but you can study mandarin in your country

hot as shit today. went out to look at some apartments in soho and sheung wan in jeans and was forced to come back to put on shorts. it was at least 88 with some serious humidity. i wasn't ready for that. the guy showing me around was a dude named arman - i was expecting the browntown - but he was a short little chinese man. one thing i did notice is that he, like many americans, had his keys hanging down from one of those chains on his belt loop. is there a name for that? i was never into it but i guess it's worldwide. i remember an a-hole teacher name mr pedulla (who brewed his own beer called pedu-brew) who had his keys on his belt loop and he always banged them onto his desk and chalkboard i thought he was such an asshole. arman's keys were banging around and he thought he was offending me so he pulled them off and held them. weird. the apts he showed me were decent, one better than the other, but neither super sweet like i want.

i had to go back to mike and sara's apartment after seeing those apartments cause i was drenched from the fucking heat. i spent a few hours sending emails and bidding on priceline for a flight to tokyo (niiyama here i come!) and finally made an appointment to see another unit in causeway bay near times square. this is where the shit really hit.

i took a bus down there which was surprisingly easy. the public transportation system here makes so much more sense than in ny. you pay for how far you go, even on a bus. the fare shown on the meter actually drops depending on how close you are to the destination. fucking genius. they're also double deckers so there are plenty of seats. real rocket science. so i get off the bus and figure out where i'm going (read: asked someone in the sogo department store to send me in the right direction) and i finally get on my way and i see this....



fuck me. thanks for the reminder! what i would do for a juicy double double - i probably shouldn't say out loud as i don't know what's [il]legal in this country. i salivated for 20 minutes and finally moved on to see this apartment. it was good - no, really good. i think this will be where i live for the next few months. it's on the 15th floor of a building right near an awesome area. it's a little shady, which i'm down with, but it has a queen bed and tv and a bathroom that isn't in the bedroom and has a separate showering area. the woman who showed me the place (pa-mela) not only is the person who shows the rooms, but also cleans them weekly. talk about efficient. there were people in all of the other rooms around, which is promising. there's a nice view of the area through a large window and shelf right in front, which will house my sneakers in as best a way possible given the fact that i'll be in such a small space.

i met up with a friend for a few minutes and got back on the bus. i sat in the last row like a shmuck and took a picture of the bottom deck....



i was already the only white on the bus so who gave a shit if my flash went off. the dude on the left looks psyched to be involved and the sleeper on the right was probably tired from a long day of studying that english. i don't blame her. the sweet spot about my seat was that there wasn't a seat in front of me so i could stretch my long white legs out and make everyone hate me even more. i was pumped to be wearing my new granny sneakers from yesterday. all comments on those will be ignored, you motherfuckers!

in other news, i got a call from a friend i met when i was out here in july. she didn't really understand why i came all the way to hong kong to learn mandarin. i really am just obsessed with all of the support i've received along the way. i'll show her when i'm talking around the streets with my BALLS t-shirt!