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can't hear, and not bothering."

Thank you for all the support to everyone back home, to everyone I've met here, and everyone I've yet to meet.  

Here's my favorite shot from NYE 2014, which was the first I've experienced without a count down ;)

Wishing you all a happy new year!

Love,
Daze

Sublevel NYE 2014, Los Angeles

BEIJING BARBARS LET'S GO!

Beijing is quite the transient city, where often times you don't even know if or when you'll see each other again.  Some fall in love and leave the city; others are looking for an adventure, to find themselves, while others have found careers here, that sometimes includes going down the path of starting a family.  Whatever the case, we're all here for one reason today to cheer for our team the Beijing Barbarians!

Needless to say, refs take favorite to say the least--where free kicks and cards are thrown around when expats are playing a Chinese team, but this time was not much different with two expat teams.  Despite the few unfair calls made, there was no way around keeping 'em back.  

Last weekend my friends, the Beijing Barbarians played an absolutely kick ass game against Africa United.  They made the victory seem like a breeze against the undefeated team of 2 years. That's f*cking right, two years 'til now ;) Thank you Beijing for providing a clear and crisp Autumn setting for the game, unlike the previous weekend with an AQI of 300+ (but a game where we came victorious AS WELL).  A hip hip hooray and three big cheers to the Barbarians for the last weeks' victories, and for this next weekend's as well ;)

Make sure you check them out at www.beijingbarbarians.com/‎

Keep it up! Stay humble, stay bold.

♡ Daisy 

Inner Mongolia... No Wait.. Bashan, Hebei Province China

My friend Mona organized a trip for us to go do some China exploration! Originally I thought we were going to Inner Mongolia, but when I arrived and asked the gentleman leading me with the horse if he were Mongolian... I was just given an odd expression T__T guess we never made it to Inner Mongolia! HAH! Anyway, here are some photos.  We only stayed one night, but this is how the Chinese spend a weekend away from home.  Of course, there was a fresh lamb roasted for dinner along with some Chinese styled Karaoke and a bonfire to end the night, but I'll spare you guys from that ;) And to finish the trip off, we woke up at the crack of dawn and busted our butts up the hill to watch the Bashan sunrise :) I'm so lucky to have these wonderful colleagues.

♡ Daisy