I moved into a new apartment. this happened a few days ago. my shit was all moved on new year's eve eve, but I still clung to my squatter's rights in my olde quarters. two nights ago was my first sleep in my new abode. also the first time since Columbia, MO, USA that I've lived with a real deal “roommate.” but it's weird. I don't want to leave my room. a lot of that had to do with the fact that I've had all this shit to unpack. but it also has to do with knowing that there's someone else in this space. and if I listen hard enough through the wall that connects our rooms, maybe I can hear him breathing. that's right, it's a him. and a british him. and maybe british hims are different than other ones. but I sort of don't think so. at least not in the fact that they breathe. particularly when living.
how I came to live with another human is a long, dramgedy (get it, I combined drama with tragedy!). the drama comes from the fact that I wouldn't even be here in Hangzhou if living alone had never been promised to me in the first place. gotta love the verbal contract in china. no matter who makes the promise, get it in writing. even if it's just a fucking text message. and even if the promiser is from the same continent as you. the tragedy is that my other place was so much cooler. and not just because it only had one person in it. my bed was bigger. my shower had hot water that lasted for longer than 5 minutes (I'm back to that retardedness here in the new place. sigh.).
a red line came up under retardedness, which I still have no intention of changing. however, I right-clicked out of curiosity. the suggestions were many and varied: beardedness, beardedness', retardates, retardants. ok, only 4. but I was pleased. anyhoo, I feel like I've complained about my current living situation enough (here as well as in the real world), which hasn't made it one bit better. not one tiny bit. we'll see how this seemingly large defeat affects my overall mood for the next few months. I'm curious to see what perspective this “stepping out of my body to self-monitor” will afford me. if it's not a lot, I'm going to be totally pissed with both moody me and omniscient me. but homeboy will be heading back to en-guh-lund in a little while, so then I'll be back to living alone. until people further manipulate words/promises to suit their own agendas. pretty sure I can count on that. and yet I'm the one who has to have “principle” and “do the right thing.” “barf.” which apparently means letting people (rather, person) bully me to cover her own arse.
if I want to find nice things to say about it—and oddly, I'm inclined to do so right now—I can say that the view is better. for starters, i'm on the 10th floor, so I actually have a view. I can also say that the neighborhood is cooler than where I was. besides main road, there are little roads that wind past bakeries, cigarette stores, cafeterias and all manner of strung-up clothing. so it's definitely got a more Chinese feel to it. I should mention that here my actual apartment is not adjacent to an elementary school. so the gleeful and joyous sounds of small children no longer wakes me up. thank god. them shits were loud, yo. there's sposed to be a nice noodle joint around too, so that could work in my favor while I'm on the cheap this month. only 26 more days until payday. heh heh. nervous laughter. about that being on the cheap…
since it's the new year I've (of course) adopted a resolution, which I actually copied off someone else. I have to buy a very expensive plane ticket out of Hangzhou for spring festival. along with all the other people who live in china. and there are a lot of them. anyhoo…that resolution: I'm not going to drink beer for a month. or eat a subway sandwich. this is not because I believe I have a problem with either of these things, specifically in the area of over-consumption. this is just to save money. and a small part of this is to prove that my life can still have meaning without said items. it's worth pointing out that I only said “no beer.” whiskey and/or other spirits are totally acceptable, provided someone else does the providing.
listening to kunek right now. flight of the flynns. and I just wanted to get it down for posterity that this album, more than anything else, represents korea for me. particularly my year in ilsan. so many subway and bus rides into the gangnam area of seoul. and this is what I would listen to. it's a good memory, just because I can still pinpoint exactly how I felt. not necessarily happy (actually, I'd have to say closer to very unhappy), but happy to be on a mode of transportation that signified [quite literally] movement. even if events in my life didn't reflect the same metaphorically significant parallel of forward motion.
