fortes.com

This year, I’ve decided to steal some time from musical hierarchies in order to do some (public) retrospection on my life in list form.

It’s been a busy year, dominated by travel and unemployment:

• January: Visited Thailand and Cambodia
• February: Nothing, apparently.
• March: Trips to Las Vegas, Utah, and Scottish Lakes.
• April: Ten days in New York, and a weekend in San Francisco.
• May: Quit my job
• June: Portugal and the World cup in Germany
• July: The tail end of my European trip, the beginning of China.
• August: I spent the entire month in Beijing, trying to learn enough Chinese to feed myself regularly.
• September: Intra-China travel begins
• October: My final month in China, 3 full weeks on the road.
• November: My sister’s wedding, driving around Florida, and touring Seattle.
• December: More Seattle, Florida for the holidays

In total, I visited eight nine (forgot Canada) countries and six U.S. states. In the vein of kottke’s list, I also spent the night in forty-one cities (bold type indicates cities I was in for more than one week):

1. Bangkok, Thailand
2. Chiang Mai, Thailand
3. Siem Reap, Cambodia
4. Koh Samui, Thailand
5. Koh Phan Nang, Thailand
6. Seattle, Washington
7. Scottish Lakes, Washington
8. Las Vegas, Nevada
9. Zion National Park, Utah
10. New York City, New York
11. San Francisco, California
12. George, Washington
13. Vancouver, Canada
14. Carcavelos, Portugal
15. Zambujeira, Portugal
16. Cologne, Germany
17. Frankfurt, Germany
18. Munich, Germany
19. Leipzig, Germany
20. Hamburg, Germany
21. Berlin, Germany
22. Nuremberg, Germany
23. Trier, Germany
24. Brugge, Belgium
25. Paris, France
26. Beijing, China
27. Tai Shan, China
28. Xi’an, China
29. Yangsuo, China
30. Baoji, China
31. Hui Xian, China
32. Chang Sha, China
33. Zhangjiajie, China
34. Lijiang, China
35. Hangzhou, China
36. St. Augustine, Florida
37. Gainesville, Florida
38. Miami, Florida
39. Key West, Florida
40. Everglades National Park, Florida
41. Tampa, Florida
42. St. George / Apalachicola, Florida

Whenever I go a long time without writing, my bar for what deserves to be posted here increases. Posts about food on a stick seem like such a crass way to break weeks-long silences — like calling up an old friend you haven’t seen in years only to ask for a restaurant recommendation.

After spending a month in Seattle, I’m back in Florida for a couple of weeks. Then, I go back to Seattle. Futher updates as my standards lower …

In the mean time, check out my fourth favorite song released this year:

The first half of the video is so-so, but like the song, the second half always puts me in a good mood.

I’ve got some time to kill before I leave China in a few hours.

I had a long list of things that I meant to write up in my inimitable, heart-wrenchingly awesome style. I never got around to them, but here are some of them in a quick list:

• Transportation: Very diverse and adjustable — also includes rare species of vehicles, many with three wheels (cargo bicycles, three-wheeled tractors, etc)
• Beijing Accent: Heavy on the “arrrrrr” — it’s kind of like living in a city of pirates
• Yelling: It’s not mean, it’s not rude, it’s just a common way of speaking in a very loud country
• Comb overs: Far more common in China. Some of them are awesome, although I never got around to taking pictures.
• Telling jokes with minimal vocabulary: As a foreigner, you have a lot of the same conversations. Even with your limited vocabulary, there are
  some easy ways to get a laugh (mostly at your own expense). [e.g. For some reason, every one keeps on asking if I'm cold or insisting I wear a jacket. I tell them I don't need one because I'm too fat. Always gets a laugh.]
• Over-employment: With 1.3 billion people, you need to make sure each job is way overstaffed. This is especially noticeable in restaurants, elevator ladies, and on the subway (Three people are involved during the subway transfer on my daily commute: #1: Takes the ticket I bought on Line 2, rips it and throws it away; #2: Gives me a new ticket for Line 13; #3 Watches to make sure the machine takes my Line 13 ticket).
• Phone Ringers: No one puts their phone on vibrate / how I’m out of touch with modern society and can’t understand the appeal of custom ringtones
• Things I’ll miss: Food, constant novelty, learning Mandarin, interesting people, and the humongous, inflated ego that comes from so frequently being the center of attention
• Things I won’t miss: Pollution, spitting, the toilets, being illiterate, and the constant “Hello!” sound that follows me everywhere