My “Categories” on this thing busted since my upgrade to Wordpress 2.x. I am a little bummed but I don’t really want to take the time to fix it. That’s ok. Let there be new categories.

Going back in time, probably in September, a month after I lost the categories… this is Simon T. standing in front of the uber hip Green T. House in Cuigezhuang, close to Caochangdi art area. This place is so hip that you are not even allowed to take pictures inside or outside. I managed to sneak in a few shots on the way out… This place kind of reminds me of a Zhang Yimou movie X teak furniture from West Elm. Go here to enjoy a small pot of overpriced tea at one of their uber hip tables or just borrow their uber hip bathroom.

I got a new Canon XSi before I left the States. So far, I am pretty happy with it. I have been primarily using it to document works in progress.

This is the view from my window. I live on the 21st floor facing southeast in the Wangjing area, Chaoyang District. It is no Manhattan skyline, but it isn’t so bad.

Happy Day Light Savings!

There is no DLS in China and there is no such thing as Westcoast or Eastcoast time. The entire China is in the same time zone. All year. Every year. Everyone. It is awesome. Chinese people are so clever that they don’t need to go back or forward in time to stay on track.

8:30am classes kill me. I think the last time I woke up at 8:30 in the morning for some obligation was when I worked at the Conran Shop. Most people didn’t show up for their shift until after 9.

How is it that people in China can wake up at 5am to roll dough for dumplings and go to the market? I just don’t know.

So this is my class, I was super late today getting in at 9:10…

I am back, for real. I just got internet hooked up at my apartment earlier this week. The process is quite different from calling Time Warner and “press ‘1′ for new service”. We had to get our landlord to go to the ADSL distribution office and stand in line for god knows how long… Then I had to learn the Chinese words for router and modem so I can buy those things… Finally, I had to use my roommate’s PC to set up the router. It is all good now.

The lessons is that if you want something done in China, expect a *very* tedious and ambiguous process.

Above… a model at a photoshoot set in front of a 798 art district gallery. I love it. Eat your heart out, America’s Next Top Model.

The Olympics and Paraolympics are officially over. Quick facts & updates:

1. FYI, I am still in Beijing. I have been in Beijing for almost a month.

2. I have been attending classes at Central Academy of Fine Arts in the Experimental Art department. It is a very different yet interesting curriculum. 90% of the time, the work is on paper or in discussions. There is not a proper studio in the department, so I suppose this is the “experimental” aspect of it. Most of the work is “outsourced”. The rest of the academy is pretty classically focused. Some of the graduate painting students are still sketching or painting models as class assignment.

3. I did go to the Olympic Stadium and watched a game last week. It is very big and there are lots of people there. Coca-Cola is a major sponsor and I hope it is not the reason why they have painted the inside of the stadium red.

4. Beijing subway is the shit. It is 2 RMB, about 30 cents, and is new and clean. The system is of course not as well developed as New York. It is just amazing to see what they built in such a short period. The stations are equipped with air conditioner on full blast, frequent trains, swipe card turnstiles, clean bathrooms (squatters with no teepee, of course) and airport-trainesque double door tracks… the kind where there is a glass door and wall outside of the train body. This way, no one can throw themselves or trash onto the tracks and you risk a double squeeze if you run for the train.

5. Speck, capicola and prosciutto all taste and look like Virginia Ham in China.

6. I have been looking at apartments to rent… The rental prices skyrocketed for the Olympics and it has been tough to find a reasonably priced and clean space. I’ve looked at over 30 apartments and worked with about 11 brokers. I think I am going to room with some students from the Academy. One girl is from Queens, another from Hebei and we are looking for a 4th…

7. HiPhones, just one of the many Chinese replicas of the iPhone, sells for only 700 RMB. My unlocked iPhone first generation works great here.

8. 2 new sites coming soon! One is a “Eats” blog and the other is still a secret.

More to come, stay tuned.