Hello Again!
I want to start off by thanking everyone who sent me birthday wishes, I had a really great day, mostly because so many people were nice enough to go out of their way to say hello! I even got a birthday card from the first level class (merci beaucoup, Marie!).
My day itself was pretty normal, school et al. In the evening, we had a little get-together/impromptou dance party in my room, check out Jake Schickler's facebook in the future if you can, I'll get him to post some of his pics. (He has an SLR camera, which takes amazing photos).
The next day, after sifting through a stack of facebook messages, a group of us went out to see the Go! Team, (for those who don't know, they are a British band with a sort of rock/electronic/hip hop aesthetic) at one of the venues here in Beijing. Not only was it amazingly cheap (less than $10, including free mojitos), but it was also one of the most amazing nights I have ever had. The band put on a phenomenal show, and though I hadn't really listened to their stuff much before, I am now a convert. The crowd was raucus and passionate, and my friends and I all boogied like it was 1956 and The Rat Pack was headlining at the Stardust.
After the show, my friend Charles, who is an avid fan, went up to get his poster signed, and ended up with that and a signed drumstick. On a whim I decided that I would get my shoes, which I had bought here for about $3 US, signed by the band, so I gave them to one of the singers to bring back. I waited around, shoeless for a few minutes, until all of a sudden Ian Parton, the composer and Eddie Van Halen of the band, comes out and offers to buy my shoes from me. I told him I needed to walk home, but I would be happy to point him in the direction of a store at which he could buy them. Turns out they were leaving for Shanghai the next day, so they wouldn't be able to stop in at any WuMei markets to buy a pair. Long story short, he gave me his address in London to mail him a pair when I got back to the states! Talk about good birthday karma! In exchange I got a signed t-shirt, which will give me comfort every time a smug indie kid makes me grind my teeth with exasperation.
After the show got out, we were waiting on the curb for a cab, when my friend Lorelei was invited to a party at the American Ambassador's house-- apparently his son was blacked out and invited basically the entire expat community to go. I declined, feeling tired and dizzy, and also I feel like I can't support one drunkard republican politician without supporting them all.
And look where that got us.
Cheers!
--James
