Semester 1

Chapter XV: Rap & Waffles (December 10 – December 16, 2016)

Alright, let me start with some music talk. Past couple of days have been incredible on super dope releases. I might include a music corner section within this blog somewhere down the road (let me know if you’d like that!) but for now, let’s just list albums that are definitely a must-listen. We got Ab-Soul with Do What Thou Wilt… Easily one of the best projects out this year. We got a new J. Cole dropping pretty much out of nowhere, we got a debut album from Post Malone, we got a new Kid Cudi album dropping today. There’s new Gucci Mane (St. Bricks Intro as a trap remake of Jingle Bells still cracks me up), Yung Lean just dropped an EP, there’s an LP by Tech N9ne… And of course, Childish Gambino! There’s a new Murda Beatz tape out there… I feel like they just keep coming lately. And I love it….

Okay, back to my life in the most exciting city in Asia… Last week, I went to a place called Cages. It has a bar, it has some pools, it has some weird area where people play soccer wearing these strange transparent bubbles and it has batting cages. That’s what me and one of my classmates came for. You pay like 10 RMB and you get a machine throwing balls at you… Never done that before so I kinda sucked… It’s quite close to where I live though so I might go embarrass myself sometime in the future again. When I feel like it… 

My weekend was kinda hectic and I got little ill so I took my social activities slow. On Saturday, I went to Organic Kitchen and had their vegan waffles for the first time. I gotta give it to them – they killed it. They’re crispy, sweet and they come with melted chocolate… It’s 30 RMB so if you’re a veggie head and you’re around, make sure to drop by… Me and my friend then continued to the Gemma bar which is in the same building as Le Baron. Gemma hosted a performance session called Dilated. Several artist were invited to do their pieces on the spot for 24 hours straight. It was organized by heArtS charity that works with children with autism. You could have contributed by sending a donation or by simply drinking… Whatever they raised on the bar that day went to the charity. There was this guy from Australia painting with colors made from bricks from demolished buildings, some other rather mediocre painters and one Chinese girl who splashed orange and black colors on canvas laying on the floor. She was the highlight for me. Using ends of her sleeves as brushes, rolling over the canvas and generally just creating a very dynamic piece… I got to talk to her for couple of minutes but for the most part I just watched her work… Really cool event…

I got out for the game night with vegan buffet on Wednesday too. That was a sure shot. Yesterday, a friend of mine texted me she has some tickets for a new flick by Mel Gibson - Hacksaw Ridge. Since she got stuck at work she just offered me those like 20 minutes before the movie started. I had nothing better to do so I went to this mall at West Nanjing Road which marks my first cinema visit since my arrival. The movie has pretty good reviews but I think it is shit… I mean I get why people get all wet over it but I just think we’ve had enough of “good old back in the day war hero good guy sentimental stars and stripes christian” movies throughout the history of cinematography. And I kinda think that shit like that actually screams “Make America Great Again!”. Oh well, when Mel Gibson occupies the director’s chair, you cannot really expect much else I guess...

I met up with the very same friend later on in the Elevator club for a party which headlined Throwing Shade from Ninja Tune. This was my first time in Elevator – cool cozy place with ping pong tables by the windows, small dance floor, couple of tables and no VIP areas for spoiled Chinese brats. The party kinda sucked though. It was probably caused by the fact they did it on Thursday, so it was far from packed… The sets were also nothing special, I don’t know… You cannot have a great party every time you go out, I guess…

Over the past two days, temperature has dropped down to around 2-6 degrees which doesn’t make me happy at all. However, according to the forecast, the next week we should get back to around 15. If that’s the case, I’m good. Exactly in 1 month, I’m gonna get my ass on a plane to Kuala Lumpur so I can handle couple more cold days…

Highlights:

• I was given a blueberry vegan happy muffin. Slept like a log. Highly appreciated.
• Work out. I still do that shit outside, I’m getting significantly better in pull ups and since the gym in Minhang has been under construction for over a month, this is currently my only way of exercise. And I feel good.
• Two of my people from the Czech Republic got their visa so I’m gonna have a company for the New Year’s Eve. That’s gonna be dope!