Who can tell me the atomic weight of bolognium?

(Besides Ben Amel)
Yola Mi Amigos. I realize I am unscrupulously (that's a word, right?) late on the post front, but I'm not too worried about it. Most of you who are actually concerned with my more regular going-ons are hearing from me, and the rest of you don't seem to be too upset when I miss a week (or two) on this informational forum of my travels.

First things firstly, Download the PODCIZZAST (yuck). It's a pretty decent one if I do say so myself. Eclectic to the teeth.

Second things secondly, I've been in the news here lately. Check it out. If you look closely at the picture, might notice a not-Chinese dude in a St. Olaf jersey leading the pack. That dude just might be me. This, as far as I can tell, was the front page of the sports section on the Beijing Youth Daily newspaper's website. Dope? I sure think so.

I also managed to get a photograph from after the race put up on the popular (and quite funny) blog Bikesnobnyc.blogspot.com. Here's the picture on it's own:

To see it in it's published context click here and scroll to the bottom of the post. I can't tell you how many racers were puffin on cigs after the race waiting for the awards. It was actually a little hard to breath because of them, and we were outside. This guy though was outfitted in a full Rock Racing team kit, and for those who don't know (which is probably all of you) Rock Racing is this American professional cycling team that attempts to be the most badass team in the pro circuit, and do so by having skulls on their jerseys, showing up to races in team Cadillac Escalades, and signing riders who are known former dopers. They are also owned and run by Fancy-Jeans-Designer Michael Ball, CEO of Rock Denim Co. (or something like that). He's pretty much the Mark Cuban of the cycling world. So when I saw this dude in a complete team kit and skully suckin down a marb I grabbed my buddy Hiro's camera and snapped a couple pictures. Anyways, it got put up on the blog, and I'm pretty proud of myself.

As for the race itself, I think I got around 8th or 9th. It was a short race with about 7k of false flat (slight uphill that is kind of bitch to ride since you can never relax) and then a 6k climb up to 600m above sea level. It took about 31+ minutes. I helped set the pace with one other foriegn guy named Piers for the first 7k and then got dropped from the group when we hit the climb because I had over worked myself in the first half. Piers got beat out at the line by about 3 centimeters and took second. All in all though it was a lot of fun and I'm not too dissapointed with a top 10 finish in my first ever real bike race. Plus, I made the paper. If you're interested in seeing more pictures of me suffering up a mountain and looking pretty terrible and pasty in some spandexy biker clothes click through this album.

In other China news, youtube is down in the entire country because there's some video out there of Chinese police beating the shit out of bound, semi-consious/unconsious Tibetan monks from a few months ago. China says the video is edited to make it look worse than it is. I was able to watch the video on the BBC's website and, if you haven't seen it, I'll just say it's either WAY too real and really f-ed up, or it is indeed fake. Part of me wants it to be fake because of how terrible it is and makes me feel kind of dirty for living here and supporting a country in any way that is ok with stuff like that happening within its own borders. I'm not gonna try and post a link since if I do they might block me. Hell, they might block me just for writing that last bit. That's how China do. We'll just have to see.

Anyways, it's been a pretty busy last couple weeks for no reason in particular. Nothing too spectacular, just things going on, which is always a good thing because it means time is moving quickly from day to day and before I know it another week has passed and I'm smack dab in the middle of another weekend. Take this week for instance: it's already Thurday, and before I know it I'll be teaching my last lesson of the week and looking forward to my bike ride on saturday morning.

AH. Yes. I knew I had some big news to announce this week that I was forgetting. I know I told most of you that my plan was to spend a year teaching here and then move back to the Twin Cities (perhaps the greatest place on the planet (minus the cold)) and look for a teaching job there. Well, plans have changed. What with things the way they are (I hear there's some sort of trouble with the economy, or something) I've got myself a good job making good money here in China and I'll be staying another year. I know that makes me sound like a sell out, but while that is one big reason, perhaps the biggest reason I've decided to stay is because the music program I'm starting is just getting off the ground this semester and I'd hate to leave and have it come crashing down, so I've decided to stick around a little longer and see if I can't turn it into something bigger next year and hopefully help them hire someone else who will come in and do good things with it. Plus, while I do hear the Twin Cities calling my name daily, there's enough going on here to keep me entertained and when it gets down to it, that's good enough news for me to stay for the time being. I WILL be home this summer for July and most of August, and I do plan on making the most of my time at home. So those of you who I see on a regular basis in the land I call home, get ready for the most Radtarded Summer TM you've ever experienced. Expect hella bike rides, music shows, barbecues, and consumption of many sorts. Also, if any of you are at a loss for things to do next fall and after, there's always room for another person in Beijing. Think about it.

And like Mathew Mconeghey's shirt, I'm off

-B