Oh dear god.

It's snowing.

Apart from that, I know there are those of you who want to send me things. Cool things. Things that I'd like. Now you can do that!

You can cut and paste this address, I'd use both the Chinese and the English versions.

JessieBrockl
北京市东城区八宝坑胡同45号10007

Jessie Brockl
No. 45 BaBaoKeng Hutong,
DongCheng District, Beijing 10007
People's Republic of China

I'm waiting.

love!
Jessie

What isnt found?!?!

Ok, correction to last post's link.

This is where you can find some new pics.

kisses.

So much of a good thing...

As if two updates in a 10 minute period weren't enough, theres some new pictures here.

Check the album called "Guangzhou".

Lovely.

Andrea Gibson has one of the most impactful voices I think I've heard. Full, strong, and wielded like the weapon a voice with passion and intellect to back it can and should be. She's amazing, and seeing her live at Girlfest Honolulu is something I get all misty just thinking about. I can't even listen to her recordings without getting all emotional- and I can't watch her perform without getting all kinds of conflicting things- joy at seeing her, extreme unprecedented attraction, solidarity, pride, horrible horrible unprecedented attraction, and all of it mixed up with a dab of unrequited love. She's pertinent, she's throbbing with life, and she's one of our strongest voices continuing to spit reactionary truth in the faces of the establishment and the plastic wrapped completely irrelevant entertainment of today. Take a gander (please, leave the geese.) This is what i saw live.

EDIT: Here is where I was going to put a video from youtube of Andrea preforming her piece "For Eli". Unfortunately, China doesn't want to let me access youtube at the moment so I can't. Please go look it up yourself, if the government of the country you are accessing the internet from is lax with these kinds of allowances. Seriously. Do it.

(after watching -isn't she unwholesome amounts of attractive? violently, beautifully, gorgeous?)

<3

Apostasy: Complete!

I'm a bad, bad blog owner. In my proverbial blog related stocking, there is nothing but coal. Being an environmentalist, I really should take more steps to prevent that from happening.

Maybe I can put together a movement to switch santa from coal to tiny solar panels. Or maybe I can just blog more and stop neglecting all of you out there in readership land.

Whats the title all about? Well, I've left my job. No more five star hotels, no more weekly jet setting all over China. No more 18 hour stints on movie sets, no more ganbei with government leaders, no more languishing in private restaurant rooms through the cigarette smoke of movie directors. No more sacrificing pretty much everything i believe in to work for a machine that I utterly loathe, in the name of saving for tomorrow. I've got to say, I'm glad to be out of the game. Now I can finally back up my constant assertion that I'd rather be poor and happy than rich and so-so. I can also back up my idea that sacrificing today for tomorrow is not the road for me. Things are as i suspected- I need little to make me happy, but the simple needs I do have are imperative. Things like reliable time for myself. Things like feeling as though the work that I do helps someone, makes a difference in this huge, complex, indifferent world. I'll figure out how to get where I want to go, but I'm going to make sure I get there doing something I enjoy and believe in. It might take longer, but I'm cool with that. Unflinching dedication to enjoying every part of my life, undying devotion to only doing things I believe in.

Oh, the writings of an idealist.

How's unemployment treating me? I'm taking time to really get back to focusing on myself and my health. And I'm feeling fabulous. It's just too bad that I don't have the money or time to get over here and regale you all with tales and updates.

In a little more general, Beijing related news, spring is palpably here. It was a little hard listening to all of the spring festival business when I still had to wrap myself in 4 layers of wool and a plastic sheet just to leave the house. But now, now it is a different story. Now, as previously mentioned, I can lounge on my rooftop patio and read a book in the sun. Now I can do things in the kitchen without worrying that, because my hands are numb with cold, I'm accidentally going to chop a fingertip in my salad without noticing. Now I can hold underwear dance parties in the courtyard. Can you tell how excited I am about these underwear dance parties?

How is everyone out there?

Love

Nine on a Friday.

This blog is coming to you straight from the local israeli restaurant, next to a game of backgammon and a water pipe of shisha.

Just wanted to drop in and say hello, to all of you. should be more interesting things coming in the next day or so- unfortunately, the intertubes are still out of commission at the hutong and as such i've got to drag my sorry self to the cafe and pay for a cup of tea to get some internet access.

most of you know how little i like spending money for no reason, and few things makes less sense than paying through the nose for a single cup of tea, when an entire box of tea bags costs so little. i am loathe to head over there and pay when i could just lounge on the lovely roof of my gorgeous hutong in the sun. did i mention how much its warmed up? its almost bordering on tolerable. imagine that.

actually, the amount that its warmed up in the past week alone freaks me out. from two sweaters and a coat to a dress (short short dress- i know, you were lonely. you thought youd never come out of the closet. you longed for the light of day, you pined for the feel of flesh beneath your figure...pine no more! SPRING HAS COMETH) and some tights. though im enjoying it, really i am (the underwear dance party in the courtyard is proof. ask the roommates.)...its still rather odd.

much love.
jessie

Thanks, Risbet.

Thanks to Liz for the correction on last post.

It should indeed have been 'laid'.

I need to admit, though, that when i saw your (liz's) comment I was a little confused. For those of you who havent seen it, it says "Laid?". Upon reading it, i thought to myself 'well, isnt that a little forward of Liz. Odd. I mean, she always was a little quirky, but this level of forthrightness is unprecedented. Huh. Is that really what she means? Well I guess I could tell her. Huh.'

Then I got ready to go to the airport and put the odd comment out of my mind.

On the plane back to Beijing, returning to my curiousity and mulling over the comment, it struck me.

She was correcting my grammar.

Ohhh.

<3