Blue Betty Rides Again

My dear friends who are sweet enough to read this blog, I have just had one of the most amazing days of my life! If you were to just look at it on paper, it might seem rather ordinary, but it was/is pure magic. You know that feeling when you get your first apartment after college? Or that first job? I feel like this is the first time in my life that every single aspect of my life is my own, and absolutely new. It's just brilliant. Maybe because basic things are challenges here, but yesterday I got a phone (for $20 yeah!) and today I got a bike and an apartment!!!!! Whoooo Hoooo! Thank god my friend Tommy was with me for the bikes, because my Chinese is totally Bu Hao! He got a black bike and I got a powder blue bike with a sticker that says, "Betty". So, I took Blue Betty out on the town and rode for miles (i LOVE that Beijing is flat :) and it was truly amazing. I really felt like I was part of this town today, riding around either dodging cars like Frogger, or cycling smoothly down a wide, tree-lined lane, passing all the Embassies.

I've sung a few songs with the band, but I think a week from tomorrow is when we will really kick off. I met some other guys from Detroit who are the back-up band for this woman who I swear is Tina Turner reincarnated, and they were so cool!! I went to see them and they invited me up on stage. AUGH. So, I did "Summertime" and it felt absolutely amazing. I thought I was in a 1940's movie for a minute there (still looking for Cary Grant though!), and it was so fun. The picture is a little dark, but you get the gist!

This weekend I bartended at a house party for the friends I've been staying with this past week (affectionately known as the Frat House- but in a good way) :)
It was a blast. My friend Michael Leahy (who used to live in Asheville) just happened to be passing through Beijing. how weird was that? It was a killer party (even though a poster caught fire in the back room before the party started- let's hear it for cement walls!!!).

More soon once I get settled in my place (which is really bad-ass! It's all black slate floors (and bathroom walls), a big kitchen, and upstairs- yeah, that's right- and a Queen Size bed! omg! there's even a dark wood wardrobe and vanity). I think actually, I may have fallen into a 1940s movie. :) Brilliant!

Lots of love and hugs and more soon!