Charlotte's Blog
Wednesday, August 06, 2003
I'm in Shanghai! Yay!
This place is amazing! So much so that I'm too excited to write it all down. I've been keeping a diary, so when I'm in Dushanzi, and not in a dingy little internet cafe (dungeon), i'll transcribe it. If you can be bothered reading...
The tripod blog is not operational, I'm afraid, but I will get an interactive blog up and running by the time I'm in Dushanzi. Promise.
It's hot and muggy, but tomorrow I board a nice airconditioned train for 51 hours... fun fun fun. seriously. this train trip was the anticipated highlight of the beginning of my adventure. I didn't realise how much fun I'd have in Shanghai...
That's all for now...
Love, Charlotte
Sunday, August 03, 2003
Seen Buffy, finally!
Oh! There is such a bittersweet feeling embueing me at this moment. I've just seen the last episode of Buffy. The very last, never to be reshot. It couldn't have ended better. I shall hold off on spoilers, as some of my gentle readers have not yet seen the final episodes (I had to skip ahead, as my travels will preclude any timely watching here in Australia...) but I will say that I feel satiated. Like I'm not left wanting it to end differently. I'm happy, and content.
Perhaps it is because I know that Angel will go on (with a character or two from Buffy), and also because I know that Joss will continue in his quest to get Our Beloved Firefly off the ground and running again.
All praise to Joss, The Almighty Yarn Spinner.
Good night, dear reader. Perhaps this will be my final entry, as I cannot indeed access blogger in China!
But I shall get someone to post a link from here to my new site/blog, wherever that will be...
Love, Charlotte
Thursday, July 31, 2003
Blogs and China
Gentle reader, we may have a problem. I'm told that China has interesting firewalls in place which restrict access to such sites as the one you are reading, and also my other blog and homepage. Alas, then, perhaps I shall be unable to blog from China, at least not from this blog or from the TravelBlog. But do not depair, dear friend, I shall endeavour to find an alternative while I am in China. At which point, I shall inform you immediately of the out come.
I promise...
Love, Charlotte
Saturday, July 19, 2003
Coldplayin all night
Saw Coldplay last night, not bad at all. The support was a surprising new find, they were called Betchadupa. I was thinking as I heard them that I'd not heard yummy live harmonies like that since Crowded House, the someone told me that the lead singer is Tim Finn's (as in Crowded House front man) son. Good stuff, went to find the cd today, predictably sold out all over the city, but managed to get the last copy at gaslight. God bless Gaslight.
Coldplay were a little dissappointing in their use of samples, though - during Yellow (much acoustic guitar), they had Chris (lead singer) dancing round, NOT playing guitar, but there was still guitar in the mix. A little upsetting for us (I was there with the lads from Lois, a big band outing) - we disapprove of sampling. It's cheating. The only time sampling is ok is if you're sampling string sounds, cause it's too hard to get the variables right in a stadium, and noone wants to have to tour with a chamber string orchestra...
But apart from that, the sound was pretty good, and the vibe on our side of the stadium was great - everyone standing up and dancing by the end of the night. Unlike the fuckers on the other side of the stadiums, sitting staidly, listening critically. You can still listen critically and have a boogie at the same time. I did. I wish they'd not perform Politik live though. They do it very badly. If you saw them at the last Grammys, you'd know wat I mean. One doesn't perform that kind of music, playing piano, headbanging like a metal head. It's just not on.
Not to mention the fact that Chris so oversings the song. But to give credit where credit's due, they did calm down later, and settle into the groove. He has an astronomical falsetto, that guy!
Love, Charlotte
Monday, July 07, 2003
Welcome, Charlotte, to the world of cyber presence...
Finally, my website is vaguely ready. It's not complete, but it'll do. For the moment at least.
It's filled with junk, only a couple of photos, but all that will change once I get my digital camera in Shanghai.
I've just discovered that my contact in Dushanzi is going away for a few weeks on holiday, and that my one link to the world I'm going to is out of action for that time. It makes me a trifle nervous, but we shall see. My one worry is that I'm not able to give exact arrival times at the train station at Urumuqi, because I'm not able to book the train till I get to Shanghai...
Scary.
I'll manage somehow, though...
Love, Charlotte
PS, this blog will shortly be retired, in favour of the new Travel'Blog that is linked to my webiste. The new improved blog is more like a livejournal, with spaces for you to put comments. Ideal, no?
Well it's about frikkin time. Finally, after an 18 month drought that felt like about 10 years, I picked up on Friday night. Sexy bloke with a Wolverine thing going on in bed, once his perfectly coiffed do (ack) was messed up. Have come to the official conclusion that older men are better in bed.
However, although it was a mutually agreed casual shag, with possible but not essential future follow ups, this bloke had these wierd hang-ups about women getting too clingy. I tried to communicate that I am going to China in 28 days, and therefore am not looking to get attached to anyone. That infact, I was just after a good shag (and it was good, by the way!), but he didn't seem to get the message. I wasn't going to go so far as to say that, even though he was really terrific in the sack, his manner in general would definitely begin to irritate me over the long term. That would not have been good for his ego, especially after he went to such lengths to bolster mine over the course of the night.
But that is all besides the point. The point is that now it's out of my system for a little while at least. AND i'm desperately stiff now, due to the massive lack of use of certain muscles I'd forgotten I even had... I'm literally hobbling around the house. He did keep me up till 7 in the morning, after all.
I feel like I have whiplash.
Monday, June 30, 2003
I've got a web site. It's very exciting, albeit not finished. And the best part? It's FREE!
I'll be able to give my teeming multitude of fan (singular, you know who you are!) pics of my travels, just as soon as I get me a digital camera. Shanghai, here I come!!
And then it's on to Dushanzi. I think my website needs a map of where I'm going. Yes yes.
Farscape calls. It's a bugger, I forget every other week, and that means that (as i'm up to the point where there are the two Crytons (confusing!)) I miss the whole Cryton/Erin story arc. I saw the ep where they FINALLY kissed, but not any since.
Dag nammit.
Ta ra, will write more soon. Need to do something about this website. Will post address when I've got rid of all the stoopid "add text here" boxes. That's right, I'm using a site builder. Give me time, and I'll get it done properly and design it myself...
Love, Charlotte
