textures-tones.com r-expat.: n. abbr. a person who was once voluntarily absent from their home or country, and who, after many years, returns, brunette in tow…

So it’s been over an hour, and it’s still not finished. So much for peace and quiet? Here’s the video by the way! I watched for 10 minutes, recorded 8 minutes, got bored and stopped watching, cropped it down to 2 minutes to upload, and spent 15 minutes figuring out the Flash embed stuff.



Posted by sean x. l. on February 14th, 2010 - 1:01 am
Filed Under :: china
Tags ::

So it’s my first Chinese New Year spent in China actually, since I was little anyways. I wasn’t sure what to expect, and I’m still not entirely sure what to expect seeing as the festivities go on for a week apparently. I knew there were going to be fireworks, but not like this, and not in the street. There were people setting off huge explosions since early this morning right outside my apartment. And across the street from my restaurant. And on my way home as I walked. Frightening really; I’ve never been this close to fireworks or explosions before in my life. I could feel the particulate fall on my head…And loud as hell! Unlike US fireworks, these don’t seem to have been meant to be pretty and in the sky. Imagine a huge chain of explosives, that just blow up and spark and make a really loud noise and you’ll have the bulk of Chinese fireworks. Of course there’s the regular up in the sky “oh look how pretty” kind of fireworks as well, which have been going off non-stop since 5 minutes before midnight, so that would be over 35 minutes ago. And they’re still going, I’ll update the post when it’s done. But I wasn’t sure how this would affect my business, because a lot of people do go home for the holidays. It’s tradition that for Chinese New Year, you go home. The public transportation system’s been grinding to a halt with people unable to get plane or train tickets because everything’s full. I’ve had multiple foreign tourists come into my restaurant and tell me that they’re stuck here. So the city’s pretty empty, as empty as it can be I guess. And a lot of stores and restaurants are closed. The point being, I wasn’t sure if I’d have any business, and sure enough, today wasn’t that great of a day at the restaurant. It was fine, as a normal day goes, better than fine actually. But for a holiday, unlike the other holidays I’ve had where I’ve done great business like Christmas Eve or New Years. What is interesting is that definitely the Chinese have cleared out; my restaurant was filled with foreigners, though sometimes with their Chinese significant others. We shall see how the week plays out, whether I have business or not, whether I can stand the constant war zone noise outside my window. Seriously, it’s like the news footage of the Iraq war. I even took video, and am going to try uploading it here later for all to enjoy. If you have post traumatic stress disorder, be warned.


Posted by sean x. l. on February 14th, 2010 - 12:31 am
Filed Under :: china
Tags :: ,

So it’s been a very long time since we’ve posted. And it may be even longer until the next post. Nor will this post be very substantive as far as its text is concerned. To summarize though…

  • Our visas still haven’t been processed. We need to leave the country again come March 15th.
  • My mother, who was coming for the Chinese New Year and would have lived with us and thus applied lots of pressure on us to move before she got here, is no longer, not until June or so, so the pressure’s off, though we’re still looking for a new place.
  • We have yet to find a new place, though Season’s Park, which Maria found, seems decent. The search will continue and there will be stories about the whole process now that Maria is doing it herself with English speaking agents.
  • I’ve been busy like no other, working 13 hour days 7 days a week, but the restaurant is doing well, or at least better
  • I’m having some trouble deciding what I want to do with my future in China as far as where or how I want to work
  • It will soon be Chinese New Year, my first one that I will remember in China
  • It’s snowing again, and this after I was told by everyone that it doesn’t snow in Beijing any more like my memories from my early childhood and was very disappointed by the news.
  • To follow will be more detailed posts, I hope.
  • And to immediately follow will be photos of my restaurant’s food! (Which everyone should come to…)

Posted by sean x. l. on February 7th, 2010 - 7:09 pm
Filed Under :: photo albums
  • Milestones

    • March 4, 2010 - S. files 2009 US State and Federal tax returns from China
    • March 3, 2010 - M. turns in MBA application for BiMBA
    • March 2, 2010 - M. takes GMAT, score 740
    • February 21, 2010 - Lantern Festival in China, fireworks FINALLY end
    • February 15, 2010 - S. and M.'s 2 year anniversary, celebration postponed for a month
    • February 14, 2010 - Happy Year of the Tiger!
    • February 14, 2010 - S. and M. celebrate first Valentine's Day in China together
    • February 14, 2010 - S. and M. celebrate first Chinese New Year in China together
    • February 1, 2010 - M. turns in MBA application for Tsinghua
    • January 14, 2010 - S. and M. go to Seoul, Korea again to get on their next visa entry
    • January 1, 2010 - Happy New Year in China!
    • December 25, 2009 - S. and M.'s first Christmas in China; successful Christmas buffet at Connections Bar and Grill
    • December 19, 2009 - S. performs Handel's Messiah with the IFC in China!
    • December 16, 2009 - S. performs at the British Embassy with the IFC
    • December 15, 2009 - S. and M. open Chinese bank account
    • December 14, 2009 - M. starts taking Chinese classes
    • December 10, 2009 - S. is really managing Connections Bar and Grill; huh?
    • December 1, 2009 - Renovations FINALLY finish at S. and M.'s Beijing apartment.
    • December 1, 2009 - Renovations finish at Connections
    • November 26, 2009 - S. and M's first Thanksgiving in China
    • November 22, 2009 - S.'s first concert performance in China with the IFC Children's Chorus
    • November 18, 2009 - S. and M.'s China visa expires for the first time
    • November 16 to 18, 2009 - S. and M. go to Seoul, Korea for visa purposes
    • November 15, 2009 - S. celebrates his 26th birthday in China
    • November 13, 2009 - S. joins the International Festival Chorus in Beijing
    • October 31, 2009 - Renovations begin at Connections Bar and Grill
    • October 30, 2009 - M. gives talk at China University of Political Science and Law
    • October 24, 2009 - M. runs first race in Beijing, the 3rd Annual Pride in Beijing "10K"
    • October 23, 2009 - M. has first "non-S. et. al." business lunch
    • October 22, 2009 - M. sits in on iMBA class at BiMBA, BeiDa
    • October 20, 2009 - M. sits in on iMBA class at Tsinghua University
    • October 13, 2009 - S. and M.'s apartment gets internet
    • October 11, 2009 - S. and M. move in together
    • October 11, 2009 - S. and M. move into their own apartment in Beijing
    • September 25, 2009 - M. takes first run in Beijing
    • September 22, 2009 - S. and M. move to China
    • September 19, 2009 - S. and M. christen "Bob"
    • September 14, 2009 - S. and M. take last vacation in States to Carmel, CA
    • September 12, 2009 - S. and M. attend their going away party at Craig and Becky's
    • September 12, 2009 - M. sells her car
    • September 11, 2009 - S.'s last day at VS Media
    • September 7, 2009 - S. and M. get one way tickets to China
    • September 5, 2009 - M. gets added to S.'s checking account, making it "their" checking account
    • September 4, 2009 - M. finishes her MCLE
    • September 3, 2009 - S. and M. approved for visas to China.
    • August 31, 2009 - M. applies for visas for S. and M.
    • August 30, 2009 - S. gets new glasses after nearly five years
    • August 30, 2009 - S. and M. book last vacation in US to Carmel by the Sea
    • August 29, 2009 - M. transitions to T-Mobile pay-as-you-go cell phone, saying goodbye to Verizon
    • August 29, 2009 - M. submits paperwork to roll over SMRH 401k to IRA
    • August 15, 2009 - S. visits OH and meets M.'s immediate family for first time
    • August 10, 2009 - S. gives notice to VS Media, last day September 11, 2009
    • August 9, 2009 - M. visits RI/OH, meets twin nephews for first time
    • August 8, 2009 - M. purchases gap insurance
    • August 7, 2009 - M.'s last day at SMRH; thanks for the memories
    • July 31, 2009 - S. and M. move to his father's home
    • July 24, 2009 - S. moves collective furniture to his mother's home, moves out of BHT #1339 and into M's apt., BHT #1742
    • July 24, 2009 - M. 1st chair at trial, fails at submitting the stipulation, but inadvertently gets the case dismissed
    • July 23, 2009 - Everything OK with M.'s oral surgery
    • July 23, 2009 - S. sells his car for $8,800.00
    • July 22, 2009 - M. sells her couch for $600.00
    • July 21, 2009 - M. gives notice to SMRH, last day August 7, 2009
    • July 16, 2009 - M. gets oral surgery to remove wisdom teeth/cyst
  • To Do

    • M. - Finish scholarship applications
    • M. - File tax return
    • S. and M. - Go to ??? for visa purposes, again
    • S. and M. - Get together Z visa stuff
    • S. and M. - Find new apartment
    • S. - Epiphany website
    • S. - West Campus website
    • S. - IFC website
    • S. - Connections website
    • S. - Get a job