Hello World.

Finally a post about design school!  The past three weeks of classes have involved drawing geometric shapes i.e. geoforms.  We drew them using pen, we drew them using pencil, we drew them using marker, and we drew them using chalk.  That was fine for me.  I liked doing mindless shading.

Now we are getting into actual design, and I am having doubts about my abilities as a designer.  I know what good design looks like, and I know my ideas are not up to par.  At first I was depressed about not producing really good ideas, but then I thought about it and realized that really good ideas take time.  I should focus on realizing my weaknesses and improve on them, and maybe in time (a long time) I might become the amazing designer I hope to be.  I need to reign in my frustration, and work on it patiently.  It’s difficult to do that these days since everything is so instantaneous.  I am blown away at how much practice it takes just to train your hand to do what your mind sees.

I don’t know if this post will make sense later.  I slept for 3 or 4 hours last night…and like 5 the previous night.  This lack of sleep thing is killing me too.

The people of Beijing definitely are enjoying life.  It seems like no matter how poor, people are always happy about something.  In the mornings you can see them dancing in the park, getting breakfast at a local shop, or buying groceries at their local street market.  The city feels alive with all the people.  It’s a kind of energy that can only be generated by millions of busy people buzzing in all directions at all times.  Due to the large labor force, Chinese retirement is set at 55 for women and 60 for men.  In some companies, women can retire at 45 and men at 55.  As a result, there are many middle aged people futzing around, enjoying their lives.  The government also raises the salaries of retirees annually, making sure it is on par with inflation.

The success of the 2008 Olympics has brought national pride to an all time high in China.  Although I find it absurd that Beijing still has “One World One Dream,” and “Beijing 2008” banners up, the Beijing people don’t seem to mind.  It seems like everyone knows the lyrics to “Beijing Huan Ying Ni,” or “Beijing Welcomes You”- a song that has been etched into my mind by annoying subway ads, and various people who like to hum it in public.  I think Beijing is still cruising on its Olympics high, much like America is still in its honeymoon phase with Obama minus the overhanging dark cloud of the crashing economy.  The people of Beijing are very friendly, and helpful.  I have never been lost in all my adventures there partially due to amazing people who were willing to help me out (the other part is due to my totally awesome sense of direction). 

To talk about the people of Beijing without mentioning the lao wai di would be a huge oversight considering they take up a majority of the population.  Most of people you see in Beijing today are from outside of Beijing, and appropriately dubbed lao wai di (literally translated as old outside land, or as I call them: LWD).  They are what the Mexicans are to America.  Manual laborers, trash collectors, maids, and service people make up the usual jobs occupied by the LWD (as I call them for short).  They come to the city in hopes to make enough money to either stay or go home, marry, and start a life.  You can always tell them apart from their smell, weird clothes, accents, and lack of manners.  

At first the influx of foul smelling, uneducated, rude LWD was a major pain in the ass of Beijingers.  Crowding their busses, parks, and committing social faux pas like spitting on the sidewalk.  Soon, the Beijing natives realized that life would be far more difficult if it weren’t for their LWD cohabitants.  The streets would be unkept, little shops selling goodies would become scarce, restaurants would lose their servers, and no one would be able to get reasonably priced massages and facials.  Now the native Beijing can only accept the symbiotic relationship that has been developed between them and the outsiders. 

I miss the buzzing of people, the positive energy that everyone exudes, and the optimism of Beijing’s residents.  I hope to return some day soon.

My faithful reader(s) know I’ve been in Beijing, China for the past three months dicking around, and thinking about my future.  Since the Great Firewall of China is siteist and blocks tumblr, I am forced to recap my thoughts/experiences/feelings/smells in a series that I’m calling “Beijing Recaps.”

That is all,

T