backpacking
Macau – part 2
Macau – part 1
I’m not one to buy into stereotypes, but chinese drivers…..
…are absolute shit.
It still blows my mind the maneuvers some of these people perform while in traffic. Earlier today someone stopped, while a nice flow of cars were behind him, for no apparent reason. He got out, looked around, then got back in his car and drove off? wtf? why? why would you do that? why would you stop right in the middle of traffic like that?
I touched on this topic before but today I got road rage. You see some downright illogical shit, like people making left turns from the far right lane WHILE A STEADY FLOW OF TRAFFIC IS BEHIND THEM. why????????
Also, maybe its just me but I can’t recall seeing speed limit signs (ill look for them tomorrow), but that doesn’t matter since speeding is never a factor, its people driving slower than molasses that’s the issue!!!! 
Qingdao, Shandong (Taidong Market)
When you go to computer city to buy something, you will return 3-4 times because it won’t work the first time.
I swear every time I go to  computer city to fix my computer or buy an item, I end up having to go back because something else goes wrong or the situation I went to fix never gets fixed. I haven’t been around because my laptop has been getting ‘treatment’ and I haven’t taken any pictures because my camera is under construction. oh boy oh joy.
Thing is, the place has great prices so you’re always drawn back and plus their aren’t very many places like it, but, they do mickey mouse jobs. For example, I went in to do some upgrading, I want to get 16gb of ram because one of my sticks flopped (I bought this stick from best buy wtf) and they put in another one. At the time, which was my mistake, I probably should have looked at what stick they entered, but I didn’t. I get home and I get the blue screen of death….wtf. So I open my laptop and I see some no name, off the wall stick that looks like Wang (actual person) just created in his basement. I go back there and I ask them for a name brand. She brings me a samsung, I get home, again blue screen of death. LOL. I laugh but its not funny. This place is a good 45 min away. Next afternoon I go back again, I tell them something is wrong, I did a diagnosis on it and of course the 2 sticks are different……they must be clocking different. They try to put 2 samsung sticks (per my suggestion), they turn on the comp (yea I’m not leaving this time) and instantly bsod. Had I gone home I think I would have thrown the fucking laptop against the wall. They tell me they don’t know whats wrong (I know what’s wrong these sticks aren’t actually samsung and they’re shit), but they suggest I just keep my current stick (which came with the laptop) and wait for them to find another one of my exact stick. How is it I go to this place for an upgrade and manage to go back home with only 8gbs of ram? LOL.
…..but that’s not all. I get home AND NOW MY KEYBOARD DOESN’T WORK ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?????? I push I and it’s y. I push 5 and its z. WOW. I call them and go off. They tell me that they will order me another keyboard. 4 days goes by…….I go down there….again…..they install the keyboard which only takes about 10 min, HOWEVER THE NEW KEYBOARD THEY JUST INSTALLED DOESN’T WORK LOL. The lady apologizes profusely and tells me she will order another. I go home…45 min away. 4 days later…..she calls me, I GO BACK DOWN THERE AGAIN……45 MIN. and finally my keyboard works. Bet I don’t have to go back down there again. WRONG…..WRONG.  Did I forget to mention my camera needs a new sensor, and this whole time it’s been under commission and is on the second floor of this place where I dropped it the first day because I thought…THOUGHT…I could kill 2 birds with 1 stone? HA! So yup, you got it…I have to go back down there to pick up my camera hahahaha.
Let’s see if the camera will be fixed the first time around……..
Well. I have finally caught up. From here on out my blogs will be current not archives.
No more entries from the past. Just in time for the new year! Â All I can say is that now that I am talking PRESENCE, I have gotten quite used to living in China. I know of course this confuses many people that I live abroad but as I try to explain to folks that there are 2 different people in the world, there are those that stay near their family, comfort, home, and then there are explorers, people that go to far away lands and venture out. These type B people are the sort of people that discovered the americas, married locals, hell, america is full of people that they themselves left their home country for a better life in which was foreign to them. Try not to be confused and try to understand. Some people feel comfortable being uncomfortable if that makes any sense…..
anyways its nice to know that from here on out my thoughts will be current. I’m just glad to have an archive I can look back on and compare my *new in china eyes* to my now *veteran eyes*. funny because QD is a transit city most folks don’t last more than a season yet I’ve been here this long.
anyways, its late. but I’m excited to finally have fresh writing material. 🙂
If there’s anything you want me to cover, any ideas, by all means share. I could use some feedback. 🙂
going back home for 6 months – entry: 12/6/13 – 5/6/14
entry: 5/6/13
This is around the time I took a break from china. It wasn’t that I had too, but rather, I needed to sort out some things back home, get a new chair, and catch up on some bills. What sucked about this was that I had just moved to wanda, and paid 6 months up front, I tried to sublease my place but its quite hard to do in the winter, esp during the holidays when most folks are headed home. So yea, basically I was just paying for storage. On a positive note I didn’t have a winter because I was back in LA. That was nice. I really didn’t do much during this time period. Just visited friends, hung out, practiced my chinese, got my new chair, bought a few ps4 games, upgraded my computer. In May when I returned, Chen picked me up, was greeted with a huge smile as tho Id left for 5 years. It was nice. When  I got home, nothing was rotten and making the house reek like last time (doh lol ) but everything was dusty as no had lived in the place for 6 months. I ended up extending my stay for the summer and meeting who is now my current roommate, Charlotte. She is from Spain. Pretty funny how we met, I was on a date with a russian girl and she saw me at the mall (wanda), where she also lived. I stand out obviously, so one night at a bar  she walked up and said she recognized me from the previous day the introduced herself. The following day we had dinner and became friends. We would go to bars together and hang out, eventually at the end of the summer we decided wanda and its management as per usual, were dicking on the rent, so we moved together in loashan, into a nice 3 bedroom about 5 min from the beach, with an ocean view and mountain view. pretty sweet, initially we were supposed to live with another guy Brian from Ireland whom we also met and lived at wanda, but he got a job in Shenzhen last min. so now its just me and Charlotte.
I guess I just skipped the entire summer, but nothing much happened except partying  (ahem), freelancing. Oh and I met a girl. Ill get into the ex-gf in my next entry.
Looks like I’ve just about caught up to current events. Almost, maybe like 1 or 2Â more blog, but its just in time, it is Dec 31st!!! I can start 2015, with a 2015 blog! sweet! HAPPY NEW YEARS TO YOU ALL AND THANKS FOR READING MY BLOG. I APPRECIATE IT.
-knox
I moved back to Wanda plaza
entry: 11/2/13
I moved back to Wanda plaza (40 floor complex), in case this is a new entry to you, this is a mall which has various businesses, apartments, hotel rooms, and a mall – anyways I get a card on my door every day for things like delivery food, consulting, massages, hotel service etc. I see a card for a dumpling place, so I place an order for dumplings and beer (it says 24 hours its about midnight). First sign something was off was some girl answered the phone sounded like she just woke up. I order, then she calls back to verify my room number once she gets to the elevator, I speak with a strong accent that the older chinese can’t understand but the younger ones can (sign number 2). The door knocks…..AND a 10 year old kid is the delivery guy WTF LOL. O_O….. China where 10 year old kids are delivering food at midnight.
back to wanda
random thought:Â I was watching chinese news, and there were 4 beached whales. Apparently overnight some people came and cut chunks of the whale meat. I don’t know why I laughed, but damn. hahaha
I woke up in a new buga…just kidding. I woke up in an old chinese taxi.
entry: 10/19/13
True story this happens quite often when I’m tired, stuck in traffic, and woken up at my place by the driver. Its crazier when you dream you’re home, only to find yourself surrounded by characters like the matrix.
You know what I hate? When someone comes to the crib and starts drinking out of the big gatorade bottle like it’s a 20oz straight to the neck. WTF that’s a liter asshole pour it in a cup!!!!! Prick didn’t even finish it so now I have a half liter of gatorade wasted with back wash. F*CK.
im not quite sure, but i think this was my bday. im just assuming by all the attention im getting, i cant remember much of it.
Traveling Knox 