I’m getting desensitized to domestic violence.

entry: 5/25/13

I was at a restaurant and I saw a girl get slapped so hard her earrings splashed on the ground like someone emptied a bag of marbles. Instead of making sure she was ok, I was making sure no one tripped on the earring pieces. tf

One of the first things I noticed when I moved here was domestic violence wasn’t rare. Alarming the first time you see it. My first episode was my 2nd month here. I saw a lady getting choked out by her bf IN FRONT of a bouncer who was watching it all go down. We were driving by and I stopped the car, and showed my friends what was going on. They were hesitant, but I demanded they get him off her as he was mounted on top of her and choking her out with 2 hands. Needless to say, the guy  was upset. My boy is a 6ft 4 italian so it was funny to watch the guy try to swing on him in a drunken rage, but I was especially alarmed when the dude ran off into the night, only for him to come back with a metal pipe. Guess who threw themselves in front of him when my friend was about to bash his head in? The girl! wtf.  Its also not rare to hear various neighbors getting into scuffles in just about every apt complex I’ve lived in. You hear glasses break, yelling, fighting, and the cops are never called.

My theory is the lack of communication in relationships as the cause. Chinese have a save face culture. Talking it out is quite rare. I noticed that when something goes wrong, a simple sorry and ignore is the way to go, however we all know that if you’re pissed off……being quiet about it isn’t the way to squash beef. Talking it out is….so what happens is eventually…people explode. Luckily, the level of violence isn’t actually all that physically threatening, they’re not the biggest or most powerful of people. But still…..its quite crazy!

I went to the hospital. mens restroom was like satans restroom

entry: 9/2/12

I went to the hospital. mens restroom was like satans restroom, so I went to the ladies restroom…thats where I saw the biggest pile of dump I’ve ever seen humanly possible. It looked like an elephant took it. She clearly needed to be there. Oh and it wasn’t in a western style toilet, it was on the chinese kind, which pretty much means the floor. I need a vacation.

entry: 9/3/12

Didn’t even care today, slept thru the drilling, the mini TnT, the sledgehammer, the walls shaking. I can officially sleep through a war. I have been hardened. +1 Knox.

entry: 9/4/12

It’s like you get used to the construction only for them to get louder more aggressive the next day. X-/ -1 Knox

entry: 9/5/12

her: how old are you?
me: 31 in a month
her: are you married?
me: no
her: kids?
me: no
her: wtf are you doing with your life?
me: living exceptionally well because of neither. lol.

entry: 9/18/12

Great. They closed the Jusco (supermarket) downstairs because of protests. Now there’s military police with water cannons guarding it. Luckily Qingdao hasn’t been too bad, but you can feel the nationalism. I just muttered the word Japanese in my lobby and people gave me a sharp stares. Crazy.

entry: 9/19/12

So every day between the hours of 8-9pm, these old chinese women are doing tai chi and yoga in front of the mall with chinese music playing on a PA which can be heard a good 2 block radius. Now, I’m not against ethnic music, I’ve traveled many places and can appreciate most. But chinese music is hands down some of the worst piece of music ever. It’s sounds like 2 cats in heat. Read this exactly how I write it. MEOW MEOW MEOW MEOOOOOOW – MEOW ME-OW – ME-OW MEOW MEEE-OW MEEEEEEOOOOOOOOW – MEOW MEOW ME-OOOWWWW. i just typed what I just heard pumping into my window. Every day at this time, when I hear the meows, I get up and close my window. *hater mode*

random thought: I don’t know why they call it common sense, because it’s not so common. – Knox

entry: 9/25/12

I used to complain about U.S customer service, but after living abroad, HA. not a chance. I just ordered supplies to arrive home when I get there, and the response time of those emails were within 5 minutes! Booked my appointments, done within 3 minutes. If you live in the States, you need to STFU and appreciate how easy it is to get things done. Like baby spooning. Ok ok ok I’ll call it efficiency. So quick and effective, even when it’s slow I’ll consider it fast. Today, I’m going to go to an empty bank, spend an hour having my passport passed around by 4-5 people, bit of mickey mouse gesturing from all of the above, few irrelevant questions, few bystanders like the bored security guard and receptionist, until someone ‘remembers’ how to make a transaction. Whereas in the States, it’s like GIMME YOUR CARD, HERES YOUR MONEY, NOW GTFO! I miss that.

I wish I was a hand, so my occupation could be handing out slaps.

entry: 9/1/12

I just want to give a special shout outs to the construction team that was doing work in the hallway with a sledgehammer at 8am. Thank you. I appreciate waking up to a dream that special ops were trying to kick down my door. one love.

Later in the  day, Me and Toye got into it with the taxi driver. Me being the mean one had a verbal exchange with him despite either of us speaking each others language. so it went a bit like this

Driver –获得他妈的外国人!!!!!!!!

Me– wait..wait hold up, who do you think you’re talking too????

Driver – 你!!!!!! 狗外国人!!!!!!!

Me–how about I %#$#%%#$ you #%&@%#$@????

Driver–是什么呢????????????? 我吗??????????

Driver — 拧你,你的母亲,祖先,全家好吗!

Me– oh really?????? me???? *humping gesture* @%# I will $@%$@%#!!!!!!!

Driver– 狗!!!!!!!!

Me– *finger* a@@h@l@!!!!!!!!

Driver–你的母亲!!!!! *humping gesture*

Me– @#$# you!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Driver — *go away gesture*

Me– *snatches change from his hand*

Me and some lady got into a mad dogging mean mugging contest – That QD liquor got folks feeling immortal.

entry: 8/1/12

Both of our eyebrows were down. locked and focused. I then flipped it and put on a thizz face (google it) like I just took a bite out of a lemon. She got scared and put an extra gear in her step. + 1 Knox.

QD liquor got folks thinking they’re immortal. Got folks getting carried out the club by their limbs. Got folks splashing on the ground. Got folks spilling onto the streets. Got chicks dancing on poles. Got dudes taking home loosy goosyes. That QD liquor wild. haha

random thought: apparently if you microwave a boiled egg it explodes into a million pieces. who knew. *shrugs*

Don’t you hate when someones breath smells, you offer them some gum or mints and they decline. It’s like take the god damn mint god dammit! thats that shit I don’t like. Breath smelling like fish soup, tofu, and mushrooms, jesus, then want to be all up in my face breathing in my nostrils and shit. Pisses me off.

beer festival has began in qingdao. yea, we start young out here *shrugs*

I don’t speak chinese, doesn’t matter….I’m the charades master.

entry: July 4th, 2012

I’ve been living in china for 8 months playing it every day. I’m so good I can sign language ‘important’ and get people to understand. what!

Random thought: I need to put sand paper on my door because GO AWAY does not translate in mandarin.

Its fourth of july and I have this sudden urge to go decked out in red white and blue stars and stripe pants, shirt and shoes. lookin like uncle sam. make a whole lot of chinese mad. stomp around their turf wrapped in an american flag, like what’s going on guys? when yall gon’ vote, oh oops. LOL. happy 4th. Im kidding Im kidding, actually I dont give a shit.

Random thought II: Bet you can’t fall asleep butt naked on a bare mattress!!!!!!!….because study show 90% of humans can only fall sleep, with some type of cover. Its a subconscious way of feeling secure in your most vulnerable state.

Chinese milk doesnt go bad???

entry: 5/28/12

Back in Qingdao, and um, Ive had this carton of milk in my frig for like a month. I opened it and it wasn’t bad, no smell, no lumps, nothing. Now I’m curious as to what is in my chinese milk. Surely that can’t be a good sign. o_O

You know you’re back in China when:  the left lane to make a left turn, rushes to turn ( per law like the rest of the world its yield lol) before oncoming traffic, cutting everyone off,  including buses, women and children. Just cut all of them off, who cares. and the third car that tries to beat the oncoming traffic squeezes in so tight he’s driving in between people crossing the street, dodging cars hahaha

this milk doesnt go bad. hmmm

My first weekend in Seoul

entry: 5/26/12

Big ups the korean mama-san and the itaewon pimp that kept buying me rum and cokes despite being extreme light weights and stumbling about breaking damn near every glass in  the pool hall. Im from china trick, we heavyweights. Korea aint got nothing on what we do in Qingdao. I felt kinda bad for them. lololol The koreans were very embarrassed toward their behavior, but to me, this was every day chinese behavior – seeing people unable to walk, spilling all over the side walks, an every day in good ol Qingdao. *shrugs*.

Im staying in a love motel, hilarious how they try to mask it, yea because I cant see the business guys over 40 with 20 year olds running around. OK. Anyways I got a chance to catch the Mayweather fight against Cotto, and then linked up with my boy Bernard and his gf. They took me to a nice restaurant where I got a chance to eat some steak. mmmm. Its been awhile.

Bernard and his gf

Chinese bathrooms: That smell tho.

entry: 4/1/12

I wish all public bathrooms were like 5 star bathrooms, with automatic flush and faucets, ambient music, automatic scent releaser, with a doorman that gives you assorted mints. Instead, the public bathroom reek of dead body, piss hole in the ground, no soap, no flush, no paper towel, and a slippery floor that if you slip, you will catch sars.

Story,

Normally I don’t take a shat in public restrooms I wait until I get home, but I had some bad mussels or something, and the bubblies struck me. In 2.5 seconds I went from -_- to O_O.  I get in there, and I’m like uh oh.

The floors are always slippery, so imagine how carefully you must walk because one mistake and it’ll be a life changing experience. I cant really tell if its water, or ancient old piss which of course since they dont use bleach, is probably piss with water rinsed around. Imagine how I felt when I notice my shoe laces were untied and  had been dragged across the piss wet bathroom floor, yep :sigh:. At this point I just realized I’d never actually used the hole to shit in before, I pause for a second, like wow I’m going to actually squat, which is tough to do when the floor feels like its covered in vegetable oil and youre partially paralyzed, the closer you squat the bigger whiff of that god awful sewage you get. I felt so stupid, confused, dumb, mad, worried. It doesn’t even make sense, the hole is so small while the plate is so big, by default the shit lands on the plate, the smell resonates since it’s just there. You try to flush, pffftt, chinese plumbing is piss weak, it’s literally like trying to spray down shit with a 50 cent water gun. Then when you’re done, better have toilet paper playboy because none of the bathrooms have them. I should also add, again, the floors are very very slippery with years of  piss, it’s so potent you can taste it, it stays in your sinus for an hour. Alas there I am texting my friend to bring me some toilet paper from across the street, waiting there marinating in that awfulness for 5-10 min.  Nevermind there was no soap to wash my hands after. O_o

I dread going in the public restrooms here, but I have too because I’m always drinking big ass 500ml beers for 75 cents. Seriously Im considering switching to wine just so I dont have to go. You can’t get used to that smell, you just have to hold your lungs like a professional scuba diver. I’m a master now.