serenity now

Serenity is the state one reaches when they're in the passanger side of a car as it drives down the wrong side of the road as the driver talks loudly and carelessly on her cellphone, rushing towards an oncoming truck, and the vehicle preventing you from moving over to your side of the road is a police car. You're either going to die in a terrible car wreck, or somehow get out. There is nothing you can do about this situation. Screaming is useless - it will just scare the driver - all one can do is grasp hold of the arm rest and hope that it will all turn good. This happens - or a situation similar to it - every time you get into a car, bus, or any other vehicle in China.

Every driver in China agrees that the roads are terrible here. Usually when they're driving, cutting off 2 cars, 20 bikes, and almost running down 3 pedestrians.

I had a dream the other night that I had to get a snake to bite me because the poison was some kind of medicine or drug or something. A friend (I don't remember who) and I would put the snakes down our sleeve and then watch them as they thrust their fangs into our hands. It hurt like hell. We'd then try to shake them off and they'd slither away. I have no idea what it means but I'm sure Freud would have a field day.

I was looking at aparments this weekend in Shanghai and I don't know why anyone would live anywhere else. One of the places I looked at was like a 5th avenue spread. It was incredible, and only $200/month. Not bad at all. It was kind of shit returning to my Lin'an apartment where the wood flooring is just wood-looking floorpaper (I don't know what one calls wallpaper on the floor). Anyway, it has a lot of holes in it now because every time I move a chair it scrapes through.