out of china

I AM OUT OF CHINA!!!!!!

so i haven't blogged in awhile, and now i can freely, without restrictions. and you, my adoring fans, can comment, and i can read them. woo-hoo. we are in korea for the next 4 months. i came over early for work, and have already spent a week in seoul. it is great. i am excited to be here. things to know about korea...

it's expensive. like mid-town manhattan expensive
it's clean. i can see across the city.
they have real toilets. enough said for now.
they do theatre here. a lot of theatre. so it's kind-of cool, to have people who understand what i do.

that's all for now, and i will try to be better at this whole blogging thing.

oh and i am spending christmas in gwangju, korea. yea me.

back to beijing...

so in just 4 days, we're going back to beijing. we get 10 days off while the show ships to korea. i plan to eat and shop and rest. my goal is to find jeans that actually fit me. that's a tall order. i also plan to look for gifts for the family back in the states.
we start in gwangju, korea for about a week, then off to seoul for 2 months. we open on christmas day in the first city and close on new year's eve. yea for good scheduling. thank you scheduling gods... that's all i am going to say about that for now. after seoul we're in daejoen for about a week, then our last city is daegu. don't worry, i have already located all the starbucks in korea. that is our one little full company obsession. it tastes the same, which is good. and i have discovered i DO like korean bar-b-que. it is quite good. Kimchi is a very spicy cabbage dish that is interesting. so maybe i can stop losing weight. we'll see. this is it for now.

keep reading...

sunday the 2nd

FIRST OF ALL, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY MOM!!!!!! hopefully she'll be able to read this from india.

second of all, my sweet nephew seth had his first mention in the paper at home. i have been touring for 11 years, and nobody writes about me, but if you're two years old and cute as hell and fascinated by music, well you get a paper story. i bet he wasn't near as excited as his parents seeing his name in print for the first time. and the whole story wasn't just him. he got mentioned. i guess it's better than, two year old seth got arrested for putting his mr. potato head together wrong...

ugh.

keep reading...

i am back

ok, so i didn't really go anywhere. i am still in china. we just have the worst internet ever and getting online is way more frustrating then trying to communicate with someone who doesn't speak english. i have yelled at my computer. i of course then apilogized to my computer, it's not her fault. yes my computer is a she. her name is suzie. i am sober right now too.

so i went to see the terra cotta warriors here in xian. they are 2200 years old. lots of dust. someday if i figure out how to post pictures on this thing you'll be able to see them too. the first site was as big as 3 football fields full of restored warriors. each one is different. it was very interesting to say the least, but once you've seen 20, you can say you've seen them all. and of course at a huge historical site there were peddlers trying to sell us everything. ugh. can i just look at a great piece of chinese history, and you not try to sell me some weird fruit. i mean really. i also have pictures of the dog pelts they were trying to sell. yes my dog lovin' friends i said dog pelts. it was so disturbing. i know one was a german shepard. disturbing.
the audience loves us here in xian. pronounced she-on. standing ovations even. we load out tonight. yea us. smell that? it's sarcasm.

keep reading...

UNION

oh and i would just like to say for the record, I AM in full support of the I.A.T.S.E.'s strike in the city. GO UNION!!!

and those are today's political opinions...
thank you

work

so if you hadn't noticed, i try to talk minamally about my job. i do that because after awhile it's boring to hear about what i do for a living, but now is the time. we have a group of 12 people from beijing who have been traveling and working with us in china. they are our "locals". they all know the show, and speak chinese, and very little, to no english. so here we are in beijing, and we just got done with our load-in. load-in typicallly takes 2 days. one of my jobs is to get the pit ready for our band guy to come in and set up. the conductors podium needs to be a certain height for our tiny conductor to be able to see the stage. he's short. anyway, i was standing on his platform trying to figure out what we needed to do to make it taller. my beijing guy was watching me. without any words, we had an entire conversation of what needed to happen. he knew that the platform had to be higher. so i found a piano stool and put it on the existing platform and stood on it, which he watched me do. then without any measuring, off he went and within an hour had built me a platform for the conductor that was the perfect size. it was kind-of amazing. he and i don't even use an interpreter anymore. it's a bother to both of us. and of course he is one of the 2 guys we are loosing at the end of beijing. figures.
so that's my work talk, boring i know, but a little insight to what i do.

i am off to either the forbidden city, or tian'anmen square this afternoon. woo-hoo, history.

keep reading...

3 a.m. ish

my union is on strike. holy crap. it's monumental. and where am i? china. figures. my union is making history today, and i am in china. in china. good luck my iatse brothers and sisters. i support you.

oh my

2 blogs in one day
i just realized at 3 in the morning i can, in fact, read the comments my peeps have left for me.
i laughed out loud a whole lot.
thank you for reading my dumb shit.
love to all.

keep reading...

wow

i sure did just spend 2 hours roller skating, around a bar in cheenay. can you top that? i get paid for this shit.

another note on china

for the record, the picture on the box of hair dye is not the color your hair will turn out. mine was this lovely milk chocolate color on the box. my hair turned reddish. now it's not terrible, but it's not what i wanted. i mean my hair is still fabulous. just sayin'.

and suddenly late fall/winter has swooped in on us. it's actually quite chilly out. and of course, none of my clothes fit, which i am so pleased with. yes, losing weight is okay, but when you need to punch new holes in your belt every 2-3 weeks, and if your not wearing a belt you can take your pants off without unbuttoning them, it gets damn annoying. and the clothes here are still too small for a normal sized person. namely me. there is no gap dammit!!! i have to wait until bejing for a good stor or two, i hope. or korea. it's so frustrating.

and for now, that is all i have.

keep reading...

hello

so i know that my family gets worried when i don't blog for awhile, but how much bitching can i do about china?

yesterday, we went to a grocery store. i was done and was sitting on a bench right past the checkouts. i was of course minding my own business as everyone and their brother stared at me, the white girl. i had no idea i was so fascinating. i guess i am prettier then i thought. anyway, all the sudden this woman comes running up with a child. she then whips down his pants and stands him on a trashcan not even a foot from me, and let's him pee in the trashcan. i almost threw up. how is it that a 6000 year old culture can't find a damn toilet? or figure out a waste system? or have drinkable running water? or use a kleenex? i am a bit grossed out now, and i hope you are too. welcome to cheenay.

kisses

keep reading...

seasons

thus far in the amazing cheenay, there has only been one season. damn hot! yes, for me that is a season. take the hottest, most humid day you can imagine, add about 15 more degrees, and turn off your a.c. yup, we work in heat like this, in a theatre, where they refuse to turn on the air conditioning. cheap, the chinese are cheap. and a lot of them do not wear deodorant. why don't we all take a moment and reflect on that...



your moment is over. and let's chat for a bit about work ethic. you know in the states it's usually the asian kids who are smart and diligent, and make the good grades, while working 3 jobs. not so much here. the guys who work for us at theatres are super lazy. don't get me wrong, they can lift damn near anything, if you can find them to wake them up.

we're in nanjing. for those of you who know a little basic chinese history, nanjing is also known as nanking. one of the largest massacres in history. 300,000 chinese killed by the invading japanese army. it's sick. look it up on wikipedia. shocking stuff.


on a lighter note, i'd like some mail. cards, letters, photos. whatever. i am just putting that out there.

keep reading....

Cheenay is the new china

chee-nay. oh the chee-nay.

we left hangzhou,(pronounced hang-joe), and now we're in nanjing. we have semi smart locals. yea us! they really don't like listening to women here, so i get to raise my voice a lot. and i may have scared a guy last night into the point of not speaking. oops. i would have felt real bad, but i didn't. the idea of "saving face" here is something i have to try and get used to. if you yell at, or purposefully embarrass some one, that person loses face. i try to control it, but sometimes you just have to throw out the f word to get your point across. (sorry mom, but i am not saying it to you.) and they all understand the f-word. i am just rambling at this point.

but not to worry, i have found the starbucks. life is good.

keep reading

touring

touring is a very lonely business.

don't worry folks, i am okay, but sometimes it gets really hard. i think it is because i am in china, and talking to the lady in the grocery line behind you is impossible. saying hello is damn near impossible. yes, i know how to say hello in chinese, but then the conversation is over. i think i am getting too old for this shit. and it doesn't help when i read the paper from home, and all i really want to do is see my family, or go to a razorback game with my nephew. or even go to wal-mart. ugh.


on another note, i would like to reiterate, squatty potty's suck! and the street cleaning trucks here play music, like an ice cream truck, which i find very odd. and it seems i am incapable of taking pictures. i take my camera with me everywhere, but when it comes to actually getting it out and using it, i just don't. that's weird, isn't it? i am writing as if i am having a conversation, but nobody talks back. okay, off i go to eat chinese food, or as rachel says, food.

keep reading...

a family post

to my family at home

mom, brett, rachel, nancy, jerry, and the man, seth,

i miss you all very much. send me mail. send me pictures. send me anything.
and make sure the man never forgets his crazy aunt!!!!

i love you all, and can't wait to see you,
paige

i have to go to the bathroom

two words you'll never hear in the english language in a normal conversation:

squatty potty

let's all take a moment to reflect.




are we done? good.
a well raised southern lady does not discuss bodily functions. you had better say excuse me if you burp, and god forbid you should pass gas. in china there are no holds barred on any of it. burp where you want, and pretty much anything else. there is a concept here of a squatty potty. unless i am camping i feel there is no need to squat, but in china a lady is expected to do just that. in whatever she has on. a nice dress, jeans, shorts, whatever. and usually there is no toliet paper. so far the disgustingness of it is winning. all public restrooms are this way. hotels have real toliets though, thank the good lord. and the skill of a squatty is something most chinese women master. we, americans, not so much. i am not saying i have a problem, because i have camped a lot, but some of my co-workers are at a complete loss of how to master the skill. now i understand why some urinals are a challenge for men. and why sometimes after an asian person uses the restroom, there are footprints on the seat. i hate the squatty potty. it is an evil invention. and they never flush right. who is in charge over here? and why haven't theymoved into the modern century. i am just sayin'

keep reading...

out of shanghai

so we finally left shanghai, after a month. and the hours we worked were retarded, but it is my job. ugh. we're in hangzhou now, where the women's world cup was played. i have only been to work so far, so i have no idea what the town is like. marco polo said that hangzhou is the prettiest city in the world. i don't see that. oh well. we're here for a little over a week then off to some other chinese city, where i hate the food. yea me. i plan to come back to the states as a stick, and eat myself to about 300 lbs. just kidding.my room is nice here. i love NOT having a roommate, or even the threat of a roommate. thank you "company" i work for. i have heard rumors of our future travels...

christmas and my birthday in seoul, south korea. it's like 8 weeks in one place. wow.
it looks like thailand is on the agenda.
malasyia, and singapore too.

we'll see what happens.

keep reading...

still in china

so i have noticed some things about dear ole' china....

personal space. there is none. these folks will literally push you out of the way. no excuse me. i have not body checked anyone yet, but i have come very close. i am southern and i expect you to say excuse me, when i say it to you. here, that absolutely doesn't happen. i have been pushed and shoved all over shanghai. i think it's horseshit. i have though knocked an umbrella to the ground, because obviously they are shorter and i could have lost an eye.

manners, table manners to be exact. they DO NOT exist. i don't need to chew with my mouth open, but here, i could, and it would be okay. it borders on nauseating. thank you for showing me what my chewed up food looks like, i was curious.

spitting. as much as the pollution here causes phelgm, i would rather not see you spit out your oh so disgusting loogie on the street. if american men did that, they would never get laid. it is gross, and i am tired of walking through your spit.

litter. find a damn trashcan! is it that hard? i don't think so, but i am a very american girl, and litter is frowned upon.

and there is no pedestrian law here. it's like a giant game of frogger. and the chinese are winning the game.

thank god for skippy peanut butter, bananas, and something i thought i'd never say, mc donalds. and the occasional westerner.

ugh. keep reading...


oh, and i almost forgot, a typhoon here is like a small spring storm in the states. it rained, the humidity is crazy, and my hair looks like shit.

china stuff

howdy doody friends of mine.

first of all everyone, i need you tomorrow at some point to either say out loud or to yourself, "happy birthday seth". my sweet nephew turns 2, and i can't even be in the country. that's horseshit. but maybe if enough of my friends put the thought out there, he'll have the best little 2 year old birthday possible. gosh dangit that kid is cute. now if i could get his parents to stop trying to make him call me crazy aunt paige. (brett and rachel, so funny)

so tonight is our last show in longgang. and then we load out overnight. they fly us over here, give us time to adjust our sleep, then make us load out overnight. i have to figure out a way to make coffee at work. and the coffee here is instant and comes pre-sweetened and creamed. it's not my favorite. what i wouldn't give for a starbucks. anyway, most likely load out will last until dawn. and be blazing hot. and nobody understands chinese on our crew. and the locals stare at me. i can't wait.

onto other things...
i have made a wish list for things i would like to see in shanghi:
aveda-already checked, the only one is in hong kong. *sigh*
sephora- there are 3 of them, yea, pretty makeup
a mexican restaurant- there's a latin one called caliente, so maybe...
gaucamole- i haven't seen an avacado yet.
starbucks-enough said
we have our first week off in shanghi, because it takes so long for the show to ship. i should have 6 full days to shop, eat, and sight see. very exciting.

some more fun things about china...

i brought a pair of jeans with me that 2 and a half weeks ago didn't fit, and now they are almost too big. we like to call it the chinese diet. and i am eating.

and there is a dancer out here from jonesboro, ar. we have decided if one night we get super drunk,(i don't drink mom.), we're going to call the hogs in china. (but since i don't drink mom, it will never happen.)

keep reading...

china

hello,

so because i am in a country that practices a different type of government, i cannot have true freedom to write or surf the internet. the internet is policed by 300,000 internet police. i cannot read any type of blog here, including my own. i cannot read the comments either. everything is censored in some way. i find it very interesting.

keep reading...

beer.

an interesting fact for all of you to know...

a 22 ounce beer cost 5 yuan in china.

converted to american money, that equals 66 cents.

it's ridiculous.

and the beer doesn't taste very good.

and my 17 hour days are done.

66 cents. really?

keep reading...

oh good pete!!!!

who's pete?

anyway, i am so sorry i haven't written in forever. my day starts about 6:30 am, and ends about midnight. i need sleep. this show process is maddening, but i am learning. i should have learned some chinese before i came, for example,
"don't sit on that." 'please don't touch anything, unless i tell you" "move", etc, etc... the only thing i do know is stop. the word stop in chinese, is ting. and you have to say ting 3 times, progressivly getting louder, until your yelling. it's so frustrating. and i desperately need to know the word for fork. i finally got a chinese help book, with words spelled out phonetically. because i have so much time to read it. i am already tired of fried rice. everybody makes fun of me for eating bananas all the time. and the bananas here are sooooooo good. and of course i found skippy peanut butter. ha ha, take that tiny chinese peeps, i got the peanut butter. i am trying new things though, like prawns. they are okay if they're seasoned well.

some things you'll never see in the states...

children use the bathroom anywhere. i mean anywhere! they are no diapers here. it's odd and kind-of gross.

everybody squats as a way to rest. i can't last more then 2 minutes. i think the crew is going to have a competition on who can stay down the longest. i am gonna win.

staring. not like, "the little kid is looking at you" staring, but the "you might be a big white alien." staring. i find it's fun to make a game out of it, and stare back until the asian person has to break eye contact. yes, i am a grown adult.


oh and for the record, the U.S. has hurricanes, china has typhoons. and a true monsoon season, which is now. it's so hot and humid, i will never have good hair...

keep reading

hi!!!!

my peeps,
here's the dealio, i have NO time right now to write. please forgive me. the first day i have anytime to tell ya'll whet's going on i will. keep checking in on me!

friday

hi all, it's a bit before 7 am on friday.

i feel like i have been here forever. i think i wrote that yesterday too. and when typhoons hit the weather gets even hotter. yesterday, 105 degrees, 99.9-100% humidity. i was outside for 15 minutes and it felt like i had showered. soaking wet. it was so gross. the city is a sauna.
one prop box is almost done!!! and for those of you who know what a nerd i am with my prop boxes, you're smiling a little bit for me right now. i know. i am super prop girl. i could be a super hero, you never know. i could swoop into your house, rearrange some stuff, label where it goes and swoop off. helping people. neatening. one mini-musical at a time....
i think i am real tired...

keep reading,

ok some info...

so load in first...

things i thought i'd never see...

*at least half of the people helping us load in are wearing some sort of flip-flop, sandel, shoe. nobody has gotten there toes messed up. yet
*we americans, excited, that more than 3 boxes made it up on the elevator. visibly excited.
*work ethic. oh my goodness. i have a you guy working with me. he will do anything i ask, no matter how much the job sucks. yesterday, he refused to go to dinner or even take a break, because he wanted to finish a project for me. and he learned to say your welcome, because i have to say thank you to him so much.

it's a little crazy. i keep thinking i have been here forever, but it has not even been a week.
now if i could just get a little more sleep.

and the internet! it is not quite 7 a.m. here, and this is the best time at the hotel to jump on the internet. i am not saying i am getting up earlier for this, but it is helpful. and there is internet at the theatre, but it's worse than the hotel. so until we get the cast onstage i am going to have very little time to keep writing everyday. i will be able to cut and paste thoughts and such in the next week or so. please forgive the sparse posts, and please keep reading...

p


rachel and brett if you are reading this, i had a dream about seth. he was 5 or 6 and running all over the place with me at a razorback game. it was odd...

um, wow, work

first day of work yesterday.
f-ing wow.
i don't have time right this second to explain everything, but what a crazy load-in. 13 hours to unload 8 sea-containers. i have so much to write and not a bit of time. the heat. my translator, ivy. pretty cute little girl, onstage, in heels. what????
i will try to get more info to you tonight. right now priority #1, western breakfast.

and for those of you who know me really well, i don't like chinese food, but i am the queen of fried rice!!!!
and i did find skippy peanut butter. ha, ha, china! you cannot deny me my peanut butter!

more later my loyal readers

1st day...

so today we start the load in process. it is said to take 2 days, due to the language barrier and lack of knowledge of what we do. we just get a bunch of folks who do what the interpreter says to do. that should be interesting. and i think it's about 500 degrees outside already. i will be so pretty in about 3 hours. beauty contest material for sure.
and for all of you that know just how much i enjoy chinese food, guess what was for dinner last night. yup, chinese. i am going to be the master of rice after this whole thing is over. now if i could just get my chopsticks to cooperate. i will have to practice that in my room, so i don't embarrass the people i am eating with. nobody laughed at me, but i felt really stupid. i mean really stupid.
oh, and the open gawking, freaking wow. we went to a grocery store yesterday. i was my own freak show. staring and finally pointing. i just smiled and nodded. maybe if i was to point back... i will not be offensive in a foreign country, i will not be offensive in a foreign country, say it with me....

JET LAG!

so this whole jet lag thing is killing me. i should be asleep. and i am fading fast, which i cannot do. so i thought i'd write on what it looks like here. i am in the middle of all these lush, green, hills/mountains. and it looks like city development just threw-up right in the middle of everything. it sprawls out everywhere. like if you were to put your palm flat on the table and spread your fingers as wide as they go, and then put hills between every finger. i am not even sure if that makes sense. i am quite loopy. and there is a river or large stream right outside the hotel. it has a lot of floaties. not sure if it's garbage, or what. and everybody carries an umbrella. in the old southern tradition, i would call it a parasol. a little way to help keep the sun off. maybe i'll have to try it. it could help me fit in, and deter the gawkers. i feel like i am drunk. and i can't quite fathom yet, that i am not leaving this part of the world for a long time. it's also very hazy here. it reminds me of L.A. ot near as much traffic though.
is it wrong to stare at your bed and wonder if it's friendly? or if it will treat you as good as you plan to treat it? or if that fluffy white pillow, is as fluffy as you think? i think i might be losing my mind. i have never had to deal with jet lag like this. east coast to west coast and vice versa is easy. what if i just laid my head down on my keyboard for just a second. i would have key indentations. that would be hot. just like MY CANKLES!!!!!! still a little bitter about that. i think someone should have warned me. i think i have to stay awake for 7 more hours. NOT SURE HOW I AM GONNA DO THAT!!!!!!! can't read a book. that's my before bed thing. can't drink anymore coffee. i have had about 8 cups. i have already unpacked, found the 2 english t.v. stations, showered, gone to a small market, and written 2 blogs. i think i will go investigate the hotel. or nap in a stairwell. forgive the exhausted ramblings...

i am in china!!! finally

some points to ponder if you decide to go to china...

1. nobody told me during the plane ride that my ankles and feet would swell beyond normal proportion. thanks. i have cankles right now. so cute.
2. a 14 hour plane ride sucks. especially when your next to someone who keeps accidentally hitting your t.v. channels and doesn't know it. thank you little asian gal.
3. jet lag. jet lag. jet lag. jet lag is horseshit!!!! i have a watch set to my time at home, just so i can think about sleep. *sigh*
4. um, it's f-ing hot. like southern florida hot, but the type of humidity i have never encountered.
5. i have been leered at more in the last hour, than in my entire life. i could be on the streets of new york, naked, with a shetland pony, and it doesn't compare.
6. i thought spanish was bad, but i have no idea what anyone is saying. they're probably discussing my cankles. dammit.


my room is nice. i have one of those straight down waterfall types of showers. it's pretty cool. i have a bathrobe and slippers. my view is amazing. there are like 8 bars in our hotel. and i am getting paid to do all this. wow.

so that's all i have for now. i must stay awake for about 12-14 more hours. maybe i will take pics of my room, who knows.

uh, what

oh my goodness,
oh my goodness,

i am freaking out. i leave home in like 3 hours. aaaaaauuuuuuuuurrrrrrruuuuuuggggggghhhhhhhhhhh. for a long time. i am freaking out!

4 days

holy crap, it's monday, i have packed, um nothing... now, now i am in a panic.

wouldn't it be great if i could just blink my eyes and everything would pack itself.
and my house would clean itself.
and i would just get to sit around and drink beer.
aaaahhhhh that would be the life. and completely unrealistic.
oh good pete i have to go!!!

the dominican republic

let's talk...
it was beautiful. hot. steamy. the perfect vacation. i recieved a nasty sunburn. my own fault, i know. i was smitten with my snorkling trip and only applied sunscreen once in the 6 hours. i know, super stupid. and i always preach to everyone, always wear sunscreen. clearly i am new.

now, the biggest problem with the d.r. is that i do not speak fluent spanish. i can struggle through hello, how are you, but fast spanish is a big hell no. so i stopped talking to the staff and just read a book. ok, like 5 books. i always said please and thank you, but otherwise, i kept my mouth shut. what the hell was i doing in 3 semesters of college spanish. i must have been drunk or something. or thinking, oh, i'll never need to know spanish. maybe next vacation, i need to go to an english speaking island. like the bahamas, or virgin isles.

but i am not is asia yet

i just realized that my little doo-hicky thing says 'paige in asia'. i am not going to asia until the 3rd of august. oops. sorry.

doo-hicky thing, i mean really could i be more southern?

i, in fact, am against spiders.
that is all i have for now.
thank you

bugs

as i sit here pondering how not to get fingernail polish on my cuticles, i realize just how boring my break has become... i have barely been home two weeks. i used to have a sense of adventure. rollercoasters were neat, but now all i can think about is how sturdy the ride has been built. what if the engineers were just a little off? i mean who knows, right? the testing could have shaken that one bolt holding everything together, a little off, and there i go plummeting to my death. and i used to think all bugs were neat. But now i think that the killing of most bugs by vacuum is quite okay. and maybe slightly thrilling. to see that evil infiltrater get sucked away and spun to it's imminent death, by me no less, is somewhat invigorating. but then i wonder, can a bug send out a buggy signal and all their friends come into my apartment. i wonder. and the rolly-poly's: why do they always come to my apartment to commit suicide? everytime i am on break from my job, there are little piles of dead rolly-polys everywhere. that's so depressing. and now, there are centipedes, those little ones.

um, i am a blogger...

so i have succumbed to the blogging inevitable. it's because i am going to asia next year, and phone calls are out of the question. i think you readers should know, i hate typing properly. that means all lowercase, all the time. get used to it, or don't read it, because it is not going to change. my hope is i will take the time to write as much as possible, to keep everybody up to date about me and where i am. we'll see what happens. we all know how great i am at keeping in touch with folks. and i may write some other stuff in here for you too, like the rolly-poly suicides that happen at my house. or my love of vaccuming. i just thought it would be an interesting place to vent, write, and basically amuse all the folks that know me.