an apology

I want to apologize to my Chinese readers, who have complained that I offer too negative a view of China. (They're not featured in the comments section because I cannot convince them that I was joking when I told them their English was not good enough to comment on my blog. --Guys, it was a joke! Come on!) I promised myself that I would write some positive posts about my experiences in China, which are generally wonderful. But, I have been unable to get past REM sleep for the past week, due to the fireworks. Thus, crankiness has gradually slipped into my demeanor in the same way that I have gradually had to raise the volume of my music as the fireworks have left my ears straining to hear what were previously adequate volumes for my laptop speakers.

My apologies,

Sven

PS: The fireworks here are insane. Just insane.

My ears are reeling from the pain of having massive explosions just outside my window. I have honestly wondered if the cars on my block were blown up because some of the explosions sound just like car bombs from movies.

I slept until 4 PM today. The reason is that I could not determine if I had slept for 5 hours or 12 hours because I honestly never got past REM sleep. (My phone alarm and clock are located in my cell phone. My cell phone is located in the hands of a lucky cab driver in Tianjin.) REM sleep is the sleep where you have dreams. My dreams were about shooting guns, being in a war torn country, fighting alongside Denise Richards in Starship Troopers, blowing up things in microwaves, and moving to the serenity of a frozen wildness. The last one did not last very long before the ice cracked open and swallowed me into Hephaestus’ blacksmith shop.

On the plus side, the world looks incredible with these fireworks constantly exploding and making every moment feel like a Disney moment. I was thrown aback by the midnight of the New Year. I took a lot of crappy cell phone pictures, which I subsequently lost.