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Last night we all went for hot pot at a restuarant quite far away from campus. Hot pot is really interesting. You get this boiling pot on your table that has two sides of water: normal and uber-spicy. You then order ingredients that you want to cook. We ordered lamb, calamari, meatballs, potato etc. You throw it into the pot, let it boil for a while, take it out and enjoy. I love how the Chinese dinners are really social. You chat, have some drinks, throw something into the pot, grab something here, grab something there, then munch some… repeat. It’s really nice.

Afterwards we decided to go for a drink at Propaganda again, but first we checked how Lush looked like. Yes, the word Lush might remind one of the place in Stellenbosch, but on the contrary this Lush, which is close to Propaganda, is above a bookshop and really small: a very Bohemia type vibe. Alas, we didn’t stay, we were meeting other people at Propaganda. Above Propaganda is a place called La Bamba (a mexican restuarant type place). We settled and got some drinks. We shared embarrasing moments and all that jazz over some nice drinks.

Today, after class, we went to a place on campus that sells pizzas. It was very good, although my Hawaiian had corn on it!? It didn’t bother me though. Anyhoo, after the munchies some of us missioned to find a place recommended by a friend of a friend. It’s a British place called Old Bike Cafe. It’s this really quaint small place with British memorabilia and it had coffee! Actual nice coffee! Today’s weather was phenomenal. It was the first time since we arrived that you could wear a sweater. It also rained lightly all day.

After awesome coffee, we missioned back to get ready for the night’s variety performance by the Chinese students. It was crazy awesome! I was blown away: choirs, accordions, violins, Beijing Opera etc. There was an erhu performance and afterwards they asked if someone wanted to try it. Me being my curious self jumped at the opportunity. They quickly learned me to play to simple notes on the erhu, while the other guy played a melody over mine. It was so fun! I got a signed orchestra CD as well. I wish I could’ve experimented with the erhu some more! Jenny, also representing South Africa, tried some Beijing Opera moves. It was fun!

Now, I’m just chilling. Got a strange story to tell. When my roommate left, he left some stuff on his desk. I haven’t touched it yet, but once in the previous week I noticed the items were rearranged. I found it very odd. Someone was coming into my room. Yesterday I bough a new toilet roll and left it on my desk. The afternoon after class when I got back, it was gone! I was flabbergasted! I devised a plan to test if someone was coming into the room: I put a small piece of paper just in front of the door, thus if someone opens it, the paper will move. When I got back from class this morning, the paper had indeed moved, and strangely enough… get this, the toilet paper was returned standing right on my desk. I found it really weird. Nothing else of my stuff was moved or taken, even my Game Boy and mp3 player lying on my desk wasn’t touched. I think my roommate is still perhaps in the area, or I don’t know. It’s really strange!

Cheers for now

The past two days I’ve been spending my time doing class/study oriented things for Chinese Politics. We have this thick reader book which contains crazy articles we have to read before class. Crazy workload on a summer school in my opinion. On Monday I spent most of the day reading it and then went to class, got back/chilled before we went out for another dinner at the same Peking Duck restuarant with our teacher. That place has the best Chinese food in town. I actually ate a lot of the food. Was super yummy. Wish they had the place on campus!

Today, I had more class, intermediate chinese and politics again in the afternoon. So had to prepare again! It’s kinda bleh having to waste my time in Beijing by reading articles for class, but the Chinese Politics class is really interesting – will tell you guys about it when I get back, however I’m considering dropping it to increase my exploring time in Beijing. Tonight a few of us are going for some hot pot, then maybe mission out afterwards to some clubs or shizzle.

So other stuff: our beds are really hard. The matress is thinner than a futon, so it’s impossible to sleep on your side. However, since my roommate is gone, I grabbed his matress and stuck it under mine. So much better. hehe.

Beijing is a really rough place, especially in summer. Everyone is sweaty and the humidity is crazy. What makes it worse are these siff sewage smells I’ve told you guys about, and then of course the famed pantless infants. On a walk past a bus stop you’ll see way too many naked bums or even some child doing his thing in the street. It’s absolutely disgusting! Even worse is the mother breastfeeding on the pavement. Whenever you see a strange puddle on the pavement, it’d be best to steer clear as you never know what it might be. Also, the snorting and spitting thing is still tough to get used to.

But alas, I shall greet you guys now. Not much to write about now. Stupid class. hehe. Tomorrow night there’s a free Beijing Opera performance on campus! Really looking forward to that!

Cheers for now

P.S. – Again, sorry for not posting photos now, I’ll be making a photo blog when I get back, along with a Flickr stream.

Going to the Beijing Zoo seemed like such a lazy supper hot Sunday morning thing to do. Ate some leftover pizza for breakfast (doesn’t taste strange anymore though! haha) and met Mark, Lauren, Izelle along with Mark’s Chinese partner Helen and her friends, Connie and Casy, outside the dorm. They managed to help us get on the bus. It’s the first time I took a bus in Beijing. Woah, that thing is crazy jerky. If you don’t hold on or have a weak sense of balance you’re bound stumble all over the place.

When we got off, we were met with multitudes of tourists, Chinese or otherwise. It was crazy! We first missioned to see some reptiles and amphibians. It was ok, not all that interesting, however some of the toads, reminded me of BattleToads. They looked like some missing link or something! The park was huge to say the least, you have to walk a lot, which did not bode well. I’ve been walking all week, so walking is kinda bleh right now haha, so we strolled at a slow pace to each section.

At first, a zoo in the forsaken Beijing seems odd. It does not make sense to me, to place one here. You see cityscapes and wildlife in one scope. It does not gel too well. The lion and tiger dens were the most shocking. The lions were lazying in their “abodes” just sleeping away the hot weather, however alongside it you could see so many empty water bottles as people tried to stir them with a well aimed shot. It’s the most appaling thing I’ve seen a long time. I felt so sad for the lions. I even witnessed one idiot chuck a bottle straight into the lion’s face and it did not stir. It thus seems the lions are used to it. It is a sad affair. The tiger (which was beautiful by the way) was also strolling around looking for munchies on the ground. It found a packet of eaten chicken legs someone chucked into the grounds. It was so horrible to see it.

The bears, although funny, were also thrown with food. The bears have even learned to do tricks so that people will throw them food, where it explicitly says don’t feed them. One bear even had a cracker stuck on his back from a misthrow by someone.

The pandas however where in sealed rooms so the crowds could not interfere. They were especially cute: typically panda. In the end, I don’t mind zoos if the animals are correctly cared for, but this zoo just upset me. The pandas were a highlight though.

So the first week in Beijing has passed. It felt as if I’ve done so many things in such a short time span. At first I struggled to get a grip of this strange place, but now I’m firmly in the zone and met some kiff friends. The next two weeks will probably go by within the wink of an eye. For some strange reason I wouldn’t mind going back to SA. I miss food, friends and family, but this place is just too unique to just quickly shrug off. When people told me to prepare myself for a culture shock, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I thought it would be nothing really. Luckily I adapted quickly. Nothing beats lots of water, sleep and vitamins (thanks mom!). About the water: it’s amazing how much you drink in Beijing. I go through at least 3-4 bottles in a day.

Anyhoo, I’ve got to get back to my dorm and start reading my Chinese Politics readers for class tomorrow afternoon. I don’t usually have class on Monday, but only for next week it was moved from the previous Thursday.

Cheers for now

The Wangfujing mission was amazing last night (Day 4).  Was definitely not what I expected. The pictures (which I’ll probably post when I get back) will show you the amazing street. It’s a big street with lots of lights and shops: think Times Square type vibe, but Chinese. There were also these small alleys with many Chinese ornaments and vendors: and yes there were live  scorpions to be cooked. Alas, I didn’t brave it, but I’m definitely going back to get some the scorpion munchies! Bought some kiff stuff for the flat and saw a schweet ukulele, that I’ll probably go and buy later. We strolled for quite some time there, but our feet were killing us so missioned back on the subway. Chinese trains are interesting and typically crowded. It however takes really long to get to places. Beijing is BIG! However, the best way to kill time is to get in the zone and that is exactly what happened.

Somehow it got out that Erin, a third year girl, likes linguistics and knows Tolkien’s alphabet (yes, she knows Elfish, but can’t speak it). We started talking along with Jenny (another kiff third year girl) about linguistics and languages. Later it evolved into religion and all such jazz. All this while we were missioning home on the train. Felt like a Waking Life moment. Was so kiff!

Day 5

I had class as usual in the morning, but pretty much had nothing planned for the afternoon. I did research for my trip before I went, and found out there is a street called Gulou Dajie which is famous for having literally guitar shop, games shop, guitar shop etc. So I made my first solo mission on the subway. Got there and strolled in the street. Was fascinating! Many memorabilia stores with figurines and such. Saw some awesome things to get for my friends! I made my way back, extremely tired from all the walking.

That night we all missioned as a group to a nearby restuarant to get some Peking duck. The restuarant was awesome! It had seperate rooms with classy decor and stuff. We ordered some good Chinese food (things that were actually edible!) along with the Peking Duck. Was nogals yummy! We ended the night with an ice-cream mission.

Day 6 – Friday

Again, I have classes in the morning, but this time a few of us planned to see The Temple of Heaven in the afternoon. I’ve been entrusted with being the guide, because of superior subway deciphering skills. Pffft, subways are meant to be easy to navigate hahaha, but I play along. Anyhoo, we got there in the afternoon and boy was I impressed. Many said it will be boring, but wow, this place even rivals Versailles. The place is HUGE! The temples majestic and people fascinating. The place was alive with people dancing, playing instruments, doing some sports and all that jazz. Throughout the park they also had speakers playing tradional music. It was quite the magical experience.

However, close to when we were about to go, my chest got strangely congested. It never does. I reckon it might be the city center pollution? Anyhoo, when I got I took a nap to sleep off the strange cough and wheezy bors. Erin then sms’ed to meet her at the campus park along with other people and their Chinese friends. We ended playing Mafia with them! It was so strange and fun to play it with them. One the Chinese dudes’ name was Ross, named after the popular Friends character! He spoke the best English though and I reckon him a formidable player. hehe. Other names include: Peanut, Bonnie, Cherry, Lilly etc. It reminds of the coloured/black people and their names: Diamond, Precious etc.

Day 7 – Saturday

We woke up early to catch a tour organized by the University to the Summer Palace. Scrap that comment about the Temple of Heaven rivalling Versailles, this place was even more epic. It just blew my mind. The scale and the audacity of it was just mesmerizing. Alas, we could not stay long as the bus went back after two-three hours (I guess we only saw like a quarter of the park!).

For lunch some of us decided to try to mission to Mistica Pizza. It’s facade is a western restuarant and to some extent it succeeds. Nice atmosphere and prices (but expensive in China terms). The pizza tasted funny though, but it was pizza so I was very glad! The menu was also hilarious. Many spelling mistakes and Chinglish was abundant.

After that we (Mark, Lauren, Izelle, Jenny) met up with Erin to go to Ya Show market. It’s a 5 story building with clothes and other paraphenalia. We almost didn’t get there as we took a guess which subway to get off. We made it though! haha. Bargaining was the order of the day. It was strange and I completely failed with my first purchase of 65Y for a t-shirt which I could’ve gotten for 30Y. It’s a “I love BJ” t-shirt. +1 for ambiguity!

Also shopped around for a DS Lite, got them down to 500Y (R600), but I’m going to continue looking around first. Also saw some kiff games I wanna get. Bargaining was fun, but I don’t like it that much. I felt too bad for doing it! hahaha. It’s a fun experience though!

Sleepy and tired now, going to the Zoo tomorrow. Would be  fun!

Cheers for now

P.S. – Excuse my typos and grammar. I have to type this without letting my time run out too fast!

Ok, so after the first two days I felt a little distraught. How was I going to cope etc. But alas, I’ve found my zone. Monday night’s karaoke got cancelled so I went to bed early after a Game Boy jam at a park on campus. I donned my earphones and made some tunes, was a nice solace. Tuesday I woke up with renewed vigour. Sup, alas again came in like 4am in the morning, but he at least wasn’t inebriated. Tuesday classes began.

We have class in this HUGE building. It’s insane. I’m taking pictures, but it doesn’t do it justice really. My first class was Primary Chinese at 8. I went to class… no-one was there. For a moment I hesitated my schedule times, but a girl came in and said that the times have changed to 10h. Which was good. The HUGE building was near the west gate, one I don’t normally use. So I decided to stroll around the streets to while away the time. Walked a whole block, just scoping out the shops and things. Then I noticed it again: the smell. I forgot to mention, Beijing has weird smells. Like really distinctive smells. It’s like gag inducing smells. The one this really strong aromatic oil type herb smell that’s always near restuarants and in our dorms. It’s really overpowering. I’ve gotten slightly used to it now, so it’s better. The one other smell is this siff sewage smell that you encounter walking on the streets. Also disgusting.

Anyhoo, as I got back the campus, I whiled a little more and went to class. What a snore fest! The class was way too easy. I’ve since moved to Intermediate Chinese with other classmates. The classes are truly international: Chinese, Korean, Israel, Belguim, Italy, South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Canada etc. It’s really interesting. After class I chilled a bit, got some food at this place on campus: Hollywood. It’s like Western food, but done in a Chinese way. Some of the stuff still have this distinct Chinese flavour, but it’s my go to place for munchies now. The portions are huge though for like really cheap. You pay 22Y (R26) for 6-7 huge chicken drumsticks fried in batter (KFC style) with fries. Really was too much to eat. The cokes cost 2Y (R2.5)! Have since ate some eggs and bacon there and some fries; also the place has free Wi-Fi so I chill there while I check my email. I’ve also found this really nice snack in the convenience store at the res. It’s a peanut butter sandwich in a really poofy bag. Funnily enough the company that makes is called Bimbo. haha. There is also a strawberry jam one. Yum!

The afternoon I had Chinese Politics. Wow, it’s really interesting, however it has relative crazy workload. We have to hand in essays and read readers before class etc. But it’s a small price to pay for the interesting Chinese Politics landscape. Really enjoying it! After class, which ends at like 5 in the afternoon I missioned back to dorm to chill and prepare for karaoke. YEAH BABY! To my surprise my roommate was gone! I was elated, he went back to Korea. However, if he comes back sooner, or someone else moves into my room, I can always move in with Mark, one of my classmates, ’cause his roommate also left! WOOP WOOP! Was so happy about it!

So at 6pm, we all missioned to this undeground karaoke place, 15 minutes walk from the campus. It was hella fun! You get a buffet and cooldrinks with the karaoke. We sat this big room with soft couches and it had this big screen projector displaying the words and such. The mics are a little too loud though hahaha. We sang many Western classics; Uptown Girl, Bitter Sweet Symphony, Big big girl etc etc. Was really fun. I was they had these in South Africa. It cost each of us like 54Y (R75) for a big room+free buffet (which alas was Chinese, blegh) and cooldrinks. Booze was expensive though. We were about 14 of us.

Afterwards at like 10pm we still had some buzz left and decided to mission to Propaganda, a club in Wudaokou, which is a popular foreigner hangout. It was one crazy experience! I’ve never been to such a crazy place before. The place is fairly slim, but is has three floors. Graeme, one of the third year students, described it as a more classier Terrace. Because we were foreigners we got a lot of attention and preferential treatment. We pay half price for drinks! I got a double vodka and coke for 10Y(R12). Which is great! Not that much cheaper, but still a good price. The dance area is downstairs. It looks like a dungeon area. The music was this really gangsta type music: ala shake your booty and grind music. The Chinese are not afraid to get jiggy when the music and booze start flowing. I’ve never seen so much grinding and dry humping in a club before. The girls were hit on like crazy by the Chinese guys. Some just can’t take a hint, lol! There also this really androgynous looking kid, which was really really tiny;  like scarily contortionist tiny. She, wish we figured out later, asked Stephanie if she a was a lesbian and swooned around her telling her how beautiful she was. WTF!

Anyhoo, I’m definitely going back there. Very cool place. We stayed until about 1am. I got back with a taxi while Sound of Silence came on the radio. Loved it. This morning, I was a little sleep deprived (+1 for partying and not roommate coming in early like a nocturnal Korean bat). Went to Intermediate Chinese. The class is understandable, but I still struggle to speak on spot. This will definitely force me to improve! The afternoon we decided to mission to the electronic stores again. Again I was amazed. Last time we only checked one floor, now we missioned throughout all the floors. I found the gaming area+arcade! It’s so awesome. I wish I could buy more things, but customs won’t allow me to take it back. There’s a drum controller for 400Y! SUPER CHEAP! Licenced games cost 200Y! I got some nice Mario figurines and saw some awesome stuff to get for my friends. Will go back there in the last week, after I’ve scoped every place! Got lost in the building a few times, but we managed to get out safe. Had some munchies at McDonald’s there. SALVATION! It tastes like the early BP mornings.

Alas, now my time is almost up here at the Internet cafe. Have to mission. We’re going to Wangfujing tonight, a famous night street market! Also sorry about the photos. Don’t have my docking bay with me. Will have to buy a cheap memory card reader somewhere, but I’m afraid to go into  the cheap markets, for the fear of being swamped again. Haha.

Cheers for now

Sitting at an internet cafe now that’s situated on the University campus. Guess I’ll use this as my main communication network. The trip to Beijing has been the longest time I’ve continously travelled. I spent like 30 hours and more just travelling, flying, waiting etc. I’m still jetlagged.

Ok, so the University (Renmin) is amazingly beautiful. The campus is amazing. It’s so different to Stellenbosch. At night everyone comes out and walks the streets of the campus. It’s like mini-jool every night. I got a Korean roommate, named Sup. Yes, I kid you not! However, he is not the coolest guy on the planet. I went to bed early last night (Sunday) to catch up on sleep. He went out partying, came back 5:ooam and tried to sleep. He couldn’t cause he wanted to gag. So I was woken up by a Korean trying to gag. I left the room, to stroll the campus at 5:30 this morning. It was very calm! But alas, I was actually on the search for decent food. We ate the International Building cafeteria last night and I was not impressed. It’s siff really! I love Western Chinese food way more. This stuff is just disgusting. So I’m kinda constantly hungry now, but I’ll adapt.

After the stroll I went back to sleep. Then at 10 I missioned with friends to get some food again. Walked to a department store across from the Uni. Very big! Afterwards we took a taxi (OMG YAY!) to the computer markets. WOAH. Is that impressive. There are millions of shops. We went into an informal building and was swamped by people trying to sell us things. Was crazy! Once you pointed to something they took it as an insentive to buy. Hell, no. We quickly made our way out there and went to chain stores which was much more civil. Also missioned through an underground mall. Interesting stuff.

I’m currently trying to change my roommate and move in with one my classmates. I hope I can settle it. I would love to be able to have my own comfort zone here in this crazy place! The facilities at the hostel is ok, I guess. The showers, luckily are enclosed, but the shower head is non-existant. It’s like someone showering you with a hose. There are also those “pit” toilets, but luckily there is one normal toilet for those like me.

So far, my Chinese has helped me a  little. It’s great to understand some things. Makes it less daunting I guess. We might be going out for some karaoke tonight, but I’m not sure if I’ll be able to. Still very tired. Classes start early.

Cheers for now.

So, I’m almost on my way to Beijing. I’m getting super excited now, yet it still seems unreal. I’m flying Saturday morning and we’re stopping at Jo’burg and Hong Kong. The total flight time will be about 20 hours. Which will be the longest I’ll ever be stuck on a plane. However, I’m not a uneasy plane passenger. I can easily entertain myself. Going to take along my Game Boy and compose some tunes on it, watch in-flight movies, read books and perhaps even catch up on some last minute Mandarin.

I hope that China is everything I hope it to be. This is where I’m getting kinda shacky. I have this image of China in my mind. I’ll probably be faced with an insane culture shock, but I think I’ll manage. The other thing is, this will be the furthest I’ve been away from home and the longest I’ve been without seeing my parents and/or siblings. No, close friends are going, just class buddies. I guess this will an exercise in liberty in as well. Something we all have to go through. Kinda looking forward to it.

The University where I’m studying at sent me an e-mail adress of a girl in Beijing who will help me if I need any help in China. It’s a great thing. Maybe I’ll even get to go have dinner at their home. That would be awesome. She even plays a traditional Chinese instrument, the erhu, which intrigues me immensely.

Slowly starting to pack my clothes. Bought a travel bag thing to hang across my shoulder and lots of other travel paraphenalia. Going tomorrow to sort my finance issues for China and get a sturdy luggage bag.

Oh, on another note: I feel proud for having posted almost every day for a week and a half on Twindie.net. I’ll try and keep it up till I go to Beijing. I hope I can still post while I’m there.

As of last Friday, the 12th of June, I’m officially on holiday. I could’ve been on one a week a earlier, but I slept through my English Literature exam, so I had to write the supplementary test. It sucks to wake up and realize you just missed an exam. Believe me, it’s not a good feeling.

However, now it is holiday! For the next two weeks I’m still in Stellenbosch, but then I’m going to Beijing. Stay tuned for more posts on that. However, now I’m finding myself to be uber-productive. I’m going to blog at least once a day on Twindie.net, and me and Simon started a new site I’m So Nerdy which is looking good so far, and rather hilarious I might add. I’m also going to try and blog on other sites like Nerdmag, Lexiblog and MoralFibre

Me and Simon are also working a new music project. It’s sounding good. Prepare to see a brand smacking original tune later this day. I just need to record vocals first.

Enjoy your holiday if you’re on one, if not, at least enjoy the weekend!

On 27 June I’m leaving for Beijing to join fellow classmates (from 1st-3rd year) along with other international students to study at Renmin University’s International Summer School. I’ve been granted this amazing opportunity, all expenses paid, because I did really well in my first year Mandarin. Yes, kids, it pays to study hard! To say I’m excited is an understatement.

The summer school lasts for four weeks, but our group of Stellenbosch students, unfortunately have to leave a week early because our University starts again on 20 July. Hell, I don’t mind, three weeks in Beijing seems like a dream come true. I’m going to study Chinese and Chinese Politics. With my Chinese classes from Tuesday to Thursday in the mornings for 1h30 hours and the Chinese Politics classes on Tuesday and Thursday in the afternoon for 2h30 hours, leaves me with numerous time to explore Beijing. I’ll most definitely be going walk missions in between streets, go to shopping malls, visits small cafes, buy strange stuff and just take everything in.

I’ve been religiously studying Beijing for about a month now, finding out where the best arcades are, the best shops, the cheapest goods, the best internet cafes, the best nightclubs, the best bars. I’m going to start cataloguing everything soon and make my own guide to Beijing.
I’ve also signed up for many newsletters showcasing events, live music and weather reports, so I can prepare myself.

I’m going to try blog as much as possible, tweet as much as possible and take as many pictures as possible. I want to share this experience with you guys! For now, I’m giddy with excitement. Can’t wait!

P.S. – I’m so going to rip it up in the Karaoke rooms!

There it lay; in pieces and scattered across the sidewalk. A normal caffeine bearing white mug mutilated and vulnerable: pedestrians oblivious to the story. Cars also cruise by in the busy Merriman Avenue. The origin of this mug seemed to have no immediate explanation. Thus, my mind went on an exploration to find the answer to this broken mug.

It was on a sidewalk next to one of the busiest streets in Stellenbosch. Students traverse this sidewalk many nights while in a stupor from a crazy night on the town. It’s just past the BP garage and McDonalds, whom many students claim as their final waterhole for the night. The past few nights were surprisingly cold, thus it could mean that a coffee addict could not let their cup go while on a mission to BP. Thus, in an attempt to perhaps greet someone, the mug slipped and died on the tar.

The building next to sidewalk was a block of flats. There were no big windows close to the mug, but only a small bathroom window a few feet away behind a cement wall. Why would someone throw a mug out of a small bathroom window? Was it perhaps to knock out a nemesis on the pavement? Whatever the reason, the eventuality of a mug flying out of an odour release latch seemed odd, yet entertaining.

Cars regularly cruise by in Merriman. There are rumours of drag races taking part in this straight long road. I’ve not yet witnessed this as it might be a myth or tradition of the past, however to stress the importance of cars in Merriman, it seems fitting. Perhaps on a late night drive home someone boozed up on office coffee struggled their way home in a Honda. In an act of apathy and sleep-induced confusion the overtime office worker slipped the coffee out the window. Perhaps it is even more far-fetched than the bathroom throwing incident, but much more realistic, in a working-class-late-night kind of way.

The easiest explanation is often the best explanation; however none of these thought experiments are very likely. The incident of the broken mug needs something much more fitting. A small part of me wants to accept the ludicrous and highly entertaining concept of someone deliberately breaking the mug on a strange spot to egg out creative lateral thinkers. Sometimes we miss all these details. I like making up stories for why things happen the way they do. Sometimes late at night when walking through the streets of Stellenbosch I witness many strange things and sometimes very normal things: people running across the street with big smiles, flowing hair and a sign of purpose and a goal – whatever it may be, perhaps meeting up with a good friend in the pub or the chance meeting of a crush. It makes me happy to know the world is alive and not stagnating.

The broken mug is a perfect example of this. If things were just normal and nothing broke, nothing got lazy, nothing got horny, nothing cried, nothing took vengeance, nothing made music, then the world would be a truly boring place. The inconsistency in human life is what makes life worth living for. Perhaps it’s just me, but when I see a flickering light in a corridor it makes me so happy, just like the mug, it is broken, but it shows character. Whatever the reason for the destruction of the mug, it served another purpose other than the brief eye-opener for the caffeine craver. It also opened my eyes.