The Audio Blog of Steven Sirski

Dae ha min guk! Clapclap clapclap clap! Arrived!BARELY got onto the flight! I completely misjudged the time it would take to get to T2 and when we got to the airport the check in was closed. Since I only had carry on, I asked if I could just get the boarding pass. He said no, it closes an hour ahead of departure. The papers have already been sent to immigration. Interesting. Gf chimes in and tells him that my visa expires today he has to leave. I was then ushered through.Now, that could’ve been avoided if we had left earlier AND not purchased cheap airport express tickets on Xianyu.And offered a night out, so we go!A German guy who’s been backpacking for the last month, French girl who’s studying Bahasa Indonesian in Bandung (full scholarship), and. New Zealander doing a search for his roots in China.Windy and cold!How’s the hostel?? Cheap, but… now I’m reminded of how small the rooms are and… gritty.And now… an interview with Morgan and Amos from Australia!Donate to the show! PayPal link below!https://www.paypal.me/stevensirski?locale.x=en_CA***Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.comAnd on Notion: https://stevensirski.notion.site/SSAB-The-Audio-Blog-of-Steven-Sirski-00acfe344e164bfab191d3cddf6952b2?pvs=4Newsletter over at stevensirski.substack.comLanguage vlog on http://www.youtube.com/@stevenslanguagevlogGoogle Stock Tracker Sheethttps://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1kbpCC2cieuq23zYyr0-WznPRogVX0aS86BF4_vPvgMY/edit?usp=sharingSafe travels!!00:00 Back in Korea00:59 Cheap Ticket Chaos02:31 Check In Cutoff05:35 Flight and Arrival07:05 Six Month Surprise08:49 Hostel Life Mapo12:28 Logistics and Gym Talk16:37 Meeting Hostel Travelers17:46 Fried Chicken Night29:28 Seoul Versus Beijing34:12 Interview Setup Aussies37:23 Morgan and Amos Intro38:56 Travel Plans and Teaching43:24 Canada Visa Fee Rant44:58 Brexit Visa Headaches45:41 Working Holiday Age Limits46:45 Why He Chose Teaching48:20 Rural Placement Bonuses50:41 How Rural Is Rural51:55 Family Roots Wales to Oz55:29 First Impressions of Seoul56:35 Next Stops Gyeongju Busan58:40 Seoul Highlights and Neighborhoods01:03:22 Why Korea Over Japan01:05:28 Food Expectations and Budget Eats01:09:29 Night Tents Soju Bombs01:10:55 Soju Gets You Fast01:11:41 Next Stops Beyond Seoul01:12:32 Museum Fatigue Ancient Pots01:13:48 Learning Korean Basics01:16:02 Eating Like Locals01:18:48 Planning Routes By Train01:22:08 Monolingual Aussies Abroad01:23:28 Hostel Life Digital Nomads01:26:08 Minimalism After Van Life01:28:19 Korean Beer Cass vs Terra01:33:06 Techno Nights Live Music01:36:19 Next Trip Sri Lanka Debate01:38:40 Wrapping Up The Chat

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!

Just some mix up of sounds created in Logic Pro. Very rough.

Day three of the Jamuary song-a-day challenge for 2023!

Track #2 for Jamuary.

A weekly wrap up of the topics discussed on this week's podcasts! July 25 to 29 2022.

End of month! Humidity hits! Tough waking up today, is skipping destroying me? Or was it the Nordic curls I tried yesterday? I feel those today! Haven't felt a strained muscle in a very long time! Quarter Murph done and another two miles and slow mo workout in the aft. Gold bounces! Crypto charges! If you're not publishing, do you exist? What do you think? August Animation? With work hitting full time now, how to make time for anything else? Show notes tracks n vids up on stevensirski.com Have a.good weekend!

HUGE shout out to the coders n programmers that have created such cool tech! Trying to livestream from my.phone while using the recorder app AND overlaying show notes from another APP! Simply neat and impressice! More SLV vids up: walking and eatinf chocolate. Can't live stream from my phone cause I don't have enough subscribers on Youtube just yet. So go subscribe! :D August animation... have been thinking about this. I guess I want to hear if I still have an apartment before committing to this month-long project. I bought a bunch of plasticine and thought it would be fun to play around with. Began assembling Episode 31 of the podcast. Wanted to have it released but then all of a sudden got drafted into work sooo had to re-arrange things. Behind the scenes walkthrough? Bike ride today morning, then mobility, a run and a skip in the aft. Show notes tracks n vids up on stevensirski.com. Have a good one!

Right... livestreaming can have connectivity issues. Sprints... still... eeech, BUT, I've noticed that doing sprints of skipping has been cutting down on fat. Like, noticeably! There's something beautiful about hearing the rain... but can you sleep with it always there? HSK flashcards continue... SLV videos continue and an idea for a TikTok channel! Show notes tracks n vids up on stevensirski.com! Happy humping day!

Flash card HSK - slowly going through the several decks I have have: physical, Ankidroid x3, and Memrise. New vids up on SLV, tongue twisters! Are they actually useful for teaching ESL? SpaceLab, ever been? Neat but food is only 还可以. A report from Slovenia and... Georgia! Live streaming... did I just eliminate my evenings out?! Is there another way I could do this to give me some flexibility? Show notes tracks n vids up on stevensirski.com Have a good Tuesday!

Trying to broadcast while recording, thinking of setting up a new channel on YouTube Downloaded THREE DECKS of flashcards on Anki PLUS Memrise, we're hitting those characters hard! Thinking... if I don't get an apartment renewal contract, I may be forced to move which would mean... uni job? Are they still available? Been posting a few English vids on my language vlog, some tips on learning languages. It seems like it's a good idea. How to do Chengyu? Curious, what would you want to hear on this daily digest of a podcast or something similar? Is there anything missing? Ten wondering thoughts: 1. Mandatory exercise would mean you have to dance with your boss. Mandatory exercise means that if you are the boss you have to lead the dance. 2. I think I need a day off. Why? I don't feel well. What's wrong? I'm sick of work. :D 3. Whatever you're doing right now, can you imagine doing it in 15 years' time? :O That's something to think about! 4. What species do you think they will first use for an authentic-look, real-world view camera in a smartphone? Would it be fish eyes or something else? 5. One thing I've found that has helped me get excited for the next day: buy good coffee. 6. If were overheard by your boss complaining about your job and management, etc., and then he she they walked up to you and said the job is yours, do you think you could do it? 7. Most populous cities have had generations of people walk over their land. Do you think your footsteps are historical? 8. What technology do we take for granted today will be obsolete in a hundred years? I kinda think bluetooth (yes, like bluetooth mice n headsets) 9. Bamboo sheets? Why aren't they more common? 10. If you could do a TV show of your life, would you? What would it be like? Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com Have a good start of week!

Rain! Unexpected but that will cool things down. Another bike ride this morning, 10 miles / 16 kms, plus a one mile run after. Afternoon workout was a run and kbells... then I ripped a callous off. Ow. DRUGS! Shrooms, pot, kava etc., do we need them? What about alcohol or caffeine or tobacco? What about music? Why do so many musicians partake in these substances? Indigenous cultures around the world have used these things... why are they not more mainstream? Watching this Netflix doc called 'How to Change Your Mind' with Michael Pollan -he talked about going off of coffee for three months on Joe Rogan's show some time back. DONE first book for HSK 5, I can't help but feel rather sleepy when reading these texts! Looked into radicals Show notes tracks n vids up on stevensirski.com! Have a good weekend!

That generator is still on! Gold looks good! Is it a replacement for cash? Zhengzhou bank runs and red QR Codes! What about crypto?! Episode 31 in the books! Recorded and now onto editing. GoPro battery swollen and stuck... required some finaggling with a knife but got it out. Battery still works but it's a pain to get it out and I wonder if it's safe. Noodle place gone! Shut down as of yesterday. Their breakfast was alright but it was the fact that it was always open that was good. It was one of those places that serves delivery people and other passersby, not typically foreigners. It was the last hold out of that stretch of buildings and now it is gone! Aaannd... Ancient Greek Civilization for English Learners! Show notes tracks n vids up on stevensirski.com Have a good one!

Another going away party! And a few words from someone who has been in the country for over nine years. What do you want to accomplish in that country? Why do you want to go? When do you know that it is time to leave? Would you swim in Liangma River? HSK prep continues, eech buuut... I'm the only one left in the country from my former Chinese class! The others have left! Podcast episodes in the works! Two a days: some slow n steady days. Lift heavy, but slow, instead of blitzkrieging through a hundred kbell swings Show notes tracks n vidz up on the site stevensirski.com

Hot and did not sleep well! Another bike ride this morning and a skip n ballz workout in the aft. New SLV up, took a while to get rendered, not sure why. Podcast lineup in the works! NFTs: airplane tickets as collectibles?! If the airlines can garner another 10% profit... they will. How to make an NFT? How to open a wallet? Which currency to use? Ethereum seems to be the on that comes up a lot. Ten ideas for music NFTs: 1. Music files mp3/wav, 2.MIDI files, 3. Project file, 4. The making of the project (video/audio + maybe a special thank you), 5. Images of the WAV form (like a film strip) that also contains a music file built-in, 6. USB of everything, 7. Blog post with screenshots (ebook?) 8. Meeting with maker + video n audio of the meet up 9. Jpeg poster of cover art (+wave form of soundscape?) 10. Cover art for the song itself Show notes n tracks up on the website stevensirski.com Have a good one!

On vacation! Relaxing!... Except for all the noise! Generators and air conditioners running all the time! Aiya! Hot AF as we are now into the 伏天 fu tian, the three sets of hottest times of the year. Ten days each for a grand total of 30 more days of this! +34 pretty much all the time and hardly a wind. Stay hydrated! How much sun is bad for the skin? And hasn't SPF even come under scrutiny as it absorbs into the body and does who knows what? HSK 5 test most defo did not pass BUT this gives me a good jumping off point AND should kick me out of my complacency. Aiming for three hours a day of language use. Went to JingA after and met a guy from Winnipeg! He's returning to Canada soon and so that makes two people from the city now going back. He actually recognized me because he saw me running around the neighbourhood with my camo weight vest. Ha! Website updated. Along with Chinese studies thinking I might spend August focusing on animation. Bought some Chinese plasticine and was thinking of trying out more stop motion. Show notes tracks n vids up on stevensirski.com Have a good start of week!

HSK 失败了！ #FAIL Or at least not very good. Didn't freeze or anything but simply was not prepared enough. Areas to work on: reading speed at HSK 5 level which means more practice dense. These texts are dense and the answers aren't always easy to see... at least in my impression. Vocab! Much more work on this. Words forgotten: 失败, 休息, 提高, 胳膊 (arm), wrist, keyboard 键盘. If going by the gauge of 2-3 hours of study increases your grade by 1 point, then at the very least this test will give me an indication of how much more I need to do. Finish the textbooks, finish the mock tests, finish the test prep book!

Friday night! Night before HSK 5 test! Still not really nervous, more just want it over with! Almost done with the second go through of the textbook, will probably need one more go through to finish them up. Then the workbook practice tests. Spent the day listening to all of the texts and reviewing vocab. Will continue to focus on vocab review and practice some writing before the test tomorrow. Never did any practice tests cause... they're soooo loooong! My big issue is vocab (for reading and listening) and then grammar for the correct the sentences portion. Looked at the HSK 6 books, they actually don't look as daunting as they once did. KNIFE SHARPENER! Half Murph again this morning: 2.08 mile run (time 20:45) 1.01 mile weighted run (10:31) 7 rounds: 5 or 6x pull up variations, 12x pushups, 20x squats (22:11) 1.06 mile weighted run (11:29) Time: 44m 11s That piano sound? A car backing up! I should have known this! Ten ideas for languages to learn! Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com Have a good weekend!

Dual workouts in, mostly cardio. One hour bike in the morning, run and skip in the aft. Gotta get those legs moving if you want skipping to count. Five or whatever hours of Chinese studies. Went from Chapter 18-30 in the second book with a glance at vocab, grammar and collocations. Tomorrow hope to go through the rest of the book and do a couple of practice tests. Half Murph tomorrow again, remember to hydrate! Watching Don Draper on Mad Men. Never really watched the show but a guy at work likes it. Looked around at a few uni jobs, there are some in the area. Today's bike ride showed me how close some of them were! Did I mention the ten jobs I see foreigners doing here in Beijing? 1. ESL teacher (international schools) 2. voice over actors / voice talent 3. acting (low budget / commercial) 4. bartending 5. management (corporate) 6. beer brewer 7. filmmaker 8. stunt personnel / trainer 9. self defense training 10. Douyin personality (in Mandarin) 11. Copyeditor / proofreader 12. Journalist Looking ahead, how often should you change jobs? Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com Have a good one!

Joe Ro saying the govt saying alien aircraft could be real sounds fishy while it's navy pilots seeing these craft in airspace reserved for military.... hmmm now that you put it that way... Webb telescope and it's latest picture of deep space! Russia makes bullets, Ukraine doesn't. Remember media saying Russian troops were retreating? Or were they letting the separatists take up the fight? Three more days, reading us tough and slow! Am I making progress? Two workouts again, up early and out early. Wondering, could I use a white noise machine to wake myself up at an earlier time? Would sound better than some abrasive alarm going off. I swear I heard a one note piano this morning... Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com Have a good day! Slava Ukrainii!

Omicron Variant Sub BA.5.2.??.!! Shanghai shanghai'ed! Ten years from now, what will you have wished you did sooner? Are there still avenues left to explore here in China? Living in China or leaving? How do different places compare? Family considerations, both old and new, environment, what else needs to be considered? Ten places: Dubai, Abu Dhabi, France, Kuala Lumpur Malaysia, Seoul or Busan South Korea, Tokyo Japan, Montreal?, Vancouver?, London?, Slovenia?! Opportunity to study, now using Daily Zhongwen on YouTube for reading the HSK books for me! Test prep reading is tough! Show notes n trcks up on stevensirski.com Have a good one!

Vaccine mandates... rescinded! Some places? BA.5 IS THE MOST CONTAGIOUS EVER! Than what was before? But at least there is still no mandate and it is optional. This whole thing it actually looks as if China is scared / worried / concerned that this virus will have a disproportionate affect on their own people, for whatever reason. Is that the reason for the constant vigilance? Test prep: working my way through the HSK test prep book that breaks down each section. I... am not doing well! I don't want to say this could be a practice run through as I am confident in my abilities but the points aren't lying. 2-3 hours to raise your score by a point. What is my goal? Just to pass. But what if (for whatever reason) I wanted to go back to university? What score do I need? 210+ it looks like! Using home workout equipment or buying stuff, or going to the gym? Ten ideas to workout at home with whatever you have -washing detergent bottles (better handles, can be used like small steel clubs for controlled movement) -water bottles (4, 5, 12 L bottles for kettlebell-like workouts) -couch bed dips (triceps) -push up variations (from normal to one-handed, spider / split pushups) -stairs (load up those 12L water bottles and do a few flights) -chair lift (chairs offer an off-of-center weight, pick it up, turn, put it down) -squats (with water bottles or variations, split squats, water bottle over heard squats, normal squats) -pistol squat prep off of a chair, do half until flexible and strong enough!) -suitcase carry (load up a suitcase with those water bottles and carry on one side) -floor cleaning ab or leg workout (can use the rags as a type of slider, keep the legs stationed and slide out on your arms, or keep the arms stationed and slide out the legs to the side or to the back) This is all in addition to the normal burpees, pushups, sit ups and crunches you can do! Website update with show notes tracks n vids! stevensirski.com Have a good week!

Another ten percussion tracks, this time with Garageband! Have a listen at the end of this episode! Joe Rogan on Lex Friedman's podcast, good talk esp if you're into the performing arts or want to hear about how Joe Rogan handled the attempted cancellation. Reading through this HSK 5 test prep book, makes sense what they are saying and how they break down the questions. Didn't know there were 12 different types of sentences they could use for one of the written section! This makes things a little bit more manageable. Will focus on doing a few practice tests this weekend in preparation. Shinzo Abe shot and killed, assassinated! When was the last time that happened? Show notes tracks n vids up on stevensirski.com! Have a good weekend!

Ten percussion ideas! VACCINE MANDATED... for some placee, but not all, and it's up to the BaoAn, those often grumpy guardsmen. BUT... since I don't really go anywhere, do I STILL need to get vaxxed? Need two shots, most Chinese people I know only got one... or none! Get vaxxed? Get in line, the waiting list is LOOONG! HSK 5 entrance ticket is now available! No mention of vaccination required, but negative NAT within 48 hours is required. The more I read the easier it's getting so will need to keep this up somehow. Newspapers might still be too difficult. Yangqing off limits now as TWO new cases somehow popped up. Show notes tracks n vids up on stevensirski.com. Enjoy the day :)

Generator is off! Maybe it had something to do with he humidity over the last few days? Textbook tests are harder than practice tests! 45% for the workbook, 62% for the actual practice test! Did a lot better than I thought I would! Sub BA5 spotted in Shanghai, new lockdowns? Not even sure whatbit means any more! Beijing bars reopening. Two months to go! How will I trim the beard? Or just shave it off?! Ten ideas... fot drinking coffee. Thinking about getting a VA (virutal assistant), might make life a little bit easier. Show notes tracks n vids up on stevensirski.com Have a good one!

Joke about guns, and another shooting in the States. This time in Chicago, but most people who are from the city wouldn't be surprised. Sad, tragic and disappointing. Biden to roll back tariffs and that causes markets to fall? Chinese markets are moving up, including tech. Crypt crushed, USD up! 10 ideas a day, can you do it? Idea comes from James Altechur, not sure if I've mentioned it before. Can be applied to anything: writing, music, teaching, business, money making ideas, how to profit from a falling stock market. Got some ideas for ESL teachers! Thinking about the guy who is in charge of flicking off that generator, maybe he's locked down? Reading The Stand doesn't give me any good visions of what might have happened to him! Strangely little Chinese done today but I did get my workouts in. It poured just as I was getting ready to leave in the morning so I had to delay a little. Website updated with show notes n tracks! stevensirski.com :D Have a good one!

USAmerica Day! Independence, when the great experiment of 'we can do better than you!' created the US of A, or at least the beginnings, and would later set the borders of where Canada would be. Despite the seemingly chaotic political environment, ask just about anyone and they'll tell you they'd take the chance to move to the US. Most of my former students are there! Walk down memory lane with a trip to Chicago for the Cubs vs White Sox at Wrigley Field, and then New York before China. And let's not forget the movie Independence Day! HSK 5 prep: margaritas help! Or maybe I was just tuned in? 61%! Today's mock test was just a grin and bear it. (49%) Do I sweat more or less? Generator is on and I can't sleep with that thing running. Have considered finding the source. Show notes n tracks up on the site stevensirski.com! Have a good one!

Happy Canada Day! Though I know it seems to be a bad thing to say these days. Accomplishments? Honestly? I don't know! Canadarm on the space station, James Naismith invented basketball, Chris Hadfield - an astronaut in space who played guitar and wrote a few books, Wayne Gretzky, Tim Hortons, the telephone was invented, Red Green, famous comedian, Coffee Crisp, Crispy Crunch, THE WONDERBRA, Java programming language, Blackberry, IMAX, Canola, the telephone (-ish), Seems it's been a good place to invent some stuff Nothing like a reality check on my Chinese with a practice test: 48%! Listening was alright, reading was worse than I thought it would be, and writing was abysmal BUT! I was able to craft (grammatically incorrect) sentences with correct characters! This is an improvement. Show notes tracks n vids up on my site stevensirski.com. Thanks for listening!

The fkg generator is back on! 太麻烦了(o﹏o) HSK 5 prep continues with looking at some collocations. 搭配 dāpèi is the word I was looking for yesterday. They make a whole lot more sense now then they did before. Lots of folks I know who have hit HSK 5 level or thereabouts all seem to say the same thing, ' I wouldn't mind getting the 6'... yet none of them have... even though their Chinese is stellar. This does not bode well for me! Remember that flight plan I had in mind? Yea, it was through Hong Kong which needs a quarantine soooo... there goes that idea! Been thinking, I used to say it would be easier to cut calories than to increase expenditure. But my new workouts now seem to suggest something almost opposite. It is now easier to up my expenditure than reduce my calories any further simply because what I do eat (and drink), though is less, it seems to be more of a habit. So, how do I change this and do I want to? What happens if I stop working out so much? Back to reading Chinese! Show notes tracks n vids up on my site stevensirski.com. Have a good one!

Thunderstorm awakening! Still got the workouts in! Wages for ESL teachers go up... but they have to be in-country. And those who aren't from the Sacred Seven 'native English spealing countries (and passports)', well, we'll just offer you less. So... a move away from Beijing? Geez, could I even? The asterisk is gone! What means? No more travel restrictions. Flights are still expensive $7000 CAD to Winnipeg. HSK 5 prep, what else am I going to do in the evening? Show notes tracks n vidz up on the site stevensirski.com Have a good hump day :D

Hydrate for the weather! Preparing for HSK and making language study part of the evening ritual. A trip down memory lane across Western China. Next VIRUS-like pandemic to be warded off by good health practices? Or are we just kidding ourselves? Show notes tracks n vidz up on stevensirski.com. Have a good one!

Sunburn! First of the year! Thunderstorms! Drink your water! Humidity will dehydrate you! And why do we feel so tired? Cicadas are out in full force now. Schools being let back in, in-house dining, too, but still no generator! Have decided to go ahead with the HSK5 test in July sooo... time to hardcore prep! Show notes tracks n vids up on stevensirski.com. Have a good one!

Friday, but who's counting? Work this weekend. Dual workouts done around work and NAT tests. When will this end? Working on pistol squats and one arm pushups Expat living, here or there, what matters? Taxes follow so how to accommodate? Show notes tracks n vids up on stevensirski.com. Have a great weekend!

Rain cooling things down, looks like next week will all be rain. Life must be getting back to normal as construction sounds abound, inside, outside, and all around. Keeping busy with the language channel if you haven't had a looksee just yet. Enjoying this Bill Bryson book The Body. It's my night time read. Should be taking notes! Tech layoffs continue! Surprising given the big push towards AI and robotics. Where are they going? Show notes n stuff on the website stevensirski.com Have a good one!

Daily workouts, or new habits to take forward? No two a day today, humidity and mindset sapped my strength. Good workout this morn tho. Vids uploaded, MYMYM2022 - Sluggin it Real Time and another SLV in which I introduce different coffee making methods (second take). Oil plunges, as do markets. False flag? Watch daily charts as they are more detailed into how the markets move during these times. Work throughout the week! That's a first in a long time! Show notes tracks n vidz up on stevensirski.com Have a good day!

Longest day of the year which means... the year is half over! Stephen King, writing and reading. Word count inspiration or warning? Cycling in Inner Mongolia (not Mongolia the country) Chinese blogs continue, have to redo the coffee vid. Website updated! Show notes tracks n vidz up on stevensirski.com. Have a good one!

Continues to be a good time for cold beer as the humidity has spiked... you basically sit and sweat all day. Programmed the fans to go on and off at night. Beer, smokes, exercise or what gets you through tech trouble shooting? 4K monitor not playing nicely with the other tech. Two a day workouts continue 618 'shopping festival' Reading some easy-ish Chinese books from a series calles The Long Interview. Will need to focus on HKS 5 books soon. Show notes tracks n vidz up on stevensirski.com. Have a great start of week!

太牛了！Very cow! Means awesome or sarcastically not awesome. Any connection with the word cowabunga? Reading in Chinese! A book about Wu Jun who came up with a coffee company here in China, though I'm not very familiar with the name. I want to like After Effects, it's just not very user friendly. Tried to rotoscope something and got everything except the content aware fill which did not do its job. Ended up severely reducing my expectations and... moving over to Apple Motion. Work tomorrow, NATs continue, rest day. Dual workouts: again, not sure what else I'd do during that period of time. Thinking of compiling a bit of an ebook to help spur creativity. Wouldn't be a huge ordeal, but something to try out. Show notes tracks n vids up on stevensirski.com

Getting tired of training or just need to change things up? What else would I do with my time, right? More mandatory testing but travel restrictions are being eased. Still too expensive to go anywhere. Fengtai is released! But others are locked up. New vlog up: I read a beer can. Good practice but it did take some prep. The Stand: I can see why Stephen King is regarded as a very good writer! Description! Show notes tracks n vidz up on stevensirski.com. Have a good Thursday!

Residence permit! That's why we go to the PSB! Not for the work visa! Very active day in that I did get my two workouts in + the bike journey to and from the PSB. Somewhere around 1500 calories burned, but then by night time I am hungry! More lockdowns, but this smells more of some sort of hit against the bar scene in Beijing than anything else. Or have things just been lost already? Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau has COVID... again! And now the country has relaxed vaxx requirements. Markets getting crushed! But Chinese markets bounce! Rate hike on Wednesday? Chinese prep: could I spend every day just using Chinese?! Show notes tracks n vids up on stevensirski.com Have a good week!

Bianlifeng chicken! Don't get to have this very often any more! Michael Jackson's Thriller - full album, what do you think? It's almost 40 ywara old! 7 of the 9 tracks were singles with the famous Thriller track coming out last. Good album, solid pop songs. May You Make Your Movie updated, only a few remaining! Insta and YouTube updated. Website up to date, thinking I might get someone to code the code I need to make this simpler. New SLV up again. Today was about vegetables in Chinese! Hope you had a good Tuesday! Show notes tracks n vidz up on stevensirski.com!

Busy weekend getting vids up and finally finishing one that took a while. Hail stones and thunderstorms, first this year! Beijing does not grt hail very often. MORE testing, lockdowns, etc. SLV continues, neglected to post yesterday so posted this morning buuuut internet connection isnt so good for some reason. Need to focus on pronunciation while continuing with vocab Work permit renewed, next PSB, I forget even why we go. Is this for the visa? lol! Show notes tracks n vidz up on stevensirski.com Hope you had a great weekend!

SLV language check in once again, I should have started this earlier! Michio Kaku on Joe Ro - Types of civilizations YouTube shorts, you ever watch those? Or is this just them trying to copy TikTok or Insta? Lockdowns again! After Effects still causing me issues! Show notes tracks n vidz up on stevensirski.com Have a good weekend!

HSK 5 test prep begins! July 16th is the test date! A liiiittttllee bit nervous! New challenge to myself: post a new video everyday until test day. Can it be done? How much of an improvement will I see? Will I be able to yak on like I do in English? Lockdowns again? Why? Someone got the bug in a club and now they're all closed. Gotta keep those NATs current if you want to enter stores! Booted from April Gourmet! The Stand, Stephen King, and cocaine. Do drugs help creativity? Eeee, tough to say, but it does beg the question: is there anyone who has become a household name that isnt or wasnt hopped up on something? Show notes tracks n vidz up on stevensirski.com. Have a good one!

Another animation done! This time with coffee beans! Word has it that a neighbour is being ousted because... the landlord is selling! That, to me, is a sign of at least a change of direction. Stonk market is appreciating and investors' money is going up! Was out with some folks last night and of all things... met a lady who graduated from my university one year later than I did. Why was she there? Cause it was cheaper... but a little bit cold. An understatement! Double workout again tomorrow, though about taking supplements, CLA and or L-Carnitine but... are these sustainable? Show notes tracks n vidz up on stevensirski.com Have a good one!

Seems to be a bit more life out now in the city, I guess people are happy to be out. Passport picked up, now the rest has to be done. And now visa and work permit and contract renewals begin. My real fear is updating WeChat and Alipay. If those dont work then life will be 麻烦了 (troublesome). MYMYM2022 nearing completion as finally got to animating one of the vids. Still dont like After Effects as it runs too slow. Zongzi made over the weekend. HSK test to be signed up for, next month is the target! Show notes tracks n vidz up on stevensirski.com Have a good one!

Beijing is open! Allowed to dine out again and restrictions are being lifted all over the place! Yey! Happy Jubilee Day! The Queen of England has been in charge for 70+ years! Can you imagine doing the same job for 70 years? Reading The Stand by Stephen King. I like his writing style. Surprised he didnt get any flack for some of the words he uses in his books. New vid up for MYMYM2022. A few more to go. Want to try out some more animation, esp stop motion. Going to pick up the new passport tomorrow which means... visa, work permit and contract renewal. And... guess no more excuses for putting off that HSK test. Markets shoot higher as the govt scrutiny of Didi and other tech names is nearing completion. Website updated! Show notes tracks n vidz up on stevensirski.com! Have a good one!

What is that feeling called when you wake up but can barely move? Not sore, but like your muscles are ultimately relaxed? Sleep intertia? Yea, tough to get out of bed this morning but still managed the two workouts today. Pizza is a good recovery food, right? Dragon Boat Festival, have yet to eat zongzi, some went to Chaoyang Park but I think you need proof of vaccination. Uploaded a few more vids. Will get some more done tomorrow. Got one of those cell phone stands that all the cool kids have. Fleetwood Mac - Rumours -Did a test Discord run and ran into some issues of how best to stream audio. Thought I could use Quicktime to screen capture but it didn't work. Show notes tracks n vidz up on stevensirski.com. Have a good weekend!

Hot n sweaty! Still don't understand the electronic gate passes NAT sites fewered. Two workouts! Trying out the running with weight vest again. Dropped it by 2kg though so now only 11kg. 2 miles no vest 1 mile w vest 30 air squats 30 pushups 12 pulls ups 1 mile run + 2 pull ups Then spent most of the day working on... the Iron Man HUD! This was a neat one! Multiple layers and required some work but it got done! Dragon Boat this weekend as the cities open up. But for what? I think this is the holiday with the guy who drowned so that's why they eat zongzi, or rice cakes in bamboo leaves. Show notes tracks n vidz up on stevensirski.com! Enjoy the weekend!

New month! New life!? Or same ol same ol? Language Vlog: stop being so pseudo academic! Vlog your language! Calling myself out. Getting things done and making sure I've covered as many bases as possible. Show notes tracks n vidz up on stevensirski.com. Have a good one!