some of this is repetative but i have limited time online so copyandpast will surely ensue. and habbit, i got the cdjust before i left. thank you so.

hotmail is down. rumors of SARS are increasing with the arrival of flu season. due to the sub-standard hygene here, you are allowed to spit on yuppies. and they are like gremlins in a rainstorm. welcome to the new economic wild west.

i literally had no plan this time. i figured i would plug in my mobile when i landed and hit redial. as i was exiting the plane, i met a man who decided to be my guardian angel. he took me to his apartment outside of the city. villas built by an american designer. villas called orange county. jeez. he returned in the morning. fed me and delivered me safely to a friend's place. then everything changed.

apparently, i worked my fuck ing ass off hard enough last time to build a foundation. not only did i pick up where i left off, but i can now be selective in my world domination. i was offered a gig writing freelance columns for one of the most popular foreign publications here. when i got to the office, i managed to convince the editor-in-chief that i was the everything he was looking for. so now he and i are deciding if i will become the art director, overseeing basically everything, writing, and giving it a much needed re-design. this magazing is at the vortex of almost everything happening here. fucking great. still possible to return to television. much more free time with that gig, but NO creativity. i have a lot to think about.

beijing expat communities are pretty tiny. especially in creative sectors and multimedia. every time i go out, i run into people i know. in china! tuesday nights are pub quiz nights. sunday hip hop at the worker's stadium. a halloween ball in an abandoned factory. boo. a British interior design exhibition that i wrote a column about including a computer-programmed room with interactive virtual spaces so as you drink from the inhabitants teacup, you can see and feel his emotions projected on the material around you. punk rock chicks you want to take home and keep on a leash. a soft leash with a faux fur collar. it is non-stop. it as all accessible. it is so cheap.

i have to pay for internet access until i'm in an office. so brilliant me decides to download "siddhartha" and "the universe in a nutshell" with a dial-up. it's taking hours. but what could be cooler than walking through china with herman hesse and stephen hawking talking to me on my iPod...

back in the prc.
love,
solar

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