New Year's Resolutions

Well, have been back in the good ole U S of A for the past 4-5 days, with a rickety bed (aka sleeping bag), overdose of relatives, and very little unpacking. All I have to say is...I still want those homemade chocolate chip cookies!!!

2007 is going to be a big bag of surprises- I know 2006 was. I have to say it is hard to top 2006- as I was in Europe partying it up with Pat, backpacking, and hitting up China where I met some really diverse amazing people that I love. Sooo...let's see where 2007 will bring me. Hopefully beats what the palm reader told me since it just sounds so boring to be just not bad.

Countries I want to visit:
Japan (if I get that Nambu Internship)
Venezuela (end of Dec 2007 with Pat?? Celebrate New Years with my 2 best buds)
Egypt, Croatia, or Romania (if I teach this summer)
Well, the point is anywhere is a possibility and I'm loving it. Especially if I did my math correctly and I might be able to graduate a semester early (ps I suck at math)-- so I'll have somoe more time to do even more travelling...like maybe work and travel...hm...

Anyways, new years resolutions
1) To smile more. :) I think I was a little down too many times the past semester over really stupid things
2) Enjoy my time at AU and make some new friends. I'm sure I will as long as I don't become a workaholic
3) According to palm reader- be more ambitious. Don't do everything half assed. I feel like lately I've lost this motivation or drive to be ambitious after being in China. Heck, I'd use to tell my friends what I craved for dinner and that's what we had! If my taste buds lost some sense in good food, then somethings wrong.

Anywho, Happy New Year, and another 5 or so months until I'm legally able to drink in the US.

Alone in Nanjing...

Today was a semi hectic day. I helped a friend speed pack the rest of his stuff, and basically trying to zipper everything to make it all fit. I really don't know how we did it, but we finished in time, and got ourselves to the airport before our planes left in different direction. I have to admit, I got almost teary thinking about missing him when I was in the cab, but that's why I didn't say goodbye. Goodbyes sound quite permanent, and I hope we'll meet again. Other than that, my zai jians to everyone else were classic short and sweet. I'm so glad I helped him with his stuff (actually I would have no idea how he would have managed it if I wasn't around as well); he had soooo much stuff (5) that it was like when I hauled my ass home from Japan- I was so sick of the situation that I could only think about leaving instead of feeling sad. It was just weird that since I had so much thinking time to the hostel, I started thinking how it would be like with the people I usually hang out with being in Nanjing with me...oh my the voices in my head!!! I'll have fun times with or without them, but I hope they also have those random moments like I do with them.

Since I can't find to China Construction nearby and I basically used all my money for paying cab rides for me and my friend to the airport, to Nanjing Youth Hostel, etc, I am currently...broke. It's all good, I'll look for one tomorrow morning before going to wander around. Nanjing is an interesting place; the cab system works differently and the guy I had was picking people up while I was still in the cab...lol. It was just weird. I think I'm going to give up asking cabbies if they like their job; they always say no. Ah well, just trying to start a conversation. Though if I got a yuan for every person who asked me if I was Korean, I'd be rich. LoL, or Sarah says, I'd have a dollar. Okay, well definitely more than a dollar, make it at least 5.

Blahhh

Okay I wrote this entire entry about how my camera is broken and IE just decided to freeze on me just before publishing and now it's just turning into an annoying day where nothing is going right.

I think its karma; I don't know exactly what I did wrong to deserve this camera dropping incident where now the barrel is jammed tilted and no longer works. But I know its been a past two annoying days where the highlight of this trip is askewed with chinese 1gb usb drive not working properly so now I also lost my terracotta soldiers pictures. Maybe photos were just not meant to be, but it does suck. and karma hit me directly at my weakest spot: my love for electronics.

Guess one thing in life I will always be easily replacing where money is of no object: cameras.

Travels

So, currently writing this on a sticky keyboard in Tibet. Yes, Tibet. I'm going to make this short as I have no idea how long I have at the Internet cafe. But travelling has made me want to pick up my roots and fly away again. Anywhere. But next semester I'll be back at AU. Japan, fall senior year. Life changes. I've changed. For the better. A lot of stories have missed this blogging opportunity but I hope I will have a chance to post them up sometime. Like taking a 26hr train from Xinning to Lhasa, waking up at 8:30am suddenly to see the gorgeous moon and the various blues that go along the desert. So many stories, so little time. Being in all these undeveloped parts make me appreciate the life I have, the opportunities I have selfishly indulged in.

It is so hard to describe the beauty and the downfall of cities in what I have seen. It is sometimes a pity...