SSAB – April 3, 2023
Cell phones are the new papers! Forgot to tick the allow roaming on my phone before I crossed the threshold Travel tips: -eSIM from the Mainland -trains Shenzhen to Hong Kong (gotta look for it) -cash is good cause Mainland Wechat and Alipay don’t work, but bank cards do How was Creamfields? How has Hong Kong been? Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com Have a good week!
SSAB – April 4, 2023
How does Hong Kong compare to Beijing? Would it be worth the move? $43 HKD for a venti at Starbucks ~37.68 RMB Switched hotels cause… the other one just sucked. Bad everything, how are they still in business? Oh, no refunds on payments. Keep it, terrible! More bathrooms available Subway stations have shops Warm, muggy Walked around CBD a bit, HKEX building. Last time I sat there was with Dad… oh, and my girlfriend a few years back! Noisy city! Buses, trams, waves if traffic Unionpay charges are about 35 RMB. Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com Have a good one!
SSAB – April 5, 2023
Last day in HK, will fly back tomo Breakfast Qingming Festival so a day off today And apparently HL starts their days alot later than the Mainland Got some shoes… Imported goods will be cheaper than the Mainland. Local stuff no. Off to Lama Island… wow quiet! Residence to a lot of foreigners apparently… they like the quiet life. Wish I had known about it earlier! Walked around IFC 1 or 2, I miss being able to browse book shops that have interesting books, not just the good ol classics. Why is HK so noisy? -closer buildings -manual transmissions -lots of people in a small space Show notes up on stevensirski.com Have a good one!
SSAB – April 6, 2023
Late posting yesterday’s epi cuzzz… I fell asleep! Like zonkered gone! And finally DID sleep! Free ear plugs from the hostel, a towel change up (I usually rent them), a zinc tablet and 6.00 am here I go. Last day in the Kong, finally tries some of the morning fare, sweet baozi? And xiaolong bao I think. Next, walked around to Causeway Bay to see if I could find another pair of shoes. Coffee academics… expensive, not sure I’d pay that price again. DID take some beans home with me. To the airport by bus! Painless, but always that bizarre feeling of… what will they confiscate today? What set of batteries have amI forgotten about? Aaand… nothing! All good. BUT, very odd that they had three layered security check: -initial passport / residence card + boarding pass check and photo -security screening -then passport scan and photo again Why? A few shops were open, Relay, a sandwich shop, TripAdvisor, but didn’t have time to see anything else. Boarded just after we were supposed to, up we go 15 minutes later. Lady beside me… lives next to me! Well, next building over. How was customs, how much money left over? Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com Safe travels!
SSAB – April 7, 2023
Can you hear how tired I am? What would’ve I done differently? -Planned the hostel / hotel situation a little better -possibly booked my tickets earlier All up only would’ve saved about $500 CAD, or about 2200 RMB. Probably would’ve stayed further outside of the city (but keep in mind taxi fees) What about bringing tech n work with me? -Got stuff done the first weekend, but the hotel shuffle destroyed both my sleep and productivity Also, always out and on the go, typical of someone in a new place. How could this ever be addressed? Lots to do this weekend to catch up, finalize, prep and get into the next thing. Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com Have a great Easter weekend!
SSAB – April 10, 2023
Heya Happy Easter! Christos Voskres! Voistiny Voskres! Fell asleep after dinner! Almost missed my Ukrainian class! Lessons lined up for the rest of the week. Back to work full on from now until June at least. Working on SSP38, should be done this week. Newsletter out! Overall, how was Hong Kong? Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com Have a great start of week!
SSAB – April 11, 2023
People’s War? Taiwan theatre to open? South China Morning Post not too optimistic. Working on SSP38… these mics were supposed to make my life easier! Another sandstorm! And windy! Chinese classes resume Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com Have a good one! Drum track for you, a little something I played over the weekend… was thinking of renting a drum kit.
SSAB – April 12, 2023
Another sandstorm or is the other one still going? Hard to tell. Troy’s Team and learning martial arts Half day work day. Episode 38 getting finished up! Beijing to Europe 2023: Berlin? Frankfurt? Warsaw? Kyiv? Lviv? Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com Have a good one!
SSAB – April 13, 2023
Episode 38 editing… welp, may just have to switch up the source microphones. Gold… when it seems obvious… it is? But it isn’t? Takeaway Thursday, what did you eat today? Masks no longer compulsory, but encouraged! Why wasn’t ChatGTP made in China? Show notes n.tracks up on stevensirski.com Have a good one!
SSAB – April 14, 2023
SSP38 IS UP! Spotify Google Apple now! Song Wang joins me on the podcast to talk about life as a commercial and voice over producer here in Beijing. From how she got started, to her wedding day pitch, to her future work and travel plans, this episode will interest those who are curious about those advertisements you see allll the time. Sick! Take the subway ONE TIME without a mask aaandd… feeling it now. Power outage… knew something was wrong. Workouts done n done… spent the afternoon doing sets of pull ups, push ups and squats in between meetings. Twix bars… 250 calories?! Podcast clips before and after… have a listen! Show notes up on stevensirski.com. Have a good weekend!
SSAB – April 17, 2023
AI everywhere! Notepad?! Need to sign in… not sure I’m okay with that. Knocked out for the weekend with that Subway Sickness! Workouts in today, but was feeling a lot slower. Middle of April already?! Warming up here in Beijing. SSP38 is up so have a listen if you haven’t already. This year marks Year Number 3 of the big cast, Year 2 of the small cast. Newsletter will be out soon. Language Vlog Newsletter was sent out this weekend. Why bother doing all of this?! Well,… in three years’ time… Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com Have a good start of week!
SSAB – April 18, 2023
Would you rather have a really busy day with no breaks or a slow day with lots of breaks? Rotator cuff damage? How?! Reading Ukrainian… slooooow! Chinese class was speaking not writing. Working from home is awesome! How could I ever go back?! Finished reading South China Morning Post! Next up, Financial Times weekend edition! Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com Have a good one!
SSAB – April 19, 2023
Colleague Lewis passed away. Expat liabilities. When do you end? What are you fighting or working so hard for? Why don’t you have it now? What more do you need? Ukrainian class, how was it? Finally a happy teacher! Haha From Kharkiv, a trip down memory lane. News or music for language learning? Lots of resources! And another sandstorm! Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com Have a good one!
SSAB – April 20, 2023
Giggle giggle! Grow up! I sound like my father: eat here. It’s cheaper. Couldn’t justify going out to eat, just not needed as I have food available. Construction again?! Chinese classes… Sun Tze and his ancient language… Apparently he talked a lot and his disciples just wrote down an abbreviated form of what he said. How to scare your teacher and find a hidden camera. Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com Have a good one!
SSAB – April 21, 2023
End of week! So what? Haaaa ChatGTP for content creation: ie, language learning materials! Summaries! Other! Good weather so far in Beijing… other than sandstorms and some pollution from time to time. Workouts in: 3 miles at lunch (I’m slowing down) 300 double unders 65 bench jumps Then: 105 pull ups 210 push ups 330 squats throughout the afternoon. After work pump: slow n steady weights. Also cheaper to fly through Europe back into China! But is it cheaper if I spend more on the lay over? Reading Haruki Murakami’s The Novelist as a Vocation. Interesting so far. Still making my way through the papers! Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com Have a good weekend!
SSAB – April 24, 2023
Former Soviet states aren’t countries? Sooo… what about those guys bombing Ukraine? They’re Soviet. Chinese ambassador to France (who speaks convincing French) Lu Shaye getting into trouble. Been a while since I talked about it but the socials are pushing it forward aaaand… Ukrainian teacher keeps sending me these articles to read. I guess it’s a good idea to learn the modern pronunciation and terminology. Keep in mind, if this is a rejuvenation, then China is looking North, too. Aiyamaya. Reading The Storm Before the Calm, by George Friedman. I want to learn a bit more about how this next decade will shape up and where to put my efforts. Scheduled for classes throughout May! Let’s see how this goes! Show notes up on stevensirski.com Have a good start of week!
SSAB – April 25, 2023
Tongue twisters for Chinese? You’ve probably heard of some of them. 四是四，十是十，十四是十四，四十是四十，四十四隻石獅子是死是活？ (sì shì sì, shí shì shí, shísì shì shísì, sìshí shì sìshí, sìshísì zhī shí shīzi shì sǐ shì huó?) 刘德华唱了一首歌，留的话却没了哇。 (Liú Déhuá chàng le yī shǒu gē, liú de huà què méi le wā.) Chinese teacher from Ha Sa Ka Se Tan, started Chinese when I did… and now she’s teaching me! Out all day March Motion up Lots going on, just gotte keep going on. Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com Have a good one!
SSAB – April 26, 2023
New DJI drone! How often do I fly the other one? Chinese lesson, done! Ukrainian lesson… a lot more Ukrainian than I thought possible So where does this all lead? Getting to the end of April already… time is flying! Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com Have a good one!
SSAB – April 27, 2023
New shoes! Finally! Saucony! Asics! Looking for compression stockings. Prepping for May You May Your Movie, last big creative push for a while. Chinese class at lunch, why are Chinese women so 疯狂？ Show notes up on stevensirski.com Have a good one!
SSAB – April 28, 2023
A little reading for you… Taras Shevchenko’s My Thoughts. Why? Reading up on some of those Ukrainian classics. Taras Shevchenko is the national bard, or poet. Workouts in! New shoes feeling good. Four miles (6.5kms), 200 double unders, 50 or so box jumps, then 100 pull ups, 200 push ups and 300 squats during the afternoon. Didn’t get to wash my hair till after the evening workout! Long weekend for those who have it… Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com Have a good long weekend!