3:30. that's when i went to sleep last night. that wasn't the time i went to bed though, but that was late too, 12:30. only when i laid in bed in the dark a few minutes did i realize what was going to happen. i drank a lot of caffeine today. this would not end well. since i wasn't going to fall asleep anytime soon, i opened up my tablet pc and read a few issues of entertainment weekly before deciding i should give sleep another try. restlessly i tossed and turned, and i didn't actually fall asleep until 3:30. that's just 3 hours of sleep before i need to get up and get ready for work. you tell me if china is going to kill me or not. at the very least this relentless schedule is going to age me a few years. i will return home with a head of grey hair and wrinkles. at least i'm losing weight! yesterday after our run we passed by a pharmacy and i weighed myself. 136 lbs. that's with clothes. back at home, i don't get numbers like that unless i'm completely nude and haven't eaten for a while. in a few more months, i will be 130 lbs. or less. that's southeast asia weight, when i returned home and weighed just 125 lbs.

last night after work i was in a bad mood and was determined to ride the medium bus to work this morning. but by morning i was feeling better and took the large bus as usual, sitting in my usual spot next to fy. she went to work with her hair down for the first time i've known her. i've seen her hair down a few times before, but never at the office. (later at work she'd pull her hair back into a ponytail).

i had good reason for taking the big bus: i was going to ask her if she was interested in coming to western sichuan with me during her vacation week, since it falls within the same period as mine. i didn't receive any estastic yes, more like, "i'm not sure if i can get any days off until november." she also told me she might be interested in visiting friends in guiyang or guilin. so no resolution. hopefully i get an answer soon because a trip to western sichuan isn't something you do lightheartedly, especially going in late fall, when it's pretty much already winter weather there.

my cold was a bit better today, i didn't even need to take any drugs anymore. i did hit a few hits of nasal spray this morning, not sure if that made any difference. i'm not as coughing as much, but when i am it's this thick disgusting sounding cough. likewise, nose isn't running as much either, but when i blow, it makes a very disgusting slurping sound.

wangyan was working the printer next to where i sit. i chatted with her. she made some remark about my hair. "did you do something different?" she asked. i flattened out my hair self-consciously. "no, that just makes it look worse," she said. oh snap! i noticed she wasn't as tall as she normally is. i guess she usually wears something like 2" heels or something. maybe she's taking a break from painful footwear. without her hoochie shoes and her baby voice, she does seem like a little kid working in the office.

around 2pm i drank some coffee, just to chase away an overwhelming urge to fall asleep. i chatted with xiangmin which kept me awake. she's one of my first QQ friends, introduced via lihui. i always thought she had a secret crush on me but i learned yesterday she has a boyfriend when i saw photos of them together vacationing in emei shan.

i rose victoriously when it was time for dinner. i managed to survive a 10 hour work day with just 3 hours of sleep! i looked at fengya, who seemed exhausted with work. we ate dinner early enough (5:40) that there was still time to catch the first bus. everyone piled in except fengya, who was still in the office. we ended up leaving without her, which made me regret not staying a few minutes later.

back in town, i went to the chongbai supermarket to buy a few things: electric tea kettle (RMB$89), some more plastic hangers (RMB$9 for 8), a mug (RMB$16), and a case of bottled water (RMB$8). i got a special receipt for the tea kettle, which the company will reimburse me the cost of up to RMB$100.

leaving the department store, i saw that pretty warehouse girl shopping for pillows. i was tempted to say something, but everything i could think of sounded lame. "oh, you like pillows too?" i walked away saying nothing (she didn't see me anyway), trying to come up with something better that i know i'll later regret for not saying.

i tried out the electric tea kettle when i got back to the apartment. it works fine, i didn't notice if it was any faster than my american electric tea kettle, but i imagine it is since it uses 220v instead of the US 120v. i made myself a cup of sweet babao tea.

i could've gone running but decided to stay in and relax for a change. i washed the clothes i wore today, and later did another load of laundry where it was just my regular bag. it's really just the strap that needs washing, since it sweats like acrid sweat, but i decided to just wash the whole thing. the laundry water at one point looked all muddy, i guess that bag was dirtier than it looked.

i got in touch with my californian aunt and uncle today. they're actually coming to chongqing in less than 2 weeks (half business, half pleasure), arriving on a weekend, which means i'll be able to see them for a little bit. it's been a few years since i've seen my aunt, even longer for my uncle. kind of surreal that we'd be meeting in chongqing of all places.

i chatted with fengya briefly. she was actually at the track field earlier, running on the day i decided not to go (although she didn't know that at the time). she confirmed my suspicion, that she was in a bad mood today, but didn't give specifics (i guess work stress). i invited her to korean barbecue tomorrow night but she suggested the weekend may be better. this weekend will probably be another big dinner since yangyi will be leaving for venezuela at the end of the month, maybe even sooner since he's cashing in his vacation days to visit his mother in chengdu before he goes.