learning

I try to learn something new each day. It is fun and easy to do. I find that the most trivial things are the best. Like cotyledons. Do you know what that is? Find out its fascinating stuff. I will give you a moment to open a new window (or tab)and google it. Ok. So how did I learn that new thing well I was looking at some plants that I have started in the apartment and I have been watching then struggle to get through the soil and finally emerge and I was wondering why the first two little leaves are different shapes and seem to die as soon as the plant gets going and comfortable. So I looked it up, now I know. And if you have looked it up you know too. So each day there is something small that intrigues you dont give up on it, find out about it no matter how small, the world is much to interesting a place to be bored.

names

I realize that my name is not the single most common name in the world. Yet I am always struck by how many people around the world have difficulty with it. I met some people from Kazakhstan last night and they all had the multi-syllabic consonant driven mind boggling odd names, yet to a T they each struggled with my name. I admit I cant recall any of their names as I had been drinking heavily prior to meeting them and no doubt they had been getting a little tipsy themselves. I will just chalk that one up to the booze. My name isnt so hard, unless your well on your way to failing a field sobriety test. Labor day all day, no work, nothing to do. Just sit and watch the rain. Fun Fun Fun.

scrabble

I cant believe how much fun scrabble is. I took out the trusty old board and had a game with the class of staff and teacher that I teach and even though I didnt play I just watched and helped them it is an amazing game. I sure am glad someone thought that game up. I dont think I have ever played any board game that can match the pure entertainment of scrabble. If you dont own the game I suggest that you go right this minute to wherever is closest that sells it and buy it. I further suggest that you open the game right there at the counter and challenge the cashier and the person in line behind you to a game. I bet at least one of them will accept. If some nut job at a store bought a game tore it open and asked everyone around if they wanted to play I think I would be inclined to give it a go. But thats just me, you may scare the poor clerk and annoy the person behind you, but I say fuck em, they dont know what a good time they just missed.

life

I found the flash drive that I had lost a week ago. Isnt that the shit I found it after I bought a new one. I hate that but at least now I still can claim that I did in fact find it. The other thing that has been recurring recently is mosquitoes. Have I ever mentioned how much I loathe them? I was kept awake all night last night by the little bastards. Now I usually have a fairly good plan to deal with the mosquitoes when they attack in the night. I wake and let them feed. Then they leave me alone for the rest of the night as they are full of my rich and nutritious blood. This plan has only failed me when I got sick with the dengue fever in vietnam, but what the hell at least it wasnt malaria right. Anyway last night i tried my fool proof method, but there were like 10,000 of the little blood sucking things in my room. So i would get bitten wake up wait while it drank my blood and flew off then I would go back to sleep. Only to be awoken by another and another and another and ....I think I will change tactics this evening, I will try the old get so drunk that a train running over my head wouldnt wake me. Then even if they all return with their flying buddies for the buffet of blood they wont disturb my rest. As a bonus all the children they have will have fetal alcohol syndrome from the copious amount of alcohol in my blood tonight. well I should get started on retarding some future mosquitoes.

responsible

Perhaps I have said this here before but today I had another stark reminder if exactly how different the education systems in the US and chins actually are. My story for the day is this, I had a student that I teach for oral english say that because the students choose to speak in chinese during the class that somehow the method of teaching isnt suitable for their learning style. I was and am confounded. Exactly how does one propose to learn to speak another language? Do these students think that I can just lecture and they will learn oral english? Do they want me to hold their hand and stand over them to make certain that they only speak in english? What about taking some responsibility for your own education? My teacher never made certain I was doing the assignments, I mean never more than graded assessments. If the students choose not to do the assignments given and practice discussing about the topics that are presented then I cant really help them. I can only help those who help themselves, without motivation and an internal desire to improve what am I to do?

Pirates

I bought a new flash drive at the tech market in beijing( 6 levels of shit) and when I go it home i tried it out in order to be certain that it worked. Well guess what? Thats right it didnt. So I had to spend part of my afternoon off today returning to the tech market and trying to get a refund. Can you say ahahahahahaha refund in china I dont think that word is in their vocabulary. At any rate I paid a bit extra and got an upgrade. I hope this one works. I swear. There is no place like home there is no place like home...