china tomorrow. wait, what?

well it certainly doesn't feel completely real to me. i've been running around like a chicken with its head cut off trying to procure last-minute visas and tickets and other sorts of annoying bureaucratic preparations. i haven't truly digested the fact that (if all goes according to plan) i will be on a big jet plane tomorrow at noon and after that the next time my feet touch the ground i will be in beijing.

i'm not sure what the internet situation is like, but i will try to capture my thoughts and experiences and take a lot of pictures with my phone-that-will-soon-become-a-paperweight.

it's been nine years since i've been home to the motherland. i am apprehensive and excited. my chinese vocabulary has dwindled to one that is probably not very impressive but i can still say "spicy lamb skewers", so all shall be fine.

the intersection of randolph and michigan

a funny thing happens randolph and michigan each morning when i cross it on my way to work. it's only something i witness in the morning, when hordes of people are grumpily going to work or noobishly excited about prancing around in millenium park.

here's the gist:

the setup:

and then,

after that, sometimes

finally,

it's nothing out-of-this-world crazy but it is something small i've started to look forward to each morning, just to see if today is the day that a noob attempts to cross, or if we can get a 100% optimization rate (i.e. all businessmen and noob tourists execute steps 1, 2, and 4 perfectly.) it's also something i've only found at this particular intersection and only on weekday mornings. all other times, people at this intersection follow the signs to the tee and there is none of this "go ahead" mentality during a red light.

curious. most curious.

pet project

as if i didn't already have enough things i've started-but-don't-see-through-to-completion-and/or-satisfaction...

i got bored and made a website. check it out here:

http://gymcrawlchicago.weebly.com/

it's really mostly just for my own practice with HTML/CSS/javascript/web design, but i figure maybe it could help some like-minded chicagoans out there who want to try something new gym-wise too.

i so want to make it pretty and fancy and twirl and glitter, but for now i am making myself focus on just getting some more gyms up on there. next will probably be some reviews that i write for gyms i've visited, and then maybe after that i'll put in some more visual design/interaction elements.

if it's one thing i've learned so far, it's that building a website is harder than it looks! that javascript-y "about" tab? yeah, that took me only something like 16 hair-yankingly frustrating hours to put in. javascript goddess right here y'all!