Threads of Fate, ha

When you get kicked out it seems like you've lost your way, a bit. So, you try to look around, see where to go next, see what your options are. You see a bunch of people, they seem friendly enough and hey look you know some of them! so you ask 'em what their dealio is, maybe they can help you out. They're actually going to go out and drink and play, and hey, what have you got to lose, so you join in on the joy and mirth that comes with booze and songs. Later on, though, as you're sitting there watching people you barely know sing songs, some that you know and sing along to, some that you don't know, you realize that you still haven't found your way; you're still a bit lost. And then you think, damn, it is because of I got kicked out that I'm doing this, this thing that I have never really had a preference for. A bit of a hypocrisy, really. You're starting to become someone you don't fully like; someone who succumbs to the recklessness of constant partying. Stupid humans and our need to numb pain. Or fully embrace it.

My Vices in China

1. KTV. If I go KTV, I don't get sleepy and I don't feel tired. It's like an instant wake-up call.
2. Liquor. Especially cheap, 燕京 beer. I hate beer, but I'm a girl and it's free! And it's just one. Or two. Or three. It's free...
3. Any hint or semblance of music and musical talent. Particularly the boys next door and the saxophonist down the hall who I've yet to meet.
4. The really nice 师傅 who owns a portable street stall next to the dormitory's gate whose food is amazing... and super oily. The vice is the food, not the man. He's old, but he knows who I am. I go there that much. Also cuz I try to speak to him in Chinese and I'm the "Chinese non-Chinese" girl.
5. Any fresh vegetable. I had a semi-wilted salad at an expatriate pizza joint and I devoured it even though in America it would be considered shitty, even for a fast food restaurant.
6. On the subject of food, any food that isn't Chinese food. I've gone to dinner with people I didn't even know just because they invited me on a whim to eat food that wasn't Chinese. Totally worth it, even if I was sitting in the corner.
7. Anything less than 10元. It's, like, $1.00. And most things that I see are 10元 or less. If you don't eat at expensive restaurants (any place with food over 25元, or about $4.00) and don't spend recklessly, you can literally live in China on $300 a month, or my previous monthly salary, about. Assuming you live in a place like mine. I heard apartments are super cheap also, so maybe even $200 a month.