Some quick pictures while I procrastinate studying for my finals.

I'll admit I have been pretty bad about this whole blog thing during my stay in China. 

Hopefully this makes up for it for the short term.

Yeah. I'm great at vertical lines.

The Terracotta Soldiers just outside of Xi'an during our ten day study tour.

My new glasses! Pretty stylish if I do say so myself.
I was told not to buy green glasses again. I believe this
shows that I can learn.

We took a weekend hiking Yellow Mountain (黄山). These are the mountains that inspired Avatar. It was stairs the whole way up! We only had time to hike one of the peaks, but...

The view was pretty spectacular! I haven't felt such a sense of accomplishment  for a long time.
The picture hardly does it justice.

上海 Shanghai

     Just some of the photos I took during my weekend in Shanghai. (We were in town for District Conference.) The group I was with was intent on shopping, so that is pretty much all we did there. It was still pretty cool; I'll actually probably plan a trip back at some point to see more of the sites.
     Shopping was pretty cool, the salespeople were incredibly pushy in getting people to buy from them and they all spoke English with such phrases as "shoes? wallet? you need wallet? pants? jeans? purse? suitcase? you need suitcase? you come in look, okay?" all this from about twenty people at the same time from different shops. It's best not to give them anything to go on, so I just kept a slight smile on my face and said nothing, making sure not to stop and give them a chance to force anything on me. It was pretty cool. I had my first experience with bargaining over prices, which I don't think I did very well. Regardless, I bought a Peak Performance jacket for about $40. Pretty sure it's a fake. There was also a place to get tailor-maid suits for really cheap. (I hear Beijing has them for cheaper, plus I'll have more time there.)
     If anyone wants anything from China, by the way, (and I know you relatively well in person) I would be happy to price things out for you. (ps. Look, Isaac! Your shirt's in China!)

Me on the Li River between Guilin and Yangshuo. Going to Shanghai tomorrow for the weekend. District Conference. Taking a five hour train in about four hours. Excuse the brevity.

New Show

I recently stumbled onto one of the strangest shows I've ever seen.  It's called Adventure Time (with Finn and Jake) and something about it makes me chuckle uncontrollably.  It's about a boy named Finn and his magical dog Jake who go on bizarre adventures and get into all sorts of odd situations.  Give it a try and tell me what you think.
http://youtu.be/5uybs85gl9Q

Uncle Iroh

Ok, here are two clips from the show Avatar: The Last Airbender, both featuring Uncle Iroh, one of my favorite characters.  The show does an amazing job of characterization, even in its sillier moments.

(Watch them in order)
1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eSQ6NFFctk
2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFASos1G-5U

(It might mean more to those who've actually seen it in context, although I think it still expresses the show's emotional range rather well.)

Up and Running (Sort of)

After some casual thought about what to put on my blog, I've determined that all I'm really good for is recommending media that have had an impact on me in some way.  Take them for what they're worth; I think they are pretty cool.  Since I know that everyone is dying to buy me presents, on my profile I posted my amazon.com wishlist.  When I have time I may make space for reviews of my recommendations (or at least synopses).

Yay! a blog!

Now if only I had something to say.