So?  Did you miss me?  It seems like it’s been far too long.  All of the work I poured into this little page of mine, and all of the people I’ve tricked convinced into stopping in to read what I have to write.  All that down the drain because I simply couldn’t find the inspiration to write anything worth saying.  But don’t worry, I’m back now.  Hopefully back to stay for a while.

It’s not as if I don’t have anything worth saying.  I do.  And you will be reading about it in the near future.

I know most of you enjoy my Funny Sign Fridays a lot.  I’m sorry to say, however, that that feature is going on temporary hiatus.  Why, you ask?  Because, quite frankly, I’ve run through my stock of funny signs!  I have a much better schedule this semester (no work on Fridays?  I’ll take some of that, thank you) so I plan on getting out and about a lot more and visiting more places around this vast country.  Along the way I’m sure I’ll find plenty of hilarious signs to share with all of you.

I have some other changes I’m kicking around.  But rather than write about it you’ll just have to wait and see what they are.

So, hello to all of you.  It’s good to see you again.  And it’s good to be back!

Related posts:

1. Finally Home
2. I’m Baaaack!
3. Introducing … Funny Sign Friday!

A quick recap of my trip: I spent 5 days in Shanghai and almost entirely burned through the meager savings I had from working this past semester.  Shanghai is an awesome city but with my current job it’s just too darn expensive!  Then I went down to Hangzhou for a day and half.  I did a ton of walking there and it wore me out completely.  But I can always use the exercise, right?  The West Lake is pretty nice and is impressive for being man-made.  But I grew up on the water, so I didn’t find it incredible or anything like that.  Lingyin Temple was definitely the highlight for me in Hangzhou.  After that I went down to Tunxi for a day and half.  For the full day that I spent there, I hiked Huangshan for 7 damn hours.  I was so completely exhausted by the end of it and I soaked my shirt in sweat a good 4 times, but the experience was incredible.  I’m still on a bit of a high from it.  And it’s mostly why my legs are still sore.  But it was totally worth it.

In a few days I’ll be heading back to the good ole’ US of A for about 5 weeks to visit friends and family.  So unfortunately I don’t have the time or energy to do a proper post on my trip.  But rest assured, they will be coming.  I plan on doing at least one post per city I visited.  Possibly more as there are just too many great things to write about (especially in Shanghai).  I know I’ve been seriously slacking with the Funny Sign Friday as well.  I’m very disappointed in myself for not keeping up with it.  I enjoyed writing those posts and it seems like a lot of you enjoyed reading them.  I’ll try my best to restart the regular schedule come next week.

So until I have the time to write a good, proper entry that you will (hopefully) all enjoy, here’s a little teaser photo of one of the coolest mountains I’ve ever seen and, of course, yours truly.

Related posts:

1. A Day on Yellow Mountain
2. A Few Days On the Lake
3. Shanghai: My First Day

So where should I be?  In Kashgar, that’s where.  In the wonderfully not Chinese province of Xinjiang.  And where am I now?  Still in Xi’an.  Damn it!  So why am I not there?  Because I missed my flight.  In the US, airlines are somewhat flexible about check-in times and all that.  Not so in China.  Check-in is closed 30 minutes before any flight, and that’s final.  I found that out the hard way because I showed up 20 minutes before the flight.  I tried to explain that I wasn’t going to check any bags and that I could get through security in time.  No dice.  Unless you have serious guan-xi (sort of translates to relations), which naturally I don’t, then you are screwed.  They offered to put me on a later flight, costing over 600 RMB more and causing me to land in Kashgar after midnight.  That’s a no go.  After a long phone conversation with the very nice people at eLong I will be able to reschedule my tickets for up to a year and only have to pay the difference in cost.  Not a bad deal, I think.  Still, I would much rather be in Xinjiang right now.

Though part of me thinks that this turn of events is a blessing in disguise.  My health has taken a turn for the worse in the past week shortly after booking my tickets.  Without going into the details, I will say that I was left nearly incapacitated for a full two days after it happened.  On the day I was supposed to leave I was still not 100% recovered.  I think backpacking around Xinjiang for 2 weeks would not improve things.  So now I have some extra time to lay about and recover.  At the moment I’m a bit too paranoid about Chinese doctors to go see one and so I’m left to self medicate (which I know is a really bad idea, but what’cha gonna do?) until I return to the states.

That being said, writing here and reading other blogs has dropped a lot on my list of priorities.  I may not be commenting a lot, but I’m still reading here and there, just very slowly.  My motivation is just completely sapped at the moment.  Between ending the semester, working hard on my blogging and writing, having dear friends leave my life (probably forever), and now this, I feel completely drained.  Fortunately, I have a few things pre-written in anticipation for my trip to Xinjiang, so there’s not much work I have to do for the coming week.

Speaking of working hard on writing, I had my first and second guest blog posts published within a day of each other.  The first is about my trip to Nanjing over at Asian Ramblings.  Originally I promised Stevo an article on a particular topic, and ended up writing something completely different.  He was kind enough to publish it anyway.  The second is an article I wrote about spending 48 hours in Xi’an over at My Several Worlds.  Both Carrie (at MSW) and Stevo have been incredibly supportive of me and always ready with advice and sound counsel.  I am very happy to have been given the opportunity to give something back to them.  Thanks guys!  I hope my work helps.

That’s all I got for now.  I just wanted to let you all know what’s going on and why I’ve been relatively quiet.  I feel like I should be more active than ever considering my two articles being published, but I just don’t have the energy.  I’m tired.  I’m filled with ennui.  I know I need to do something, to get outside and see some cool stuff.  I just can’t motivate myself at the moment.  On the flip side, there will be a 4th of July barbecue this weekend hosted by my Hash Run friend, which should be a lot of fun.

Have a happy 4th of July everyone!

No related posts.

Over the past week or two I have been really trying to get down to the root of this question?  Really, where does my time go?  What am I doing when I’m not teaching or preparing lessons?  This question arose because I was thinking that I wanted to post here more often.  I want to write more quality posts that hopefully all of you (or at least most of you) will enjoy.  Then this past Saturday I realized the answer.  The vast majority of my time is spent reading.  I am reading all the time and spend hours a day sitting in front of my computer just reading. I suppose it’s better than sitting in front of my TV all day, but it is still a problem.  I want to pursue other things, especially seeing more sights around Xi’an (which has taken a serious downturn over the past few weeks).  For example, I went to Nanjing two weekends ago and I still haven’t even begun to think about writing about.  There’s just not enough time!

Being an engineer, I am usually very organized and deliberate.  I swear I have at least a little OCD.  So after spending pretty much all day Saturday reading, I decided to make a comprehensive list of all the blogs and news sources I am currently following to see how much I am actually subscribed to.  I was surprised by the results.

1. ABC
2. Almost Fearless
3. Asian Ramblings
4. CNET News
5. CNN
6. Craig Ferguson Images
7. Digital Nomads
8. Exile Lifestyle
9. Expatriate Games
10. Flying Ready
11. Foodie Calls
12. Fluent in 3 Months
13. Free Pursuits
14. From Redwoods to Red China
15. Get Paid to Write
16. Get Rich Slowly
17. Green Tech
18. Hot Chicks with Douchebags
19. I Will Teach You to be Rich
20. Jet Set Citizen
21. Life Through the Lens of Bryan
22. Live Uncomfortably
23. Location Independent
24. Lost Laowai
25. Mark’s China Blog
26. Messin’ With Texas
27. Mine Your Resources
28. Muselife
29. My Several Worlds
30. Nomadic Matt
31. Off the Grid and On the Map
32. One Giant Step…Is All it Takes
33. Our New Office
34. Penelope Trunk’s Brazen Careerist
35. Penny Arcade
36. Rundown in Progress
37. SHE in China
38. Soul Travelers 3
39. Simple Productivity
40. Tales from Technomadia
41. The 9 to 5 Alternative
42. The 4 Hour Work Week
43. The Art of Nonconformity
44. The China Blog
45. The Longest Way Home
46. Thrilling Heroics
47. Traveling to Live
48. USA Today
49. Vagablogging
50. Wall Street Journal’s China Journal
51. Wandering Why
52. Web Worker Daily
53. Xinjiang: Far West China
54. Yahoo! News

On top of all this, I am also currently in the middle of reading two books.  I have no idea how I let this list get so long.  I think it just snowballed from the first few blogs I started reading.  Those blogs would post articles about what other people were doing and writing about, so I would read those and subscribe to their stuff.  And those people would make similar articles about more people, and so on and so forth.  I’m not sure how this list measures up to most bloggers out there, but I feel like this is a heck of a lot of reading.  I am nearly at my limit, I think.

The problem is, I enjoy all of these sites.  Each one has unique and interesting content.  It’s not always spectacular, but the vast majority is interesting and done well enough to warrant taking the time to read it.  I feel that as I continue to read more and more from different people and services all over the world, I am informing and empowering myself.  Information is power these days, right?  Also, by following many different writers, I can identify what styles and techniques I think will work for me.  Not only am I learning about the world and its many different facets, I am also making myself a better writer. And that, in turn, is a benefit to all of you.

But there is always a limit to self improvement.  You have to put a cap on it at some point.  Or else the effort to improve yourself replaces the original motivation.  When you lose sight of why you started in the first place, and all you have left is the compulsion to keep going.  I started reading more so that I could bring informed insight to my own blog, and to make myself a better writer.  But now I’ve taken on so much reading that I write far less than when I first came to China.

I need to reevaluate how much time I spend reading and why I am doing it.  Do I really enjoy all this reading?  Or am I simply doing it because I feel the obligation to read as much as possible?  Where do you draw the line and say, “This is enough”? Really this applies to any path to self improvement you choose to take.  While it is not certain that it will happen, the possibility is definitely there that the drive to become better at whatever it is you are doing becomes all-consuming.  You find a path that you hope will enable you to enjoy life a little more.  But then you find yourself spending so much time on that path that life passes you by.  And you’re left with no goal or destination in sight; you can’t even remember why you started but the only thing you can think to do is keep going.

Maybe I’m being a bit too extreme.  But I think it’s easier to make a point and illuminate the argument by taking the situation to an extreme conclusion.

What I’m saying is that I’ve reached a point where I need to cut back on what I’m doing because I’m losing sight of my original intentions.  I think everyone should be aware of change like this and should be prepared to take a step back and put it into perspective.  Self improvement is by no means a bad thing, but taken to an extreme it can be unhealthy for you and for those around you.

Of course, I suppose I could just learn how to read faster.  I wonder what kind of blogs a Google search would turn up….  Damn!

Related posts:

1. Did You Miss Me?
2. Reporting From Where I Shouldn’t Be

I am constantly updating the Dusty Trail with new places I want to go and links to the posts I’ve written for places I’ve been.

I am on Flickr!  That’s right, I have decided to sign up with the widespread media sharing platform.  On some very sage advice from a very nice and helpful person I have decided to split my photography uploads in two. I will still be posting the majority of my pictures to my Picasa Web Albums, primarily for my family and friends back home so they can get a good idea of the places I am visiting. My best photos, or at least the ones I think are the best, will be posted on Flickr. I am doing this because I want to try to improve my photography and I encourage you all to leave comments on my Flickr stream for ways I can do just that. Also I believe that by showcasing my best work in a single place I can create a more enjoyable picture viewing experience for those of you who may not be as interested in the cornucopia of less-than-stellar pictures I take.

If you check my Contact page you will see that I have added a number of ways in which to connect with me online. I encourage you all to look me up through the various networks and drop me a line, friend me, whatever. Network, network, network!

This Friday I will be starting a series of articles that makes me laugh just thinking about it.  I think expats, or those who have lived abroad at some point, will particularly enjoy it.  What will it be about?  Check back this Friday to find out….

I want feedback!  Probably starting this week or the next I will be soliciting a few of you asking for tips or suggestions on the direction I can take my blog.  It seems like recently I have only had time to focus on traveling, I guess because that’s mostly what I’ve been doing besides work.  Is that OK?  Should I be writing more about my (usually banal) day-to-day adventures?  Should I be writing about teaching English at a Chinese university?  In the coming weeks I will try to find out so look out for an email from yours truly.

Alright, now that I’ve told you all about what I’m up to, I would like to point you in the direction of some really great articles and new blogs I have started reading recently.

Bryan over at Life through the lens of Bryan recently returned from a trip to Colombia, about which he has written several stories and recollections.  My particular favorite is his narrative of his first night in Cartagena. Meeting people with amazing/crazy/odd stories and going on “adventures” with cab drivers is all part of the fun of traveling, right?

WanderingWhy’s Sean and Dawn have just returned to the good ole US of A after 18 months traveling around the world. Theirs is an incredible journey and they have some awesome stories written if you take the time to troll through the archives. I am really looking forward to their ruminations and musings as they readjust to life at home.

I wish Christine Gilbert would update her site, Almost Fearless, more often. Her photography and writing simply rocks. I highly recommend checking out her fantastically thought-provoking piece on the shrinking world and her engrossing narrative of surfing in Mal Pais.

NomadicMatt tells us all why now is the best time to travel. I couldn’t agree more. Also, his musings on whether or not you can travel for too long is a great read. I haven’t done nearly as much traveling as he has, but my opinion? No way.

Stevo tells it how it is, making intelligent observations about day-to-day life in China like I can only dream of. In particular, what are some of the first words an expat learns in Chinese? Oh yeah, duh.

Alan at The 9 to 5 Alternative featured a cool little piece about the world’s biggest everything. I found this fun to read, and guess what two things are getting added to the Dusty Trail?

My Several Worlds recently featured a series of photos of slum dwellers around the world by several different photographers. I found these pictures to be really moving stuff. Carrie has a great talent for writing and features some really provocative material, not to mention that her photography is amazing. I bow before her Blog kung fu.

Chris Guillebeau is still trying to change the world by traveling to every country in it. I think he may be able to do it. He is a great writer and has a ton of tips and tricks for traveling effectively and efficiently. He just recently released his manifesto on 279 days to overnight success (hyperbole?) which I highly recommend reading. Truly great stuff.

Derek at Live Uncomfortably has an endless supply of funny stories to share about his travels through Central and South America. In particular, though, I really enjoyed his reflections on sobriety and productivity. This is something that hits close to home as heavy drinking is something I have been struggling with since college (as a fraternity boy no less. Shocking, I know). Since coming to China my drinking has gone way, way down and I’m happier for it. I’m glad Derek managed to come out of his experiment alive and with a new, positive perspective on it.

Chris at Traveling to Live is still gearing up for his Round the World adventure next year. I look forward to the process he takes in preparing himself as I will probably be doing something very similar in the future. Recently I wrote about my first CouchSurfing experience so I thought it was interesting that Chris recently had his first Surfing experience as well. Rock on CouchSurfers!

All right, that’s all I got for now.  I cannot say enough how awesome these people are.  Some I have exchanged personal emails with (hopefully more in the future, assuming I get my lazy butt in gear) and they are always ready to dole out some helpful advice or a kind word.  I feel like I am entering a whole other community of people that is just as kind and generous as the CouchSurfers, my fraternity, or Diplomacy players.  Some truly great people with good things to say and great stories.  I think I will really enjoy my time here in the Blogosphere.  Hopefully you will enjoy it as much as me, if not more.

Cheers!

Related posts:

1. Where Does All My Time Go?

I have recently acquired a veritable reservoir of new music from a friend which will take me quite some time to sift through.  But more on that later (if at all).  Another reason I decided to axe it is because I found myself just randomly picking a song I had listened to that day.  I wasn’t making my choice based on any specific reason, which was my original intention.  Plus I’m lazy, too much so to keep up with enlightening you all with my musical tastes.

New additions you say?  Surely not!  How can you be so lazy as to remove a page from your site, then add more stuff.  At least this is what I imagine you are all thinking.  Aren’t you?  Anyway, I’ve added a few new sites to my blog roll.  I’ve been on this huge travel blog kick and I’ve been pouring over the archives of some of the sites that I have listed.  I find a lot of the writing is really interesting and can be a great way to pass some time.  At the very least some of the pictures are just amazing.

Almost Fearless is the first site I stumbled across dedicated to traveling.  I forget exactly how I found it, but I’m glad I did.  The site is managed by a woman who, in her 30-something’s, quit her job as a corporate executive and became a full-time traveler and freelance writer, dragging her husband and two dogs along for the ride.  Her journey is really inspiring, her writing is very good, and she can take a hell of a picture.  I highly recommend this site to any and all of you.

Asian Ramblings is by an almost middle aged man (thanks for the clarification Stevo!) who has been teaching English in China for the past few years.  Most of his updates are pictures, some of which are just awesome, but I do enjoy some of his laments (like not having enough Kraft Mac & Cheese) and his musings on those quirky things that make China so unique.  For all my lack of photographic expertise, this guy has plenty to go around.

Nomadic Matt and How to Travel the World are a couple of sites run by, that’s right you guessed it, a guy named Matt.  I haven’t had much of a chance to dive into Matt’s writing, but it looks very promising.  He is living a life style I have been dreaming about for the past couple of years.  How to Travel the World is an interesting site that has plenty of tips and advice for travelers.  I’m not sure yet if it is a regularly updated site, but the content that is up there now is interesting and very helpful.

One Giant Step is about a couple who are planning a one year trip around the world starting in June of this year. A lot of there writing is about planning their trip, travel itineraries, etc. To me the most interesting part is the process in which they rearrange their lives so that they can embark on this journey. Sell their house and most of their belongings, take leaves of absence from work, the whole nine yards. Once again it’s a very inspiring story.

The 9 to 5 Alternative is the last site I’m going to plug. Unfortunately I haven’t done much digging here because there is a lot to wade through over at Asian Ramblings. That coupled with a poor internet connection makes sifting through archives a slow and somewhat laborious process. Nevertheless, I have high hopes for 9 to 5, it looks promising.

I’m kicking around some ideas of content to add to my little site here.  One thing I want to do is add a list of places I plan on going to while here in China.  I haven’t written anything down, but I’m amassing a list in my head over time.  As you can imagine, there is a ton of different things to see and do in China.  I want to experience as much of it as possible.  I’m also in the process of changing the design of the site.  I would be further along on it than I am (which is not at all) but unfortunately my FTP program is not agreeing with me.

Do you have any interesting Travel-related websites you care to share with me?  How about some really cool places I can go see in China?

No related posts.

Yes, it is true, I am back.  Cower in fear!  Or maybe just quiver a little bit.  No?  Not scared?  Alright, well just fake it a bit to make me happy.

Anyway, I’ve been on a long hiatus from writing here for various reasons.  They’re not very good reasons or very interesting, so I won’t get into it.  Let’s just leave it at I stopped writing, and now I’m starting again.  Hooray!

Since my last post, I have graduated from school and I now have a masters degree in electrical engineering.  Go me.  However, as you may or may not know, I am not currently putting my hard-earned degree to work.  Instead I want to take a little break from the engineering stuff (5 1/2 years is a long time) and go travel the world a bit.  So the plan I’ve concocted is that I am going to teach English in China at a university.  Scary, I know; who in their right mind would let me around kids?  Granted, they’re college kids, but in my experience your decision making skills only get worse when you enter college.

I will be provided with housing (a one bedroom apartment) and a small monthly stipend.  Before you ask, no I don’t know how much I’ll be paid.  Quite frankly, it doesn’t really matter to me how much I get paid as long as it is enough for me to live.  I am certainly not doing this for the money, I want the opportunity to live in another country and absorb their culture and hopefully learn enough of the language that I can put it to good use in my future career, whatever that may be.

I have taken a semester of beginner’s Chinese, so while I do not have a strong grasp of the language, I have a bit of a head start that I think will go a long way towards helping me learn the language well.

I will be leaving for Thailand on February 11 to spend a few days in Bangkok with my friend from home.  And on or around February 16, I will depart for China, and classes start February 18 (I think).  I don’t know yet how long the semesters are or how long they expect me to stay, I imagine I will find that out when I get there.

Related posts:

1. Reflections on a Semester Past
2. Have Cool, Will Travel