Last week I met a grad student from Arkansas! She's doing public policy research in China, and interviewing lots of art galleries. She mentioned that her translator recently bailed on her, and so on a whim a few days later I shot her an e-mail offering to translation for her interviews. This way I could practice translating, get exposure to her research, ask some questions of my own, and make a friend! It worked well. She was really glad to have someone to go with (she doesn't speak any Chinese), so on Thursday we went exploring. We found a charming, isolated district hidden in the middle of the city, with grassy hills and implausibly large sculptures. We interviewed and interviewed and got into some juicy topics that I hope to use in my senior thesis, like differences between China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan on issues of art and globalization. Then we had a jolly time touring galleries (including one interior design gallery with only kitchens on display). It'll be fun to see what else we'll get ourselves into next week. It amazes me, though, how many awesome opportunities are just waiting out there to be grabbed, with an e-mail or a phone call. Initiative, go!
In other news: Will, Andi and I finally went to the fabric market, and it was as good as could be expected. I got fitted for a suit (for a nice square 50 USD!), and am having a couple of linen ties custom-made. I get to pick them up in a week. Like always, barganing was a crazy, acting-heavy game. Will, Andi and I are all Psych/CogSci majors, so we enjoyed analyzing the emotional games the professional-grade shopkeepers will put you through to get you to pay more. One even took fifteen minutes to explain the process of how ties were made, from the way the fabric is cut, to the taylor specifications and everything. Overall, an experience worth paying money for in and of itself.
All that, and starting to run far.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Fair
Traffic in China is all about being fair. It's a perculiar type of communal driving, almost precisely what you'd expect "Socialist" traffic to look like. Unlike in the States, in China, the goal of traffic seems to be that no one ever has to stop, even if that means going four miles an hour all the way to work. Merging, turning, and crossing intersections all have a give-and-take. You're expected to budge a little when the crazy taxi next to you is trying to jump into your lane, and the next morning when you're late to work, a few buses and cars will break momentarily for you so you can zip through the intersection on a red light. It's a fair system, and everyone gets their share of law-breaking.
Every time I go back to the US, I think our "fair" traffic system is a little silly. Regardless of who is in a hurry, where traffic is heaviest, or what construction is on the roads, we all agree to stop at lights for seconds or minutes at a time, just so we can expect that others will do the same down the road. I guess Americans are more fixated on life's little comforts and reassurances than the Chinese ever are.
(Coincidentally, traffic in China always reminds me of a game I had when I was a kid called Rush Hour, where you move the cars around to try to get the red car out. Unfortunately, finding the link just now is going to result in me playing several more hours of this than I ever needed to.)
(Coincidentally, traffic in China always reminds me of a game I had when I was a kid called Rush Hour, where you move the cars around to try to get the red car out. Unfortunately, finding the link just now is going to result in me playing several more hours of this than I ever needed to.)
Monday, June 21, 2010
A few good things that have happened in recent days.
1. Last Sunday, Piaggio, the Italian motorbike company, held a launch party for their new three-wheel M3 Hybrid bike. It featured test rides of the motorbike, gross amounts of food (including a Tiramisu cake larger than the average seven-year-old), and me engaging in a two-hour conversation with the pioneer of hybrid technologies in Europe while eating said cake.
2. Monday I sang one 15-second note that is now in my roommate's new song.
3. Tuesday Will and I bought two watermelons.
4. Wednesday Watermelon Day! Wednesday morning Will and I ate an entire watermelon each on our balcony.
While my body was busy figuring that out, I attended a Chinese cooking class. I decided that I would like to go to culinary school and become a brilliant chef. I was also informed that this would make me a more attractive individual. I'll let the apron be the judge.
5. Thursday my boss decided I could translate English into Chinese. This was only good when I finished.
6. Friday I translated the CV for a famous Asian rockstar, Ashin. I guess this means I have the official translations for his song titles, books, etc.? Then I met up with one of my coworkers and a slew of Chinese and Serbians to watch the Serbia vs. Germany soccer game. We stayed at the BBQ restaurant for about four hours, ordering up countless skewers of often unidentifiable but delicious food. I feel 100% OK with making "going out with Chinese people" a hobby because I can always throw it into the "learning Chinese" and "cultural experience" categories.
7. Saturday morning was the top of the week. I gave a media tour and interview to a handful of American reporters, including the New York Times. It went very very well, and it made me remember why I love academia, because we were thinking on the same level. They were all professors on the East coast as well as columnists, and were very familiar with Yale, which made a good starter for our twenty-minute conversation after the tour. The NYU professor gave me his business card and invited me to attend his class anytime I'm in NY. I am determined to take him up on that.
Saturday night I had co-workers over for dinner, and we traded recipies.
8. Sunday was a charity event that Lisa organized at K5, followed by exploring food and the Shanghai Museum, which is full of artifacts (bronze and jade works, ancient calligraphy, seals, and coinage, etc.). After studying contemporary art, old stuff is boring.
9. Today we held a Smurfs press conference for their new movie release. With giant smurfs dancing around and kids acting out Smurfythings, it was unbearably cute and the perfect way to start off the week. That, and it was bubble tea day in the office.
2. Monday I sang one 15-second note that is now in my roommate's new song.
3. Tuesday Will and I bought two watermelons.
4. Wednesday Watermelon Day! Wednesday morning Will and I ate an entire watermelon each on our balcony.
While my body was busy figuring that out, I attended a Chinese cooking class. I decided that I would like to go to culinary school and become a brilliant chef. I was also informed that this would make me a more attractive individual. I'll let the apron be the judge.
5. Thursday my boss decided I could translate English into Chinese. This was only good when I finished.
6. Friday I translated the CV for a famous Asian rockstar, Ashin. I guess this means I have the official translations for his song titles, books, etc.? Then I met up with one of my coworkers and a slew of Chinese and Serbians to watch the Serbia vs. Germany soccer game. We stayed at the BBQ restaurant for about four hours, ordering up countless skewers of often unidentifiable but delicious food. I feel 100% OK with making "going out with Chinese people" a hobby because I can always throw it into the "learning Chinese" and "cultural experience" categories.
7. Saturday morning was the top of the week. I gave a media tour and interview to a handful of American reporters, including the New York Times. It went very very well, and it made me remember why I love academia, because we were thinking on the same level. They were all professors on the East coast as well as columnists, and were very familiar with Yale, which made a good starter for our twenty-minute conversation after the tour. The NYU professor gave me his business card and invited me to attend his class anytime I'm in NY. I am determined to take him up on that.
Saturday night I had co-workers over for dinner, and we traded recipies.
8. Sunday was a charity event that Lisa organized at K5, followed by exploring food and the Shanghai Museum, which is full of artifacts (bronze and jade works, ancient calligraphy, seals, and coinage, etc.). After studying contemporary art, old stuff is boring.
9. Today we held a Smurfs press conference for their new movie release. With giant smurfs dancing around and kids acting out Smurfythings, it was unbearably cute and the perfect way to start off the week. That, and it was bubble tea day in the office.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
David Dresses Shanghai, One Dot at a Time
It's unclear whether Brian Hyland's “Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini" (1960) or Walt Disney's choice to dress Mickey Mouse in a red polka dot dress (1961) ignitied the '60's comeback. What isn't unclear is that the sexyness of polka dots, displayed by the innovator to the left, is tragically overlooked. I'm determined to bring large polka dots back into men's fashion, even if I have to put them back there myself, dot-by-dot.
Some claim its been done before. Beau Brummell, named by Esquire Magazine as one of the Top 75 Best Dressed Men of All Time, is said to have donned polka dots in his re-invention of men's fashion. But, as the timeless mantra goes, "Pics or it didn't happen". I could not find a single picture of Mr. Brummell (pictured here) in said attire, so the fashion remains unclaimed.
If anywhere, Shanghai is the place where this under-rated fashion will resurface. If this 60-something pioneer of all clothing great, found at the marriage market, has anything to say about the matter, the time is ripe.
Shanghai is famous for its low-priced tayloring at its marriage markets, and I've been planning for months to have a Bespoke suit done in the style of Ralph Lauren. But for the sake of establishing the polka dot as the new face of hot fashion, I'm hoping to strongarm the taylors at the Shanghai fashion market into making me a polka dot dress shirt, with a pattern inverse to the dress the girl above is wearing. That, pizzazz, and a black tie will take any man to great places not seen since 18th century Britain.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
DON'T TOUCH THE ART. RAWR.
Occasionally I get roped into the least relaxing job of all time: guard duty at the museum. The current exhibition features a room full of enormous playthings, and we need to make sure that absolutely no one touches them.
This is inexplicably difficult. Grown men and women leap over the "do not touch" signs and lines on the ground in attempts to topple the art in a ferocious embrace. Little children are obviously worse, and I'm averaging about two brain aneurysms for every time one walks in the room, though I'm prepared to tackle them mercilessly to the ground at any moment if they get too close. I now understand why policemen are so bitter: constantly stopping people from doing stupid things makes me hate everyone in the room almost as much as I hate everyone in over-crowded dining halls, or tofu.
So all I can do is growl at them to take a step back. I will admit to having resorted to using a loudspeaker to get my way.
This is inexplicably difficult. Grown men and women leap over the "do not touch" signs and lines on the ground in attempts to topple the art in a ferocious embrace. Little children are obviously worse, and I'm averaging about two brain aneurysms for every time one walks in the room, though I'm prepared to tackle them mercilessly to the ground at any moment if they get too close. I now understand why policemen are so bitter: constantly stopping people from doing stupid things makes me hate everyone in the room almost as much as I hate everyone in over-crowded dining halls, or tofu.
So all I can do is growl at them to take a step back. I will admit to having resorted to using a loudspeaker to get my way.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Snorting Art History on the Sidewalks of Shanghai
Art History is highly addictive. Following the emotional abstraction of Monet and Matisse, the "pop" of Warhol and Lichtenstein, and the plain, bold colors of Reinhardt and Klein is like an adventure video game.
Art History is more addictive than ever before because it is immediately gratifying. Websites like Wikipedia and ARTstor (an art image database) have revolutionized the Art History world. With these electronic libraries at my disposal, I can synthesize masses of information and ideas far faster than any life-long art historian could fifty years ago. I can compare images from museums around the world, read critiques, and even access online journals in a few clicks of my laptop pad while still in my bed. In just a few days of studying, I feel on par with any 1950's art historian who spent his days traveling to and from museums and libraries. Now more than ever, the gratifying nature of art history puts it on par with any sort of drug I know.
Of course, downsides exist - repetitive, formulaic research, the ever-changing art world, and the improbable nature of coming up with any truly "unique" ideas (at my local library alone, I saw over a dozen large textbooks named, "Art History", "The History of Art", "Historical Perspectives on Art", "Art, in a History", "Art: A New History", and several other permutations of the same words). But I will continue to ignore these because learning about Art History buys one a fresh perspective on culture. And addictions are kind of fun. This is one drug, however, that is sold only in this century. But we'll use it to rush ahead and unveil what hasn't been by traditional scholars.
This is the promise of the new generation: to learn faster and make more on-the-fly connections about the world to maybe make it a better place. The depth of knowledge might be sacrificed, but it's a small price to pay.
Art History is more addictive than ever before because it is immediately gratifying. Websites like Wikipedia and ARTstor (an art image database) have revolutionized the Art History world. With these electronic libraries at my disposal, I can synthesize masses of information and ideas far faster than any life-long art historian could fifty years ago. I can compare images from museums around the world, read critiques, and even access online journals in a few clicks of my laptop pad while still in my bed. In just a few days of studying, I feel on par with any 1950's art historian who spent his days traveling to and from museums and libraries. Now more than ever, the gratifying nature of art history puts it on par with any sort of drug I know.Of course, downsides exist - repetitive, formulaic research, the ever-changing art world, and the improbable nature of coming up with any truly "unique" ideas (at my local library alone, I saw over a dozen large textbooks named, "Art History", "The History of Art", "Historical Perspectives on Art", "Art, in a History", "Art: A New History", and several other permutations of the same words). But I will continue to ignore these because learning about Art History buys one a fresh perspective on culture. And addictions are kind of fun. This is one drug, however, that is sold only in this century. But we'll use it to rush ahead and unveil what hasn't been by traditional scholars.
This is the promise of the new generation: to learn faster and make more on-the-fly connections about the world to maybe make it a better place. The depth of knowledge might be sacrificed, but it's a small price to pay.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Fear
Traffic in China is all about fear. If you show fear, you get run over. If you don't, you can somehow plow through rush hour traffic untouched. Its like the taxi drivers and businessmen on bikes and clunky busmoblies can smell fear, and expect you to get out the way as soon as they pick up on it. I've resorted to making eye contact, pointing at drivers, and wearing sunglasses all good ways to make cars stop. The only way to run in the city is fearless, else you'll never get anywhere. Maybe the same applies to racing.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
A working man
Working hard but having fun. We changed out exhibitions this week, taking out the old and putting in the new. This is exciting. The artists arrived Monday night and we unpacked and set up their art straight out of the boxes. It is fascinating how quickly this all takes place. In just a few days, all the walls in the museum were deconstructed, new walls and platforms were built, plastered, painted, and such so the artists could immediately set up their work, shipped in fresh from Taiwan (or where-in-the-world-have-you... the exhibition we just sealed up was sent back to Rome). Having produced my fair of theater shows and dealt with sets, I know this costs money. Lots and lots of money and manpower are thrown around, and it is all very impressive. What I love about theater is exactly these types of operations.
That said, let’s revisit the term “manpower, i.e. me & my coworkers. I worked over 17 hours on Tuesday, and similar hours in the days surrounding it. I’m also scheduled to work seven days a week, until who knows when. I never know when I’m actually needed or when I’m getting off work, and though I get along with my boss, I can never tell if he’s disappointed when I leave. This is frustrating, but it's just a cultural difference. By now, I know I'll get over it.
I’m starting to realize that the idea of a “job” in China, at least, is as more about your lifestyle than what you do during the day – occupation bleeds over into weekends, small hours of the night, and dinner plans with friends.
The exhibition opening made the days before it worthwhile. It was marked with press conferences and photo shoots. The artists opening the current exhibition are well known, especially one, Ashin, who is an Asian rock star who sells out stadiums for concerts. My boss knows that I like to take pictures, so he deemed me the “official photographer” for the museum. This ended up being comical, because I got ushered to the front of all the conferences with my more “leisure-oriented” Canon Rebel, while scores of professional journalists and film crews had to stand behind me with their $8000 cameras and $2000 lenses. I guess since I photographed for my job that makes me a professional photographer, no? I spent this entire morning photo editing, and it at least feels like it.
In the evening was a fancy gallery opening, which was invite-only, meaning you had to know someone at the museum or one of the artists. I invited Lisa, Madison, and Sandy, three of the other Yale interns in Shanghai, and it was fun ushering them out of the crowds of people being held away from the museum by security (they were all waiting outside to catch a glimpse of the rockstar Ashin). Wine, canapes, and the like were had, and I spent a lot of the time talking with Lisa and her boss (who runs a high-class restaurant next door), and my bosses were somewhat surprised and somewhat pleased to see that I somehow knew him. Hopefully I can eventually go hang out at Kathleen’s 5 (the restaurant) with Lisa, and further our dream of holding an event together.
I am introducing Sangria to the East. Here’s how: A French wedding is being held at the museum tomorrow, and they requested Sangria. The bar did not know what it was, so they came to me (remembering my Western Canon of Alcohol). Consequentially, tomorrow morning I am going to teach a handful of bartenders and chefs how to make Sangria for a wedding of over a hundred people. Cheers!
My translations are appearing on billboards, signs, and walls, meters high and long. I’ve never been more tempted to mis- (or “Freely”) translate.
Running running running. Is happening. I’ve even found some appropriate paths. But a mileage challenge/bet was just issued to the team, and I’ve got my eye on it. All this translates to a good deal of mileage in the near future. Let’s see how far away I can get from Shanghai.
My tour got switched to early Saturday morning. Wonderful. At least the 40+ little kids will wake me up?
Finally, it looks like Will and I will have a new roommate joining us, Alan Jiang, Yale ‘11. He’ll take over the spare room for partial rent, and it will be awesome to have a new person in the apartment as well as a slight cushion on the housing price. I haven’t met him yet, but what’s the worst that could happen?
That said, let’s revisit the term “manpower, i.e. me & my coworkers. I worked over 17 hours on Tuesday, and similar hours in the days surrounding it. I’m also scheduled to work seven days a week, until who knows when. I never know when I’m actually needed or when I’m getting off work, and though I get along with my boss, I can never tell if he’s disappointed when I leave. This is frustrating, but it's just a cultural difference. By now, I know I'll get over it.I’m starting to realize that the idea of a “job” in China, at least, is as more about your lifestyle than what you do during the day – occupation bleeds over into weekends, small hours of the night, and dinner plans with friends.
The exhibition opening made the days before it worthwhile. It was marked with press conferences and photo shoots. The artists opening the current exhibition are well known, especially one, Ashin, who is an Asian rock star who sells out stadiums for concerts. My boss knows that I like to take pictures, so he deemed me the “official photographer” for the museum. This ended up being comical, because I got ushered to the front of all the conferences with my more “leisure-oriented” Canon Rebel, while scores of professional journalists and film crews had to stand behind me with their $8000 cameras and $2000 lenses. I guess since I photographed for my job that makes me a professional photographer, no? I spent this entire morning photo editing, and it at least feels like it.
In the evening was a fancy gallery opening, which was invite-only, meaning you had to know someone at the museum or one of the artists. I invited Lisa, Madison, and Sandy, three of the other Yale interns in Shanghai, and it was fun ushering them out of the crowds of people being held away from the museum by security (they were all waiting outside to catch a glimpse of the rockstar Ashin). Wine, canapes, and the like were had, and I spent a lot of the time talking with Lisa and her boss (who runs a high-class restaurant next door), and my bosses were somewhat surprised and somewhat pleased to see that I somehow knew him. Hopefully I can eventually go hang out at Kathleen’s 5 (the restaurant) with Lisa, and further our dream of holding an event together.I am introducing Sangria to the East. Here’s how: A French wedding is being held at the museum tomorrow, and they requested Sangria. The bar did not know what it was, so they came to me (remembering my Western Canon of Alcohol). Consequentially, tomorrow morning I am going to teach a handful of bartenders and chefs how to make Sangria for a wedding of over a hundred people. Cheers!
My translations are appearing on billboards, signs, and walls, meters high and long. I’ve never been more tempted to mis- (or “Freely”) translate.
Running running running. Is happening. I’ve even found some appropriate paths. But a mileage challenge/bet was just issued to the team, and I’ve got my eye on it. All this translates to a good deal of mileage in the near future. Let’s see how far away I can get from Shanghai.
My tour got switched to early Saturday morning. Wonderful. At least the 40+ little kids will wake me up?
Finally, it looks like Will and I will have a new roommate joining us, Alan Jiang, Yale ‘11. He’ll take over the spare room for partial rent, and it will be awesome to have a new person in the apartment as well as a slight cushion on the housing price. I haven’t met him yet, but what’s the worst that could happen?
Monday, June 7, 2010
Getting Rolling
Great things are afoot. Let me tell you about a few of them.
This past Friday we struck the outgoing exhibition for the new one that opens in a few days. It was just like a theater strike, except with art. I took apart a display of several hundred bright orange life vests, and almost created a catostrophic pillow fight with them. I ended up working a 13-hour something day, returning home to watch Chinese soap operas while eating Subway (apparently one has the option of adding raw bacon to any sub? I gladly accepted this offer), and going to sleep. It's the working life, and it's real.
The weekend was marvelous. Will and I romped around Carrefour and bought up an unreasonable amount of food. It was used to cook brunches and a terribly tasty dinner last night, where Will, Lisa, Madison and I cooked up chicken beurre blanc, roasted potatoes, mandarin orange salad, and garlic bread with some white wine. It's fun to create a little bit of the West in our kitchen. It makes me appreciate cultural houses and groups and the way they love to cook up their native foods and create a little bit of Home wherever they are. Food seems the surest way to visit another culture. Today we visited our own.
Speaking of food, Saturday night was the best meal I've had yet this trip. A Yale alumni took us out to an all-you-can-eat Japanese restaurant. Now let's talk about the concept of "All-You-Can-Eat". It's a Nobel Prize-worthy idea. But the ambiguity in "can" has haunted me since I first discovered the renowned Pizza Hut lunch buffet in 2005. I mean, I "can" eat a lot, but I will also eat until I'm physically and mentally sick. Perhaps it should be renamed "All-You-Want-To-Eat" for those of us who are less intelligent. But then again, I would always prefer to eat more than less, and I usually do. This one was actually all-you-can-eat-and-drink, which ended in several tastings of sake, Japanese beer, and plum wine - all highly recommended. Until they find a way to idiot-proof the system, I'll be going back for unexplainable amounts of food soon.
Speaking of unexplainable amounts of food, Will and I have plans for a pig roast in the future. Anyone with experience roasting pigs in un-ideal places is asked to please advise.
My friend Ethan came by for a couple of days, on the first stage of his year-long stay in China. God bless him. His adventures and mishaps are on his blog: http://thatstrovewithgods.blogspot.com/
Ethan, Lisa, Will and I had a nice day of tourism Saturday, one point of interest being the "Marriage Market" in People's Square. It's a healthy bit of culture. (Mostly) Parents put up pictures and resumes of their kids in hopes of attracting a husband/wife. The men's resumes typically include height, occupation, and whether or not they have a car. Women's resumes include a picture, height, weight, and whether or not they have a complicated relationship history.
Sunday I got a manicure and pedicure, and (because?) Yale paid. I would explain more, but it would become less of a good story.
I found a track!
Back at work today, busy getting the exhibition ready to open on Wednesday. I'm giving my first guided tour on Friday! Can't wait.
This past Friday we struck the outgoing exhibition for the new one that opens in a few days. It was just like a theater strike, except with art. I took apart a display of several hundred bright orange life vests, and almost created a catostrophic pillow fight with them. I ended up working a 13-hour something day, returning home to watch Chinese soap operas while eating Subway (apparently one has the option of adding raw bacon to any sub? I gladly accepted this offer), and going to sleep. It's the working life, and it's real.
The weekend was marvelous. Will and I romped around Carrefour and bought up an unreasonable amount of food. It was used to cook brunches and a terribly tasty dinner last night, where Will, Lisa, Madison and I cooked up chicken beurre blanc, roasted potatoes, mandarin orange salad, and garlic bread with some white wine. It's fun to create a little bit of the West in our kitchen. It makes me appreciate cultural houses and groups and the way they love to cook up their native foods and create a little bit of Home wherever they are. Food seems the surest way to visit another culture. Today we visited our own.
Speaking of food, Saturday night was the best meal I've had yet this trip. A Yale alumni took us out to an all-you-can-eat Japanese restaurant. Now let's talk about the concept of "All-You-Can-Eat". It's a Nobel Prize-worthy idea. But the ambiguity in "can" has haunted me since I first discovered the renowned Pizza Hut lunch buffet in 2005. I mean, I "can" eat a lot, but I will also eat until I'm physically and mentally sick. Perhaps it should be renamed "All-You-Want-To-Eat" for those of us who are less intelligent. But then again, I would always prefer to eat more than less, and I usually do. This one was actually all-you-can-eat-and-drink, which ended in several tastings of sake, Japanese beer, and plum wine - all highly recommended. Until they find a way to idiot-proof the system, I'll be going back for unexplainable amounts of food soon.
Speaking of unexplainable amounts of food, Will and I have plans for a pig roast in the future. Anyone with experience roasting pigs in un-ideal places is asked to please advise.
My friend Ethan came by for a couple of days, on the first stage of his year-long stay in China. God bless him. His adventures and mishaps are on his blog: http://thatstrovewithgods.blogspot.com/
Ethan, Lisa, Will and I had a nice day of tourism Saturday, one point of interest being the "Marriage Market" in People's Square. It's a healthy bit of culture. (Mostly) Parents put up pictures and resumes of their kids in hopes of attracting a husband/wife. The men's resumes typically include height, occupation, and whether or not they have a car. Women's resumes include a picture, height, weight, and whether or not they have a complicated relationship history.
Sunday I got a manicure and pedicure, and (because?) Yale paid. I would explain more, but it would become less of a good story.
I found a track!
Back at work today, busy getting the exhibition ready to open on Wednesday. I'm giving my first guided tour on Friday! Can't wait.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Dear Diary,
Yesterday morning continued the conglomeration of goodness. I got to open the museum in the morning and "turn on the gallery". I also had to update a blueprint of the gallery, which involved rolling around on the floor and taking measurements. Some tourists were watching me sprawled out on the floor and one of them asked me, "Are you the artist?", to which I replied, "What do you think?" and walked away. It was worth it.
In the afternoon, my co-worker Emily and I hunted down a fashion designer. We wanted him to give a lecture at our museum, but his secretary kept telling us he was busy and he wasn't responding to e-mails. So we figured out where his office was and told them we had an appointment (untrue). On the car ride over, Emily explained that we were going to convince him to come give a talk. So we (she) talked (and I sat pretty) and he eventually agreed to come! Stalking success.
On our way back we walked past the "dating market". Parents bring pictures and "resumes" of their kids and try to find them dates. Any young person can go and get swarmed by over-eager Chinese parents. Terrifying. Emily wanted to take me on Saturday (it runs on the weekend). "I'm not sure I'm on that market," I said.
Then! MoCA has a nice restaurant on its top floor, and holds fancy events. This is important. My co-workers insisted I meet the head chef, Michael. He is a chill dude. When I told him I like to cook, he said I should cook Western food for him some time. I told him I don't have the right ingredients to make anything good enough, and he offered to get them for me! He said he has access to practically everything, and if I get him a list of ingredients ahead of time, we can cook together and him and my co-workers will judge the food. Now the race is on to construct an impressive-but-not-obnoxious menu.
After work I went home, cooked breakfast, and went straight to bed. I am amazed at how exhausting a workday is. I've getting to bed around 10 and waking up at 6. The working life, I suppose?
Today I came in and got started translating an urgent press release. I wish I had more practice translating (there isn't a translation class at Yale), because it's an peculiar thing. It's often not about what the original text actually says or how they said it and more about what the author felt. This dissolves into a game of "what can you get away with" in creatively translating this feeling, and I'm still finding that fine line.
My boss is great. Around noon today, he threw a bunch of bags of candy on the table in the middle of the office and told us to stop working and come eat candy. A little later, I was writing up a document with him at his desk, and as I was making suggestions he kept taking out delicious crackers and feeding me as we worked. I imagined I was the boy in The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe being fed Turkish Delight. Mmm.
I’ve been weaseling my way into the marketing section of the office (about three meters away) and had my first event planning meeting, with the owner of Kathleen’s5 (where Lisa works), and one of his clients that wants to hold an event at MoCA. I loved it; it was exactly like a production meeting in theater, except with more talk of food and alcohol and money. Lisa and I are furthering our hopes to plan an event together.
This meeting! Led to us talking with the bartenders. The client was worried we didn’t have Western bartenders/drinks, so they asked me to check out the inventory. I hung out with the bartender and checked out the bar and talked about drinks, and they decided I should make a list of drinks that “white people like” (which made me think of the site “Things White People Like”, but that’s beside the point). I spent over four hours on it, resulting in what I like to refer to as the Western Canon of Alcohol, drawing from lists from several alcohol associations. Best job ever.
I also offered to look into redesigning their light design in their club area. They were receptive.
11am and 4pm are lunch and dinner in the office. The kitchen downstairs cooks us up a simple meal, and all the girls run around yelling, “let’s go eat!” and so we do. Anyone who says American Chinese food is nothing like real Chinese food was proved wrong by today’s meal. We had a delicious rendition of Orange Chicken, and some Egg Drop soup to top it off. I felt right at home, second only to perhaps Ivy Noodle’s Teriyaki Chicken bowl. And then actual home. We usually spend at least a half hour eating and talking, which is a totally unnecessary amount of time. Just the way I like to eat: drawn-out and unnecessarily.
Tonight Team Yale is going out. Tomorrow I have to be up extra early to go greet the Italian Ambassador who is coming to our exhibition tomorrow. All this means a tired David in the near future.
In the afternoon, my co-worker Emily and I hunted down a fashion designer. We wanted him to give a lecture at our museum, but his secretary kept telling us he was busy and he wasn't responding to e-mails. So we figured out where his office was and told them we had an appointment (untrue). On the car ride over, Emily explained that we were going to convince him to come give a talk. So we (she) talked (and I sat pretty) and he eventually agreed to come! Stalking success.
On our way back we walked past the "dating market". Parents bring pictures and "resumes" of their kids and try to find them dates. Any young person can go and get swarmed by over-eager Chinese parents. Terrifying. Emily wanted to take me on Saturday (it runs on the weekend). "I'm not sure I'm on that market," I said.
Then! MoCA has a nice restaurant on its top floor, and holds fancy events. This is important. My co-workers insisted I meet the head chef, Michael. He is a chill dude. When I told him I like to cook, he said I should cook Western food for him some time. I told him I don't have the right ingredients to make anything good enough, and he offered to get them for me! He said he has access to practically everything, and if I get him a list of ingredients ahead of time, we can cook together and him and my co-workers will judge the food. Now the race is on to construct an impressive-but-not-obnoxious menu.
After work I went home, cooked breakfast, and went straight to bed. I am amazed at how exhausting a workday is. I've getting to bed around 10 and waking up at 6. The working life, I suppose?
My boss is great. Around noon today, he threw a bunch of bags of candy on the table in the middle of the office and told us to stop working and come eat candy. A little later, I was writing up a document with him at his desk, and as I was making suggestions he kept taking out delicious crackers and feeding me as we worked. I imagined I was the boy in The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe being fed Turkish Delight. Mmm.
I’ve been weaseling my way into the marketing section of the office (about three meters away) and had my first event planning meeting, with the owner of Kathleen’s5 (where Lisa works), and one of his clients that wants to hold an event at MoCA. I loved it; it was exactly like a production meeting in theater, except with more talk of food and alcohol and money. Lisa and I are furthering our hopes to plan an event together.
This meeting! Led to us talking with the bartenders. The client was worried we didn’t have Western bartenders/drinks, so they asked me to check out the inventory. I hung out with the bartender and checked out the bar and talked about drinks, and they decided I should make a list of drinks that “white people like” (which made me think of the site “Things White People Like”, but that’s beside the point). I spent over four hours on it, resulting in what I like to refer to as the Western Canon of Alcohol, drawing from lists from several alcohol associations. Best job ever.
I also offered to look into redesigning their light design in their club area. They were receptive.
Tonight Team Yale is going out. Tomorrow I have to be up extra early to go greet the Italian Ambassador who is coming to our exhibition tomorrow. All this means a tired David in the near future.
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