The 5 Biggest Things to Get Used to in Jilin

  I've officially been living in China for a week now, and I feel I'm more than qualified to hold a lengthy discussion about any aspect of Chinese history, culture, and the general nuances of being Chinese. The food is amazing, you can`t drink the water, the smoking is out of control, and I can't tell how old any of the women are, but all those don't compare with these: the 5 biggest things for me to get used to here. These are daily details that are at the very least interesting to experience, and can even be daunting at times. But don’t worry, I’ll guide you through- remember, I’m a Chinese expert.

1.   The Chinese Language

  Ok this one is sort of obvious, but seriously- EVERYTHING is in Chinese over here! The language barrier has been severe so far, leaving me pointing at restaurants and markets, ordering food like a spoiled monkey. The people are very kind about me butchering their language like a spicy duck neck, but getting around is difficult, and conversations are impossible. In addition to this, the written language is extremely hard to decipher and remember, which means I don’t know what any building is without actually going inside, and navigational landmarks are much harder to come by, as every sign just looks like colourful neon to me.

Here's where I live. Now try and find it in the dark, when these guys and their birdcages aren't there.

Just Joined Jiu Jitsu Jym

It's official. The free trial week is long over, and I've made the leap of commitment by signing up for a year of jiu jitsu classes at a real fighting gym.

I'm third from the left, back row.
Taken from http://canadianfightingcenter.com/

It's the Canadian Fighting Center here in Winnipeg, and they don't mess around. In addition to UFC fighter Joe Doerksen teaching here, they also have former K-1 and World Muay Thai Kickboxing Heavyweight Champion Giuseppe DeNatale (click his name to see a TKO victory of his). I'll be learning from Doerksen and others, but so far I've only had it severely handed to me from them.

One of my first three classes featured a lot of "rolling" (like sparring, but for grappling). The only catch was, it was all with instructors... or at least guys at a high level. When one was finished beating me up, there was another one anxiously waiting to take over. I got submitted in ways I never knew possible, with moves I had never seen before. In the end, it meant that the next day my throat hurt from being choked, my elbow hurt from being arm-barred, and my body hurt from doing that over and over.

But let's pretend I'm learning, and maybe by posting it on here it'll keep me honest and committed. "But Andrew!" you say, "Having this blog doesn't even keep you committed to posting on it!" And to that I say hey watch what you say... in a year I might be able to fight you for that.

Taken from http://forum.ea.com/eaforum/posts/list/1579505.page

Looking Back. And Forward. It's Tricky Simultaneously...

Today I finished CreComm.

Now I haven't graduated or anything official like that- let's face it I still have to pay that fine before they'll let me near a diploma. But today I handed in my very last assignment in Red River College's Creative Communications program. Now I figure that graduation time will call for a much more celebratory blog post, so what does that mean to you, dear reader, until then?

It means that I have time to fill you in on all the new things I've done in the past few months and missed writing about. I wanted to, I really did, I just didn't have enough time! That's all, nothing personal I promise, nothing is going on my babies! So over the next... while... I'll be posting some of the adventures I wished I had enough time to share earlier.

Some of the new things you can eagerly hope to hear about are: making a documentary, filming a lingerie fashion show, infiltrating Winnipeg's UFO community, and doing stand-up comedy. Stay tuned! Let's talk soon...

A Groovy Flea Market Find

This weekend I went to a flea market.

While we were at a family dinner, some of my family members started discussing plans to go for lunch the following day and then visit the Mulvey Flea Market. It sounded like such a lovely afternoon, and before I knew it I was filling with a longing to be invited to join them. Please family… please let me come along!

After sitting in silence, biting my lip apprehensively for several minutes, I got the invitation. So I decided I would put off all my homework and go along.

My uncle, dad, brother, and I grabbed lunch and headed to the Mulvey Flea Market, a stone’s throw beside the new rapid transit station on Osborne, in a huge, seemingly uninhabitable warehouse. Once you get through the service doors, you enter into a magical world of used and ancient unpredictability.

(Click on the pictures to see them bigger)

Through the piles of randomness, I hunted for great deals on original Nintendos and weird art. In the process, I discovered an amazing product that I didn’t even really know existed, and definitely didn’t think I was into.

Gorgeous craftsmanship, anyone?

 We noticed this little beauty right away, an unassuming cabinet, but upon further inspection it had a lot more going on. We opened one of the drawers, and there was a record player going! I was blown away.

Where's that music coming from? Oh, right here in this drawer!

This cabinet has a working record player in it, a not-working radio, and drawers packed with prehistoric records. When I confirmed that the $25 price tag was accurate, I said sold. I didn’t know who was getting it, who was paying for it, how we were getting it to their house, but someone I came with was taking this home. TWENTY-FIVE DOLLARS. You don’t walk away from that.

So after we checked out the rest of the market, it was time to load up. The cabinet was very heavy but thankfully most of the weight turned out to be the records inside, so it became light as a rare, finely carved, wooden feather. Our main man Morris, the 80-year old flea market kingpin, helped us put the cabinet in the back of the truck, and my brother and I rode along in the back with it down Osborne, which is always fun.

So the record cabinet ended up in my brother’s apartment, which means I am still in the market for a record player within a cabinet. Do you have one? Let me know. Very old? Great- I want to play jazz and big band to set the mood for standing around at home. One of those newer ones from the 70’s? That’s good too- I need to set the mood for a key party I’m throwing. Basically there’s a lot of mood setting going on. Sell me your record cabinet.

Anyways, what can you learn? The market is a pretty interesting way to spend an afternoon on the weekend- check it out! If you want to see what else is at the market in a long, poorly shot home video, click on the word here.

Education... Career!?

Today I got my first cheque for something I learned in school.

I'm still waiting on a cheque for writing an essay that examines a speech by Obama regarding global warming, and ANY money for ANYTHING to do with anthropology, but college on the other hand has just started paying off. Who would of thought it- my education actually leading to a job. A part-time job even!

For the past couple months I've been doing freelance work for Shaw TV, editing a show called Mike on Ice. The first one I worked on is right here... it should give you an idea of the down-home country charm of Mike and all the wonders of ice fishing. I've learned everything I know about ice fishing from working on this show, and I now recognize it as the most fun you can have gathered around a hole on a frozen lake in the dead of winter.

Now I share this video with you because there's a chance some of you may not have seen the show yet.  (I'm looking at you, everyone I know...) But if you're like me and have no idea what ice fishing is beyond its two main components (1. Fish and 2. Freezing your bait off), then watching Mike is a great way to gently guide you. When is it on? I have no idea. 

Anyways, I'd also like to take the opportunity to offer my services to others as a freelance editor. Oh and I do shooting too... although ideally not on or around frozen tundra. But get your offers in quick- my rates skyrocket as soon as I walk across a stage and accept a piece of paper. 

Gosh I hope that happens.

Paint Blast from the Past

I went paintballing… last month.

I only did this once. 

Ok so it’s not the LATEST news but I’ll fill you in nonetheless. After years of thinking about paintballing and discussing paintballing and hearing about paintballing, I finally tried it out for myself. My only prior experience with this type of thing was buying an air soft gun, shooting it in the parking lot, and never again.

So we got fitted with old mechanic’s jumpsuits and masks, and they gave us our weapons and talked us through it. I was pretty excited after all that was over and we were ready to go inside, and when we got in there I took off running. But I quickly realized there weren’t many places to run. So instead, I hid behind a big wheel.

This worked great until I got shot like three times, and while I was checking myself to see if the paintballs actually broke on me (if they don’t you’re not out!), and while I was standing around checking my backside out, someone came up behind me and made it official. The lesson here is don’t check yourself out during paintball. Any other time is fine.

That close range shot directly to my bum kind of hurt, but other than that I didn’t find it very painful. Definitely not as painful as people made it out to be. I took a couple shots in the leg I could feel the next day, but they brought back fond memories while I climbed stairs. When it came to my offense, I was all about headshots. Nothing felt so great as hitting someone’s face from far away. Take that facemask! Now you have limited visibility!

We also played against some randoms that happened to be there, and they were blindfiring all over the place (that’s when you hide behind something and just stick your gun out shooting blindly like a milksop pantywaist). So for revenge, I snuck up behind a completely different person and shot him three times in the back instead of giving him the benefit of the mercy rule. He cried out like a cowering craven. That’ll show you.

So in the end, paintball is fun. I like the jumpsuits; they make me feel like I could change the oil in my car. I like the guns; they make me feel like I’m a mild action hero in a video game. I like shooting people in the face; that might not be a healthy feeling.

I'm one of these highly trained assassins coming to get you.

Dewey goes Spelunking

Last night I went to The Cavern.

My gosh it’s been forever since I clicked that ‘New Post’ button, and isn’t it great that I finally have something to talk about. Last night and into this morning, I was at The Cavern for Quagmire, The Pink Slips, and The Afterlife Super Punk Rock Show.

Oh, and I was there with one of these poster models.

CreComm Media Pro and half of Parkolson Productions, Matt Nicholson, put on this deal, along with War On Music as part of Matt’s IPP. In addition to giving everyone a great time, Matt also inspired rampant IPP-envy. His project, which involves putting on two other shows after this one, is definitely some of the most enjoyable schoolwork I’ve ever been a part of.

A couple of notes on The Cavern too, I had never been there before and loved it. Everyone was having fun, and it’s nice to see people repping their punk styles and clothes that make mine seem boring. Sure there was a mad scientist and a giant who I’m pretty sure was Thor’s older brother, but I’m always excited to see how nice these people are, especially those that may look scary to some. I’m definitely looking forward to more shows at this venue.

Speaking of more shows, Matt’s next one is coming up next month and will feature the talents of The Xanad00ds, The Thrashers, and one more I think. I don’t know, ask Matt! I can’t do everything for you.

"Matty at the Show" by Allison Marinelli

But anyways: more shows at the Cavern, and more War on Music shows, I’m happy. Oh and on a personal note: if the girl with the tattoos and tank top is reading this, I have a crush on you. Leave me a comment so we can get this started.