A Piece of Peace Marks the End of Daze.

This post is coming to you from Matt's computer. Matt is my friend who lives in Pudong, Shanghai and teaches math at an international school. He's cool. And his girlfriend, KateLynn, is the funniest and prettiest girl in China. I laugh all the time with her. Just getting her to tell a traditional Chinese folk tale is all I need to get through the stress and hustle and bustle of crowded Shanghai. Matt's real lucky. KateLynn is too - Matt is calm and never bothered by too much. These are the qualities I aspire to have. I am getting close, but there's always work to be done when you're working on yourself, right? They let me stay on their couch every weekend for which I am grateful. And the rest of China is grateful as well because i can get to my support group twice in stead of once. I need all the help I can get to keep from going NYer on this crazy country. I have only given one dirty look to a honking car. That's progress.
What a difference a day and a good meal makes. Last week I was hungry, angry, lonely and tired. This is a recipe for indecisive and all-around short-tempered feelings. But, today I was re-reading my previous whiny post and most of my problems have been mollified. Whew!!

• My Internet connection has not gone down since I discovered the problem.
• I got some long underwear to keep warm.
• I learned that I can leave my scooter at the train station in a scooter parking lot so that I need not rely on taxis.
• My bad haircut has almost grown out and I bought some hats while I wait.
• I continue to make it to the gym and workout. And I am even making more new friends. I tried Ping Pong and was completely embarrassed and humiliated. But I didn't give up and soon I was smashing them back at my opponents.
• And it has stopped raining as frequently as it has been. Its good to be able to dry out for a bit.

Soon I will start planning my month long vacation - ahh, the life! I am interested in finding out how the Chinese enjoy snowboarding up north. And then spending all my money relaxing on the beaches of the South China Sea. I guess I really search out the diversity in every situation. I like differences, same is a little monotonous. Gotta keep busy and try not to miss out - I am definitely affected by HTMS (Hate To Miss Syndrome).
Still, I miss Sam more and more every day. I recently got a picture or two from him, and boy, he looks good! Hey honey - its been four months already. It has gone by so quickly. We can make it, don't you worry!
As for Christmas, I want to hear what you want. Tell me what would make your xmas fun and memorable. I want cash to pay my bills back home in the US. I know it sounds very materialistic, but the peace of mind I get when my bills are current is priceless. Here's to peace and serenity. Love, Evan.