so many reasons

Perhaps I just missed this in previous encounters, but there is definitely an option in the new version of photoshop called "Puppet warp."

I am entirely too entertained by this, and am building anticipation for when I actually try this on an image.

1 point each for China and the US

For China for having a day where the air quality is so ridiculous that the US Embassy had to invent a new level to report it.

For the US for coming up with "Crazy Bad."

Congratulations! You two are equally ridiculous.

still funny

some words are substantially funnier in English than in Chinese.

see: jerkface.

Ha!

obviously a metaphor

Current conditions in Beijing: Cold, Very Unhealthy

consider the source

but then, consider the information without the source. Then consider the source again. Then search for the truth that might be there, camouflaged by the dubious background of the source.

le sigh. live and learn. all of us.

riiight

So, it's possibly more useful to read one's horoscopic advice before the day in question is over. hm.

self treatment

Sometimes, there is no preventative medicine for disappointment. In some cases, all you can do is treat it belatedly with an adjusted dose of expectations.

le sigh. more things that are true regardless of time zone.

regardless of time zone:

coconut doesn't taste like paste.

it should not be easy to accidentally eat potato.

i am a master at sabotage.

free cake is tempting.

"late" is relative.

There's something a particular kind of entertaining about eating Thanksgiving dinner with chopsticks.

Extra +/-

China makes me admit things I wish weren't true.

melting

I just had tomato soup and a grilled ham and cheese panini from a french cafe for lunch. I must miss home. And paris. and DC.

aw. small world.

Turns out, you can get yelled at by angry German parents in any country.

may also apply to people

I like that some drinks (see: not-so-tasty Chinese herbal medication tea), are not nearly as difficult to endure if they're really hot.

though what exactly, I'm not sure

something has to be said for a country where practically everything is illegal, and you can do it all anyway.

that's what she... nevermind.

I just compared hula hooping to sex. Yeah, it's not as dirty as it sounds. It's actually a fairly apt metaphor for the... nevermind.

tonight on 20/20

Laser tag: yet another reason I need new glasses.

China +/- 1

Both good and bad: no personal voicemail in China.

MSG'ed?

I think my chakras have an inner ear infection.

market price

So in the markets here, generally walking away during bargaining is the sign that sellers should beat the "lowest price" they've already given you, call you back and put their cards on the table, offering you the actual lowest price. Granted, sometimes they're still asking too much and you've got to try again, but generally, this edges the conversation in the direction of "give me a realistic price or I'm leaving."

Sometimes, though, you refuse to pay what they're asking, they refuse your lower offer, and you walk away - and they let you. While occasionally this may mean that they just don't like you, it's more likely that it means you've actually tried to bargain down too far to an unrealistic price. The trouble is, sometimes it's hard to know what that price is until you insist on it and they don't call you back to concede. I guess at this point you have the option to swallow your pride and come back later or decide the price is too high and you don't want that sour-grape-colored sweater anyway.

As a metaphor, though - which this, like everything, clearly is - the last option doesn't always apply. Once you've bargained your way into an unrealistic ask and they've let you walk away and not followed, you can't always go back. You probably can't expect even the same price they originally agreed to, and they might not even agree to sell to you anymore. In the relationship marketplace, people are substantially less likely to just take whatever you'll give them or pursue you when you've walked away after asking too much or offering too little. But how do you know when you're about to reach that point? What are the signs that what you want is unreasonable? How do you identify the actual break even point in a relationship negotiation without passing the crucial point where they just let you walk away? At what point should you be glad they did?

baaaaaa humbug

For the first time since arriving in China, I am concerned about the meat in my lunch.

i was in a car, but I missed it

this morning at work there was an actual fire drill. in China. An actual Chinese fire drill, but I missed it because I was in a car. If you search a few layers deep, there is some irony embedded in there somewhere.

perhaps not so surprising, considering

it is rather useful to live in a city that rhymes with gerunds.

remember that time i played rock paper scissors with a statue... and lost?

Quote of the evening, Julie's justification in response to my complete inability to determine the weight in grams of a .284 kilogram orange.

Me: Seriously? I have a degree!
Julie: You don't have a degree in... centimeters!


yeah. Let's not mention the institution that granted BOTH of us degrees. awesome.