Lian

10:53 am: 3 photos...
Well, someone mentioned my last entry was potentially a bit too *serious*. In an effort to lighten the mood (and seriously, sometimes I do think I'm too emotional these days :-/), three pictures follow (hey, I still remember how to make lj cuts!).

( Yeah... )

I hope that was sufficiently light-hearted ;)

04:57 pm: I think I'm going to try to come back here - I met a lot of great people through LJ.

A few quite updates:

-I'm now in Grad School at Purdue. I even have a degree - a Bachelor's of Science in Electrical Engineering, to be exact. How I pulled it off is still a mystery to me. Hilariously, I graduated with 192 credits (need 129 or so for the degree). But it's sadly not enoough for a 2nd major (I tried, trust me).

-I'm dating a wonderful guy and we try to spend as much time as possible (read: all the time) with each other. Surprisingly, we haven't driven each other crazy yet. What's even more amazing is that spending all that time together just makes us want to spend MORE time together.

-I updated my art webpage. Take a looky, if you want - not very much (any?) recent stuff, that'll come later.

Lian's Art Page

And I guess that's it for now...

04:13 pm: An update :o) (here's to keeping you slightly occupied, YL!)

And of course, pics behind the cut...
( Picspam galore! Paintings and Sherlock... )

08:57 pm: So Yiran has been pushing for me to update, but yeah... So...
This is something I've been meaning to write up now, but haven't had the time/energy/motivation. But I figure now's a good a time as any :o) It's not like I need that much sleep in the end, anyways.
( On one of my last days on my trip to China... )

Oh, and it's the VISA US Gymnastics Championships this week in Indianapolis. A childhood friend/girl that I used to help babysit, Lisa Wang, is in the rhythmic gymnastics competition. I think she's ranked 3rd nationally right now, but I could be wrong. Hopefully, I'll get to see her and wish her luck tomorrow and in preparing for the 2008 Olympics :o)

09:42 pm: Second part of LJ post... This is going to take a LOT longer than I thought :o( Well, have fun reading, Gunther! :p (too bad you have no more tax returns, huh? ;o) )

( The trip continues... )

And I'll stop there, because it's already long enough...

10:53 pm: Okay, I'm stop pushing this off and update. The essay post will now be broken into several parts, because it just became too long and personal and crap.

There won't be as many pictures as before, but more text, because so much happened in this last part of the trip that did not involve things that could be photographed. Indeed, as I was looking through my parents' last group of pictures, I realized that I didn't even have a picture of some of these wonderful people that I met. And really, how do you capture a few minutes worth of bonding, of shared knowledge that you will take with you for the rest of your life, even if you never see the person again? Well, in my memories, and here, my words, I guess. I've probably forgotten a lot, but as long as I remember the important parts, I think that'll be okay.

( Without further ado, Huang Long... )

At this point, I'm going to end this post. The other part(s?) will involve a lot more of my personal feelings and a bit of the political situation as it affected me (because that's really the context I know it in) on this trip. And yes, feel free to read if you're interested in that thing, but be warned that there won't be many pictures - there were quite a lot here because the 3 places we took the most pictures at were Emei Mountain, 9 Zhai Gou, and Huang Long. :o)

10:23 am: trailer_spot brought up a good point about geographical distances and locations of some of these places I visited (and provided me with a handy google image link!), so here goes...

( Maps, mostly... )

07:19 pm: Okay, this will be a long one, if for no other reason than there are a ton of pictures. People with slow modems, you have been warned. (BTW, the pictures are worth the wait). In this post are comprised 1/3 of the total pictures I plan to put online, so after this, I'll be 2/3 of the way done! Yay!

I forgot to add yesterday that the entrance fee to Emei is 120 rmb (yikes, right?), but if you're a student (with a valid ID - and yes, ISIC works), you get a 50% discount. Oh, and the pass is valid for 2 days, so I guess it works out in the end if you stay for 2 days.

( Cheng Du and Jiu Zhai Gou )

Well, that was just a lot of pictures, wasn't it? I'm sorry about the long post - if you're in a rush, I'd suggest looking at the pictures, because they are worth a look see. The tour group cost of our 4 day trip (including transportation, meals, and hotels) was around 550 rmb, which is not that bad a price at all. For a bit more, you could have requested better hotels/food, which I think I'd recommend for people not used to certain aspects of Chinese life. But I thought ours were tolerable (crappy food aside).

The weather was also insanely cold there (got a bit warmer midday, but cooled down a lot in the afternoon), so an umbrella and a thick sweater are musts. I think both my parents and I agreed that 9 Zhai Gou was the prettiest place we visited on our entire trip, and it'll be quite a while, I think, before we see anything that matches it (it blew Yellowstone out of the water, in any case).

02:06 am: The first of a series of updates about the trip, I guess.

First, a bit of ( personal stuff. )

Next, a brief overview of my (short?) trip:
May 8-9 - Fly back to China (estimated total time in air - 20 hours. Ugh). Meet some lovely people on planes.
May 10-11 - Beijing (shopping for CDs and DVDs mania!)
May 11 - Fly to Chengdu (capital of Sichuan)
May 12 - Leshan Giant Buddha visit, ride to Emei Mountain
May 13 - Emei Mountain visit, ride back to Chengdu
May 14 - Chengdu visit - Panda Zoo and Wu Hou Si
May 15 - 9 Zhai Gou Tour - drive to (estimate 9 hours of driving)
May 16 - 9 Zhai Gou, with a Zhang (Tibetan) ethnic minority group performance
May 17 - Huang Long (and tons of tour guide shit with shopping) and driving back (partway)
May 18 - Drive to Du Jiang Yuan, drive back to Chengdu
May 19 - Start of 3 day/night Three Gorges trip - drive to Chongqing, half day Chongqing tour, get on boat
May 20 - visit Ghost town, Zhang Fei temple
May 21 - see 3 gorges (first of three, then second - the little 3 gorges, then the little little 3 gorges, then the big gorge with the dam)
May 22 - land in Yi Chang at 3:00 am, drive to Wuhan, Wuhan tour, night train back to Beijing
May 23 - Beijing shopping (DVDs!), having birthday dinner with Dad and his family
May 24 - visiting step-aunt's company, checking DVD for errors, dinner with Mom's family
May 25 - Guzheng shopping, manga shopping, packing
May 26 - Fly Back

( And Leshan and Emei pictures and the journey )

Well, that was a lot of pictures and words. I apologize for any spelling/grammatical mistakes, but I kind of typed this all up rather quickly. And wait for the 9 Zhai Gou pictures - that place is amazing. The saying in China is that after you've been to 9 Zhai Gou, you don't want to look at any other water sceneries, and after you've been to Huang Mountain, you don't want to see any other mountains. I haven't see the latter, but I'm pretty sure any water scenery I see in the future I'll be comparing to 9 Zhai Gou. As for how my beloved Guilin compares, well, it's not the same thing :p

01:22 am: So my first update from China?
( Nothing much has been done yet... )
So, that was boring, no? Tomorrow, we head to Central China, which will be fun, I think. But my internet connection will also be lessened (my bro does a lot of online gaming so he has internet here).

So yeah, I'll be very behind on my friends list for the next few weeks. Apologies, everybody :o)

09:31 pm: Because I found this amusing... And sort of true... Sorry for not replying to a few LJ comments - I'm thinking, I'm thinking!
Oh, and stolen from jayth

Your dating personality profile: Liberal - Politics matters to you, and you aren't afraid to share your left-leaning views. You would never be caught voting for a conservative candidate. Funny - You laugh often. People never accuse you of lacking a sense of humor. You don't take yourself too seriously. Adventurous - Just sitting around the house is not something that appeals to you. You love to be out trying new things and really experiencing life.

Your date match profile: Shy - You are put off by people who are open books. You are drawn to someone who is a bit more mysterious. You want to draw him out of his shell and get to know what he is all about. Intellectual - You seek out intelligence. Idle chit-chat is not what you are after. You prefer your date who can stimulate your mind. Funny - You consider a good sense of humor a major necessity in a date. If his jokes make you laugh, he has won your heart.

Your Top Ten Traits 1. Liberal 2. Funny 3. Adventurous 4. Big-Hearted 5. Intellectual 6. Stylish 7. Wealthy/Ambitious 8. Romantic 9. Sensual 10. Athletic

Your Top Ten Match Traits 1. Shy 2. Intellectual 3. Funny 4. Practical 5. Adventurous 6. Conservative 7. Big-Hearted 8. Athletic 9. Stylish 10. Romantic

Take the Online Dating Personality Quiz at Dating Diversions

Hm... I'd say switch Funny and Practical and the right hand column... And very few people that know me well would describe me as funny, though about 3 years after I first interacted with Meng, I now can recognize that I'm a lot looser and can see humor in more scenes (and find dark comedy funnier ;o) )

03:07 pm: On the recommendation of tocasia, the Cavalier Daily comics for today: (specifically, read "Insert Title Here" and "Redux")

http://www.cavalierdaily.com/comics.asp?pid=1266

Is it wrong that I found that hilarious? ;o)

11:56 pm: Sorry for another useless (but hopefully humorous) post...

If you know me pretty well, you probably know that my favorite comic artist is Aaron McGruder.
( yesterday's panel... )

12:03 am: When one has too much homework and studying to do that one cannot even begin to think about it? One posts on LJ.

First, two pics of murals in Ireland: ( obligatory LJ cut )

Second, did I mention that I loved watercolor pencils? ( Yes, that is the Easterling Helm... )

09:00 pm: To continue a previous entry on Ireland... (again, instead of trying to finish the crapload of work I have to do before 9:00 am tomorrow... Heh, 12 hours now. It's not like I need sleep that much, anyways ;o)
( read on... )

11:47 pm: I just realized that I babble on too much. I guess I haven't changed that much since elementary school - just that I type now instead of talk. Could be an improvement - people now have the option of tuning me out :o)
( In an effort to not do homework, an post about Ireland )

11:40 am: May 20, 2004. ( travels and an attempt to see a football match )

Yesterday, I went to see Finding Neverland. ( reactions and spoilers - pretty short )

01:33 pm: Cutest thing ever: http://screenclean.j1media.com/lick.html

*sigh* I want one. And a puppy. I saw these little kids in my neighborhood with a puppy the other day, and I want one I can cuddle and hold and then grows up to a big thing that can jump on mean guys.

12:03 am: Yes, I know this is about 30 hours late. Oh, well, it has to be shown. Again and again and again. I caught a few minutes of the game today and was totally mesmerized. Talk about quality football. And dirty football. And hilarious football. Ah, I love them all. Keano was commanding, Giggsy was awesome, Scholesy kinda quiet, Ronaldo like a graceful swan, Rooney with his power strikers, Sheasy having this perfect shot, Heinze and Ferdinand being AWESOME in the back... I'm so glad our defense is good now.


For those who don't know, this is Thierry Henry, striker for Arsenal. In my defense, I didn't name the picture. :o)

In other stuff, I saw Bride and Prejudice the other day. ( more, spoilers, blah )

07:30 pm: You know, I can't remember if I posted this story or not. But, oh well, I'll do it again, because, well, I'm bored and too lazy to actually study for my test tomorrow (yes, shit).

( Easter dinner... )

And this all came up cause I was cooking stir-fry with asparagus and beef. See, for once, my mind was thinking of related things! Aren't you proud? Now, to that stupid outline and stupid Optics. I need to realize that taking senior and graduate level classes is not a good idea.