SSAB – May 2 2022
New month new day new cases! Restaurant closures mean takeaway only so good thing we went out on Friday! May You Make Your Movie has begun so you can follow that on my website also through the Instagram account just add @ to the name. Some Chinese done today Recorded another Language Vlog buuut now I’m learning just how unwieldy 4K files can be. May have to settle for 1080p.
Show notes, tracks n vids up on stevensirski.com.
Have a good start of week!
SSAB – May 3 2022
Is this another disruption to the supply chain and the truckers in the US? The last time that happened was April 2019. Various cases increase (minimally) but more closures are occurring. Were previous compound closures preventative?
Spent the morning getting taxes done. Not overly difficult but I don’t do this very often so I want to be as meticulous as possible. Income in, expenses out. No income, no deductions, basic financial math. Some things to watch out for as non resident / expat are currency flucations and retirement accounts. Generally, if non-resident then you don’t get to contribute to any registered accounts back in your homeland.
Res / non res depends on your stuff, strings and intent attaching you to a place. Can be daunting but worth the time to learn something about. All govts publish their tax laws, but it’s all very dry and to the point so you’d almost be better to simply do your taxes on your own to find out what all the lines mean.
And it should go without saying that you should consult your own tax adviser before making any decisions.
May You Make Your Movie continues with some footage from the Great Wall. The test today was to assemble 22 minutes of footage into a much shorter duration and then to make it move with only images, no soundtrack.
Tomorrow will try to get more Chinese done, apparently I didn’t sign up for any work in May so looks like I’ll have a few weeks off. Oops.
Show notes, tracks n vids up on stevensirski.com.
Have a good one!
SSAB – May 4, 2022
May the Forth be with you. Watched more Star Trek esp Voyager but would pref to read books about the universe than watch science fiction. Great marketing gimic though!
May You Make Your Movie animation offering: tried two-layers and more movement.
Taxes: remember to consult a tax professional! Don’t rely on podcasters for your information! Look it up and check your own situation.
Subways are closed! Restaurants are closed! GuoMao closing up! Beijing SKP closing up!
Looking at progress pics over the years, didn’t start documenting till just before the pandemic started in January 2020. Slight gains but I’m told there’s a difference. Scale also tells a story of a loss of weight overall.
Show notes, tracks n vidz up on stevensirski.com.
Hope your Wednesday is going well!
SSAB – May 5, 2022
Do Chinese people get treated the same as foreigners do in regard to COVID prevention? One article says yes… buuut, the examples it gives are kinda tangential. So let’s think of some times n places where we all would get treated the same… and surely wouldn’t want the Bao An’s job!
May Your Make Your Movie animations done! Took the day to write ‘End’ + soundtrack the EIGHT SECONDS of footage! Aiyamaiya!
Cinco de Mayo… Mexico beats France back. I think of frozen margaritas.
Show notes, tracks n vids up on stevensirski.com. Have a good one!
SSAB – May 6 2022
Tried to get Waimai today cause I didn’t want to cook buuuut after waiting an hour and a half and watching the delivery guy go everywhere but to the restaurant to pick up my order, I cancelled. Got hte money back and I did feel bad. I guess I could have called the restaurant and offered to pick it up instead.
So, tuna, kimchi, lettuce and seaweed mixed up and put on a bun. It’s my new go-to meal. Tuna sandwiches, without the mayo.
More people are leaving, always sad to hear, despite hearing the list of potential names before.
WuBi keyboard – all the different versions of Chinese keyboards, may talk about this more on my language vlog this weekend. Isn’t this a part of Chinese culture? Well… it replaced my Chinese studies for the day.
Suggested improvements for vlog: more pictures! More videos! QWERTY keyboard?
Problem with Android to Mac: might be that 10 GB file I had from a few weeks ago.
MYMYM – website updated with the different vids, so too Audio Blogs.
Show notes, tracks n vids up on STEVENSIRSKI.COM.
Have a good weekend!
SSAB – May 9 2022
Allergies after the rain! Beijing lockdowns continue and so does NATting! Got some more running gear just in time as businesses told to shuttter themselves. Futures down, markets down, victory day in Russia, for what? Language vlogs up, May You Make Your Movie up, have a good start of week!
Show notes n tracks n vidz up on stevensirskk.com Have a grear start of weel!
SSAB – May 10 2022
Time to buy or time to hide? Trading stocks is not for everyone! Beijing is sloooooowwww and cold. NATs continue Is everyone home working killing my wifi speeds? Using mobile data quite a bit. Good thing it’s cheap here. Spent much of the morning calling home and designing logos. Found Adobe’s Logo Maker so I was trying that out. Then spent some time trying to trace it so I could animate the different layers. Basically moving between PixelMator and Motion.
Show notes, tracks n vids up on stevensirski.com. Have a good day!
SSAB – May 11 2022
Watch your back when swinging kbells! Probably should have done a lighter warm up weight. Depressing science books: despite all your efforts, the Universe will still either get ripped apart or crunched together. Gee… is this how I want to spend my days? Latin courses throughout the summer? Language vlog this weekend: might talk about ancient languages. Found a course online that will teach spoken Latin. I see no financial return in doing the course and the course times are horrible so it would be an odd choice. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that there are so many channels in Latin or Ancient Greek on YouTube. Why didn’t I start one years ago?! Chinese test prep… so… should I sign up? Expat exodus… those in Shanghai are pretty much done with the lockdown and it sounds like their view has soured. But, as there.are fewer jobs for teachers, are there other job opportunities? Why are YOU still in China?
Show notes tracks n vids up on stevensirski.com Have a good day!
SSAB – May 12 2022
Beijing lockdowns… is that why everybody is buying groceries? Staying put n why. Learning Chinese inch by lonely inch. Building an online presence for what? Podcast #31 in the works!
Show notes tracks n vids up on stevensirski.com! Have a good one!
SSAB – May 13 2022
Friday the 13th! And THE VIRUS GETS CLOSER! So… how does a red spot become not red? Seems it’s not an easy procedure for all of these closed off places to get the flag removed. BUT, govt says Shanghai will start seeing improvements within the next seven days. How do they know? More podcast episodes getting lined up, should be good! TOMORROW I will get to uploading! Spent the day doing some editing on my vids from Chongqing and Chengdu. Found something I can use. Chinese grammar today: 个别 gebie (namely) and 非 fei, which has a lot of meanings, kinda like not is but can also give emphasis to a verb or action. Lost the file of my first audio blog episode so I had to rip it the old fashioned way from Soundcloud. Have a listen! My how it has changed since then! One year on!
Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com. Have a good weekend!
SSAB – May 16 2022
Not registered for HSK 5 test since all of Chaoyang is still being told to work from home. Since I want to do the paper test, chances are it won’t go ahead just yet. New study materials from ANOTHER EXPAT who is leaving! Some Chinese classics in there so now I have no excuse not to read them. Speaking of Classics… new language vlog is up. Episode 4 is now done! All about the Ancient Greek and Latin languages, its use, and some of the major authors. New May You Make Your Movie vids up! I’m taking from those vids I started for April After Effects and repurposing them. After Effects issss sssslllllooooowwwwwwe! SSP Episode to be rescheduled, gotta work when it’s there!
Show notes tracks n vids up on stevensirski.com. Have a good one!
SSAB – May 17 2022
Contract renewals, planning one year at a time in advance all the time, Peter Hessler’s ousting from China, re-skilling and hope for the future in China. Aaannnd new May Your Make Your Movie up on the socials!
Show notes, tracks n vidz up on my website, stevensirski.com.
SSAB – May 18 2022
Allergies in Beijing – a problem every spring and late autumn for some reason. What to do?
Website updated – audio blog and May You Make Your Movie videos up for viewing and download! After Effects vs Apple Motion?
Beatles album – Abbey Road: love it or hate it? Never listened to it before so Saturday was the first time and I got AN EAR FULL! Takes me back to my first issue of Modern Drummer magazine!
Show notes tracks n vidz up on stevensirski.com. Have a good one!
SSAB – May 19 2022
Chilled soda water tasting pretty good these days as the temperature rises.
Possible topic for this week’s language vlog: what does it take to become a translater or interpreter? Is it a reasonable goal to set to achieve as a language student?
Workout routine: worth scheduling in advance? How much should I plan? Need to find a better method for these two a days. (Nutrient timing means eating within 30 minute or so after the workouts so the glycogen stores in my body can be replenished. This isnt as necessary if you’re not working out as much. Read ‘Nutrient timing revisited: is there a post-exercise anabolic window?’ by Aragon and Schoenfeld.)
Meal planning: keep it simple and just keep doing it.
May You Make Your Movies are up, will need to double down and focus to get this last half of videos in on time!
Beijing case numbers are going down, was this just a battle of BJ vs SHG?
Show notes tracks n vids up on stevensirski.com. Have a good one!
SSAB – May 20 2022
Do you want to sweat or breathe the air? That’s a summer in Beijing.
Wu Er Ni! If you haven’t sent your gf an wu er ni msg and 5.20, then you still have time. Some say this is the Chinese Valentine’s Day but I thought that was March 11. Or when? I think this is really just the beginning of the summer shopping season and leading up to 618, which are lucky numbers in Chinese.
Busy day with the two a days, club in the morning, kbell after work.
Another language podcast? Is it possible to do another podcast in another language? Do I need another project that doesn’t pay? How many projects can someone afford to take on before something breaks?
Some universities have been closed because of The Virus That Won’t End. Aggravating.
May You Make Your Movie: A Close Up of Nature is posted!
Show notes tracks n vids up on stevensirski.com! Have a good weekend!
SSAB – May 23 2022
Quiet…if I shut off all of the fans. Other than that, it’s warm and getting humid! New episode of Language Vlog is in the works, spent the day editing it. New vids are in the works, Eye See Beijing. Appeared on another language web stream on the weekend. Hosted by former colleague Denny Goin, Hobbit English is available on Youtube and Facebook to stream. Talked about motivation to keep up the studies. Some more work this week, should distract me. How will I get my two a days in? Aaannnddd… May 23… the passport should be ready.
Let’s hope this all goes well!
Show noted tracks n vids up on stevensirski.com! Have a good week!
SSAB – May 24 2022
First thunderstorm of the year. Curious: if the long-timers are moving with their wives n kids, does that mean the wives are hearing or seeing something that’s not being said out loud? Beijing vs Shanghai might be heating up, thought numbers are down. Monkeypox? Will be a busy week trying to finish up all these vids but will be happy once it’s done! #MayYouMakeYourMovie Two a day skill development: one arm pull ups, push ups and pistol squats.
Show notes tracks n vids up on stevensirski.com! Hope your Tuesday is well!
SSAB – May 25 2022
Just when you think the markets are bottoming… they fall further. Check Canadian energy. Beijing case numbers significantly down, compulsory testing today, but only one week till the June 1st deadline. Workouts paused today, back and left hip were stiff so decided to work on some mobility drills instead. Will try to back at it tomorrow morn. May You Make Your Movie, been working on a trilogy of sorts, will have uploaded soon. Show notes tracks n vidz up on stevensirski.com. Today’s characters are 休息！
SSAB – May 26 2022
Finished The God Equation… looks like we need to find out the Theory of Everything so we can skip universes. Can’t help but think of the comedy in that. No compulsory NAT test but A LOT of subway stations are closed. Three Peaks and a Domed House formation, is that what we’re seeing now? Or have seen take place? Coal companies are doing well in China, why? May You Make Your Movie final weekend! Get em done! Show notes tracks n vids up on stevensirski.com. Have a good day!
SSAB – May 27 2022
Workouts completed and yea, still need to work on hip mobility! Tried an online combat fitness class and, well, yea, had some difficulty. Still a decent workout though! Animation: difficult to grt through the mind but got it done. Three vids out: -Cereal Animation -Eye See Beijing -Glowing Space Force Will have more time this weekend too. Newly released e-pass for the compound, I thought things were getting better? Does China want Siberia? Lots of commodities and I remember one of my students talking about it when I FIRST came to China! Get some exercise! Eat your vegetables and get some vitamin D! Show notes tracks n vids up on stevensirski.com! Have a good weekend!
SSAB – May 30 2022
May You Make Your Movie – spent much of the weekend trying to finish up a few vids and only got through some. Will ppst soon. Got distracted! Old travel vidz! Old vlog attempts! Cringy! Beijing case numbers are down and I see a few places have opened again. Still no dining in but it is good weather for a cold Tsingdao. Listening parties? I’ve thought about this before and I’m not sure why I hadn’t tried before. Discord? Show notes vidz n tracks up on stevensirski.com, have a good week!
SSAB – May 31 2022
Beijing AND Shanghai opening up, right on schedule! Does that mean the generator will be on again at that school? The lights were on… Market turnaround? Looks like it as China reopens. Was it because the Western media chose monkeypox instead? A few new vids up for MYMYM2022, should be the end but have got a few left to do. Tried out some Discording, I see it’s use but my connection isn’t stable. Show notes tracks n vidz up on stevensirski.com Have a good end of May!