minnesota, hail to thee.

so it's been quite some time (two weeks) since i've written. i guess i've been busy with life!

yoga has been becoming a bigger and bigger part of my life and i am grateful for it. i've discovered that it's my coping mechanism. when my long-term relationship ended last year that's when i first discovered yoga and it healed me for the time being. then i got better and fell out of the yoga loop and only went once in the winter. but since being in hong kong, ive gone about 10 times and each time is a new experience. i gain strength and peace of mind and learn more and more from each teacher. it's the one chance i get to have a quiet mind in this fast-paced stressing environment. it's my escape.

but it only goes so far.

i still have so much here that is on my mind and that im letting drag me down. im longing to go home, but at the same time trying to enjoy the remainder of my time here. i love some of my friends here, but i really want to be with my friends at home. and some people here don't treat me right. they just don't and i'm beginning to finally realize that i deserve more than that. it's interesting how before you pay attention to someone, they strive for it and work so hard to get you to notice them and want to spend time with you all of the time. then you give them an inch and it's over. but it's all so temporary here anyway.

i just need to get back home and get back into the minnesota swing of things.

honestly, i miss mn so much.

i love my new yoga headband.

Or "joga" as Seb calls it. (Those Brits...) Anyway, I'm beginning to love yoga as I try out different classes and instructors. I also got a new lululemon (canadian yogawear brand) headband and it works wonders. I don't have hair in my face and I feel awesome! So I wear it all the time, even to bed sometimes...Anyway, I envy one of my teachers because not only is she fit, but she is super down to earth and has really wonderful advice to give about aligning yourself with the present and living in the moment. If you find yourself misaligned, it's okay but realign yourself because NOW is the only time you can enjoy. (Sounds simple but it really isn't....I'm always thinking of the past or looking to the future).

I've started hanging out more wiht Betty and Eva and they are both sweethearts! We have a lot of fun together, do schoolwork together, and a lot of other stuff. Last weekend we went to dinner at a Mediterranean restaurant in Soho and then out to Avenue to party it up! Oh and the day before I brought Betty to Soundwill Plaza to have our nails done for her bday present. Anyway, Betty and Eric are hosting a yacht birthday party this Saturday on the harbor and I am so very excited! I love the harbor!

I'm trying to plan one last trip now...even though my parents wouldn't approve. I also want a fancy lifestyle.

That's all.

it's getting hot in herre.

That's right! Hong Kong is now the tropical, icky-weathered place I imagined it to be. I'm just glad it took this long for the little country to realize it was off in temperature. I have made use of my air conditioning and it is amazing. One aspect of my res hall that is not so amazing is that there is a cheese thief on the loose that I have dubbed "cheese monster." I wonder what CM's motivation is...hunger, lack of resources to buy own cheese, pure evil...? Joce and I are trying to figure out a trap for said thief. :)

You know how I was feeling so down lately? Well I might not have expressed the feeling quite so explicitly in my blog, but really, I wasn't feeling too hot for a myriad of reasons. But after doing pretty well on a midterm, getting time to myself, working out and doing a little retail therapy, I feel a bit better. I even painted my nails all gold and glittery, something I have found to be very HK. The only problem with gold, glittery nails is that that gold glitter is a bitch to get off. Since I want to paint my nails with silver glitter tonight, I'll leave it on until I get a manicure (I'm treating Betty for her birthday) and then make the manicurist take it off. Bahaha. Take that.

Anyway, I've been thinking about life. It's too big of a topic for me to normally tackle but I feel like I should make some changes in my life to optimize...my existence I guess. Ha. That sounds odd. I am too hard on myself and too easy on other people, mainly those of the opposite sex. I'd like to change that.
What's more is...
I'm starving for home.
I am starting to eat better, which is a somewhat difficult feat in oily, msg-infested Hong Kong.
I love to work out, I'm doing interval training now (per Jeremy).
I want to learn Chinese so bad.
I want to go somewhere...sitting in Hong Kong is boring me a bit.
I love economics and learning about development...I should study that more.
I also should study more, so I am going to go do that.

But anyway, relationships and issues in dealing with them are what's on my mind lately. I don't know where to go, how to go, or if I want to go...from here.

here in these deep city lights, a girl could get lost tonight

sometimes that is just how i feel, lost...not to mention, overwhelmed and frustrated with hong kong. sometimes, the overcrowded streets where you can barely move or breathe are just too much to handle and after being in mongkok about three times this week, i've definitely had my fair share.

what's more is that last weekend i alienated myself and studied, watched a tv show, and bummed around for the entire weekend while my friends went out. they planned a trip to taiwan that's a boy's deal and doesnt get to involve me. so that kind of sucks since i've wanted to go there for a while but couldn't get anyone to go because they all said 'there's nothing in taiwan.' well shit.

on top of that, not being in minnesota is getting to me...and now that im doing the whole beijing thing, it's going to be even longer before i get that taste of home again. and a bit of a tiff occurred the other night that just makes me stressed out and it is definitely not worth it...obviously in hind sight.

i also failed to plan well so i missed yoga twice...after making it out to causeway bay already...so wasted trips. but i bought some cute clothes today so i guess that is a plus! also i had a midterm yesterday that was fairly easy given that i studied so much and i have one on thursday that i must study for but lack the motivation to. oh and on yoga, i had the teacher from hell the other day because she was pretty harsh and bitchy, but it makes it better i guess when she corrects my posture and such. but there was no music and i was super dehydrated because i didn't drink enough h2o before hot yoga, go me!

anyway that was my complaining for the day.

katharine and i might go to hot yoga tomorrow! jen fo wants to go with sometime too! :)