where’s google?

For the last few hours, I can access neither Yahoo nor Google. It’s very, very weird. I managed to access them via proxy, but it’s really inconvenient and still not working very well. GFW, what now? Why have you gotten rid of my beloved Google? I know Yahoo had some problems a bit back and Google has that fairly long-standing dispute with China, but … now? Why? My main work/school e-mail is Gmail, which I cannot access. Everything forwards to this one, my main one (the one I’m typing this from) … but my past e-mails are inaccessible. Very annoying.

Hopefully it’s just some glitch and they’ll come back up. I can’t imagine this is a permanent thing since websites get blocked/unblocked all the time over here, and I really don’t think they could get away with blocking such big sites like Yahoo AND Google. Sure a lot of people use Baidu, but I’m thinking more people use Google.

merry xmas!

It is finally Christmas! Just past midnight over here! Kind of a sorry Christmas, but whatever. Had a nice dinner with some family. They didn’t do the whole Christmas thing, which I understand (because this is China) but it still made me kind of sad. I still have lots to do between my applications, schoolwork, and work work, but today was nice. Below picture is from one of the islands at Qiandao.

is it xmas yet?

No real post today. A few days until Christmas … yay! Unfortunately, I will be attending class on Christmas Eve. Christmas Eve! No holiday here. Below are three photos of Christmas trees from around Shanghai … and they’re doozies.

1. From the department store next to the Jing’an Temple. Gaudy yet fairly normal. But Santa Dwarves? And what’s with the fleur de lys instead of a star/angel? And there were SIX of these trees right near each other – overkill.

2. Right by the Jing’an Temple. I don’t understand. It looks like it’s made out of paper … maybe it is. And why did thy turn it into a house? The thing has a door and windows … I just don’t get it.

3. In front of Plaza 66, a high-end department store on Nanjing Xi Lu. The building was designed by KPF, so it’s all glass and modern. The tree is whitish and furry with some shiny things on it. I guess it’s fitting?

on hiatus

Well, you haven’t heard from me in about half a year. So I’m guessing you’ve figured out by now that this blog is on hiatus while I’m off adventuring in China. Can’t do much crafting in Shanghai. If you really miss me, you can read my blog at miesby.wordpress.com. I switched over to WordPress for my China blog because the firewall here is pretty extreme and it took me this long (six months!) to figure out how to access Blogger.

Anyway … Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, everyone!

[NOTE: This post originally appeared on a now-deleted blog and is reposted here for my own sake.]

first day of snow!

It’s snowing! Exciting much. I can’t stop smiling. Well, except for the fact that I really need gloves but cannot find gloves that fit. Oh well. So yeah, it’s snowing! None of it is collecting on the ground, but it’s still snowing!

Graduate school applications: Two down, five to go. Portfolio is priority at this point. As time goes on I’m feeling more and more stressed out about this whole deal. Seven schools … and none are really “safety,” so … I’m nervous.

almost due

I have application deadlines coming up mighty fast. So what’s a girl to do? Paint her nails pink and buy yet another scarf. I don’t know what it is, but retail therapy really works to calm my nerves sometimes. Thankfully my sense of cheapness never really goes away so I never actually spend all that much. But yep. Only a few days left until applications are due. All the recommendations are in, but my essay, writing samples, and portfolio are still crap. Yep. Uh oh.

red green

Only about a week left for my applications. OH MY GOSH. Lots of stuff going on there. On the other hand, it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Well, actually it’s not. There are some rather ostentatious Christmas displays out that I’ll have to take pictures of. But for the most part it’s pretty much non-Christmas.

Picture is from Hangzhou. And lookie, it’s green and red … wow, almost like I planned it. In Chinese, the phrase 红红绿绿的 literally translates to “red red green green” but translates more closely to “colorful.” Interesting, eh?

lapin lapin

Welcome, December. Hard to believe it’s already December and I’ve been here almost six months already. Got my new visa today, so I need to go to the police station tomorrow to re-register. Graduate school applications are … coming along, didn’t do too great on my midterms, and work’s picking up. That’s about it. Time seems to be moving ridiculously quickly, probably because I’m working on my portfolio and wow, I can waste hours just moving things around in InDesign.

Below’s a picture from my field trip to Qiandao, which is near Hangzhou in the province of Zhejiang. Lots of little islands over there, and there was this one bridge with a whole bunch of fish in the middle. There were actually a few portions to the bridge, each with a whole bunch of fish. Like, wow that’s a lot of fish.