Popping CSta's Cherry.

Buying anything from IKEA warrants a little happy dance on the spot just before checking out, just after checking out, and again when you bring it back home with you. The acquisition of a KLIPPAN couch calls for a party, and that's exactly what Kyle and I did.

Because we are both proud members of CouchSurfing and well connected within Beijing's vibrant CouchSurfing community, we nicknamed the KLIPPAN "CSta", a clever play on CouchSurfing's acronym and the word siesta (and yes, it's a she). After calling up a number of people and posting an event on the Beijing Group, we had a good number of people come out to break the seal and pop CSta's cherry at her party we threw for her this evening. CSta was whoring it out there, alluring us with her voluptuous red dress and sleek lines, then swallowing more than the standard three she was made to take in. We all wanted to sit on her!

Late into the night, we played a game called "Apples to Apples" to which EXPATSTEF was kind enough to bring and had many jolly rounds of fun. The serving of alcoholic beverages continued as the night went on to the point when SUSTAINABLEJOHN just couldn't take anymore of it and broke a glass full all over the floor when he raised his bottle with my cup. All in good fun, though I feel terrible about what happened to the "Apples to Apples" cards which had some spillage on it. Captured on SD, there's a video of this momentous event, which doesn't say much about the quality of IKEA's glassware division.

Here's to CSta, and to a future sibling, CSter. Bottom's up!

Popping CSta's Cherry

MIDI Music Festival.

The MIDI festival itself wasn't terribly special, as I was hoping to discover some unknown talents and failed to find any. What was notable, however, was how we got in...

Having to take the taxi to Haidian Park, we had the good intentions of paying our way in like every other lemming, which meant queuing in line and waiting patiently at the box office. We were quite disappointed when we were turned away with an explanation that they had sold out concert tickets. Sold out? How on god's green Earth could an outdoor event held in one of Beijing's LARGEST parks, which by the way is the go-to place for people in the Haidian district in an event of an emergency such as a natural disaster, turn away people? We didn't want to take NO for an answer, so we walked around the entire park which was fortified by temporary retaining walls used in construction sites for a mole hole. As we had anticipated, there were security guards stationed at various points all around, so we had to be a bit more discreet about our intentions.

After sizing up our challenge, Barry and I found a section of the wall that gave way ever so slightly from the bottom. It was only wide enough to stick a leg in, so we took a corner of the sheet metal fence and bent it around like dog-earing a page in a book and gave each other a high-five when we got to the other side successfully. Our jubilation was short-lived, however, when we discovered a secondary barrier around the park. Sneaking around in the bushes, we made a dash for the supporting log beams leaning against the fence once we got close enough. This sudden commotion caught the eye of a security guard manning his post nearby, but we pulled a ninja, scaled the log, and jumped safely onto some soft green grass on the other side. Barry should be commended for his stealthy ninja-ness as it isn't as easy for a tricenarian to scale fences as it is for those who are younger. Way to go, Barry!

Where there's a will, there's a way. =)

MIDI Music Festival 2007