#I might draw Danny with different occupations next

[toomanylovesongs]

The Ol Questionnaire

I haven't done one of these since high school, so I figured why not! 1. Would you have sex with the last person you text messaged? Ha, yeah I totally would. 
2. You talked to an ex today, correct? Does an instagram comment exchange count? If so, yes. 
3. Have you taken someones virginity? A million years ago. 
4. Is trust a big issue for you? One of the biggest! I don't trust many folks. 
5. Did you hang out with the person you like recently? It's been over a week or so, she's been out of town. 
6. What are you excited for? Hm, well soon I'm interviewing to be manager of a different location of the coffee business I work for. Going to see pals play tunes in their wicked band the night after tomorrow. 
7. What happened tonight? I came home from work and passseeddd out. Then ordered pizza, watched Masters of Sex, and doodled. It was pretty pleasant. 
8. Do you think it’s disgusting when girls get really wasted? ...no? Just be careful! So many "disgusting" humans who take advantage of intoxicated femme. 
9. Is confidence cute? V sexy. 
10. What is the last beverage you had? Currently drinking What The Huck by Fernie Brewing Co 
11. How many people of the opposite sex do you fully trust? Hm. There's a handful. I'm related to most of them. 
12. Do you own a pair of skinny jeans? Yes, don't wear them super often though. Whenever I do my boss is like WHAT THE HECK?! 
13. What are you gonna do Saturday night? Seeing pals at the Palomino! 
14. What are you going to spend money on next? Realistically, food. 
15. Are you going out with the last person you kissed? Yeah. Although she was taking some space. Soooo it's to be seen what happens with that. 
16. Do you think you’ll change in the next 3 months? Probably! might be a general manager of a new shop soon opposed to an assistant manager, so that will be a huge change if it happens. 
17. Who do you feel most comfortable talking to about anything? One of my best pals Chelsea. Or my boss Jade. 
18. The last time you felt broken? Ha. Often. A few days ago? The depression had been a bit of a roller-coaster as of late. 
19. Have you had sex today? ...does it count if it's with myself? 
20. Are you starting to realize anything? Yeah. Making strides with mental health, trying to get that puppy in check. 
21. Are you in a good mood? I suppose so, yeah. Drinking a beer, listening to tunes, life's pretty alright right now. 
22. Would you ever want to swim with sharks? Ha! No way. I'm a chicken. I used to get scared of sharks being in public pools when I was younger. So no. (Such a real fear (Not)) 
23. Are your eyes the same color as your dad’s?
No, mine are pretty wild. Green with orange around the pupil. 24. What do you want right this second? CLARITY. I hate this relationship limbo. 
25. What would you say if the person you love/like kissed another girl/boy? Well it would depend on how I found out. If they were honest then I'd say, "Okay, what do you want to do from here?" 
26. Is your current hair color your natural hair color? Yep! Hair's a virgin 
27. Would you be able to date someone who doesn’t make you laugh? I have before, and I definitely don't want to again. 
28. What was the last thing that made you laugh? My cat being an adorable goof. 
29. Do you really, truly miss someone right now? Yep yep. Damn longing. 
30. Does everyone deserve a second chance? For most part, yes. 
31. Honestly, do you hate the last boy you were talking to? Nope! He's a sweet bean and we laugh a lot. 
32. Does the person you have feelings for right now, know you do? Ohhhh she sure does. 
33. Are you one of those people who never drinks soda? Nope, my parents used to call me the "nonstop pop girl" when I was a kid. My cavities can attest to that. 
34. Listening to? "Push+Pull" by July Talk 
35. Do you ever write in pencil anymore? Not super often. I was drawing in pencil earlier tonight for the first time in a long time. 
36. Do you know where the last person you kissed is? General idea, not a specific idea. 
37. Do you believe in love at first sight? Nah, I'm one of those "learn to love" kind of humans. Definitely lust at first sight though. 
38. Who did you last call? GMC City to deal with car stuff. 
39. Who was the last person you danced with? Me and my coworkers dance all the time 
40. Why did you kiss the last person you kissed? THE FEELS 
41. When was the last time you ate a cupcake? A few days ago, there were some at work. 
42. Did you hug/kiss one of your parents today? Negative. 
43. Ever embarrass yourself in front of a crush? That's my life story! 
44. Do you tan in the nude? I mostly just tan while I'm out and about in the world, which I am not usually nude for. 
45. If you could, would you take back your last kiss? Not even a little bit. 
46. Did you talk to someone until you fell asleep last night? Nah, listened to tunes until I fell asleep. 
47. Who was the last person to call you? My dad. 
48. Do you sing in the shower? Usually. 
49. Do you dance in the car? If I'm not freezing, yes! 
50. Ever used a bow and arrow? I have! I wanted to Legolas when I was a kiddo. 
51. Last time you got a portrait taken by a photographer? About a month ago. 
52. Do you think musicals are cheesy? They can be. I like them about 50% of the time. 
53. Is Christmas stressful? Yeah, I just don't do it anymore. 
54. Ever eat a pierogi? Yissssssss 
55. Favorite type of fruit pie? Hm. I don't really like fruit pies to be honest. Mostly like Pumpkin Pie. 
56. Occupations you wanted to be when you were a kid? Ha. Cowgirl, inventor, be a bad ass in the men in black (my grade two career day costume), artist, many things. 
57. Do you believe in ghosts? Yessss 
58. Ever have a Deja-vu feeling? Almost daily. 
59. Take a vitamin daily? No, I sometimes take Vitamin D but I usually forget. 
60. Wear slippers? I have none! 
61. Wear a bath robe? Not super often. Pretty rare. 
62. What do you wear to bed? Usually a shirt and underwear. 
63. First concert? Danny Hooper at the Community Hall in Grove dale, AB haha. Big concert - Nazareth. 
64. Wal-Mart, Target or Kmart? Targettttt. Rip target. 
65. Nike or Adidas? Not super applicable to me! 
66. Cheetos Or Fritos? Cheetos 
67. Peanuts or Sunflower seeds? Depends if on a road trip or not. Road trip = spits! 
68. Favorite Taylor Swift song? Ha. I'm not a T Swift fan 
69. Ever take dance lessons? Um, does high school gym class count? 
70. Is there a profession you picture your future spouse doing? Something creative. 
71. Can you curl your tongue? Yes 
72. Ever won a spelling bee? I've never participated in one! 
73. Have you ever cried because you were so happy? Hm. Almost. 
74. What is your favorite book? I'm a sucker for anything by Bukowski, even though he wasn't a very swell human 
75. Do you study better with or without music? With 
76. Regularly burn incense? No! Although incense would be nice. 
77. Ever been in love? Yeah. It'll be the death of me. 
78. Who would you like to see in concert? Hm. I've been lucky enough to see some of my favs already! Looking forward to Chad Vangaalen in January, then possibly Bahamas in March. 
79. What was the last concert you saw? If local shows count, my pals band Yvette 
80. Hot tea or cold tea? Hot hot 
81. Tea or coffee? Coffee forever 
82. Favorite type of cookie? Chocolate chunk dipped in milk 
83. Can you swim well? No, I took lessons when I was a kid but haven't been in water much since my eyes got really bad. 
84. Can you hold your breath without holding your nose? Yes. 
85. Are you patient? APPARENTLY. 
86. DJ or band, at a wedding? Band! 
87. Ever won a contest? My dad and I (really it was just my dad, but I picked the ticket) won second place in a dream home lottery when I was a kid, which gave us a Canyon Truck. We never won anything so it was pretty shocking. 
88. Ever have plastic surgery? No 
89. Which are better black or green olives? Neither. 
90. Opinions on sex before marriage? Not a fan of marriage. Be safe and consensual with whatever sec you engage in! 
91. Best room for a fireplace? Uhm. Living room? 
92. Do you want to get married? Soooo doubtful

[thebusmansholiday]

Beijing - Shanghai - Xi’an - Urumqi

Beijing

Exiting Ping'an subway station on the look out for our hotel, that unmistakable sound of a man coughing up some gob and spitting it out on the pavement in front of us, and I knew I was back in China....

Struggling with serious jet lag on the first few days, wondering around the sights of the Chinese capital in the unseasonal blistering heat was a struggle at times. Deciding to walk through the Forbidden City in the midday sun was a big mistake, the masses just keep pouring into the former emperors palaces, armed with selfie sticks and umbrella hats.

The heavenly temple gardens just before sunset were the perfect escape from the crowds, it's a must visit if you are ever in Beijing, and do it in spring if possible, when the trees are blossoming and locals gather to play music in small brass bands or crowd around tables playing board games.  What you notice about the many public parks in the city is that the elderly population make full use of them, with large groups decked out in tracksuits going through aerobic sessions to music pumping from mini ghetto blasters.

Now, onto food...  The back street 'Hutong' alleys of Beijing are full of little food stalls, and the abundance of choice can be a tad overwhelming. Trying to order from a Chinese only menu is also a daunting experience at times. If the menu has pictures then we can eat there, if not we try pointing at what someone else is already eating and rudely point at their food, usually noodle soup with a little side salad of spinach(?) spring onion and peanuts.

Little round sweet pastries from peoples front windows, turned shop front, are a delicious cheap (¥1) treat for afters.  You can never go hungry in this city, no matter what time of day, a cheap late brunch option is never far away. Our favourite in Beijing is the Breakfast wrap:  corn bread mix spread onto a hot plate with an egg cracked on top, filled with salad, crispy noodle and some spring onion and coriander sprinkled on top then folded over into a wrap.

Also, small deep fried pastries filled with spinach and spring onion (Again, it might not be spinach) being a popular choice for us to keep energy levels up during our marathon walking sessions. With the iphone app measuring the amount of steps we are undertaking, it has become a bit of an obsession to walk everywhere rather than take a short hop on the metro. Our record in Beijing was 32,858.

'When in Peking'... we tried Peking duck at 'Liqun Roast Duck' a cool hidden backstreet location which served us an absolute feast of food. All the duck is shredded up for you by the chief carver on a table next to you, so you can just get stuck in and don't have to fiddle around with it. Little rice pancakes come on a plate for you to make your own little duck wrap combinations with all the different sides that come with the set menu for two. Deep fried aubergine, mushrooms, cucumber, spicy potatoes, spinach(again) peanuts. It was well worth the ¥340 (£38) price.

We took a coach trip to the great wall on our final day. It is spectacular viewing, seeing it wind through the mountain tops and a true wonder at just how the hell they managed to construct it all the way back in 700 BC. Only problem is, with a coach trip you are given only 3 hours to walk up to it, walk along it, and walk back to the coach park before the coach driver and guide want to get back to town for supper. You could spend far longer up there, but a coach trip seems the only option available for day trips from Beijing.

Our final meal in the city and we were very curious about the famous Wangpangzi Donkey burger chain.  Sorry, but I have to try, for you the reader. Served in a crispy bread bap, with spring onion and fresh chillies, it was really delicious! 2 for a quid makes it a very satisfying dinner.

19/04/17 BEIJING TO SHANGHAI G115 train departing at 09.22 Duration: 5hrs 40mins £60 (approx) second class seat

It was great to be back on the People's Railway. The high speed network here is rapidly expanding and makes a mockery of the uk's struggle to try to shade 30 minutes off the London to Birmingham route. Here it actually serves a useful purpose: to move the vast, always on the move population between the sprawling metropolises.

We were en route to Shanghai, a near 900 mile journey that can be done in under 5 hours, and we hoped a slightly slower, mid morning Wednesday 'G-train' would be relatively quiet, but the herds of wheely suitcases just kept on rolling down the isles filling up the luggage racks around us. Luckily the G-Train offers ample leg room to stretch out, but any chance of nodding off for a midday nap were dashed when we realised the 'adults' sat around us liked to play loud video games on their mobiles.

Shanghai is much cleaner and a bit more orderly than the manic streets of Beijing. It has a much more western feel, big shiny sky scrappers and more chain stores on offer. Despite this, it retains a real buzz of life that we were to see throughout China.

The Chinese live outside, front windows are turned into makeshift takeaway food joints, parks become outside gyms where people of all ages unashamedly stretch out their limbs placing them over heads, up onto monkey bars (very flexible people) and really unwind after the daily stresses of city life. It seems no one eats at home, everyone utilises the cheap local restaurants, dumpling soup kitchens and filled steam bun stands for their breakfast lunch and dinner.

After the expenses of the great wall tour we needed to start reigning in our spending if we were to stay within budget. For such a long period away it would be too easy for spending to spiral out of control. Me and Louisa had a very strict long term economic plan and it centred around cheap food. In Shanghai it was all about the dumpling soup. For a quid we could get a big bowl of ten veggie or pork filled dumplings in a hot spicy soup. Also, Steamed buns, which were becoming a staple of the trip, filled with curried cabbage was our favourite of the many varieties you can find on most streets.

It was great to meet up with Chairman Matt (as he is known locally) and some of the other Shanghai expats in the evening. We were treated to a feast of food at 'Grandmothers Home' restaurant on our final night in the city. We were then taken back in time to the late 90's /early 00's at 'Ellens', a dive bar where a few rebellious local youth like to down shots to pumping tunes. The staircase up to this venue is bricked up for some reason, leaving the elevator as the only escape from the 3rd floor venue. (Keith Lard, of phoenix nights fame, would have a fit!) With a busy restaurant on the floor above, using the same elevator, it was a long wait for our group of 6 to leave and move onto the next watering hole.

21/04/17 SHANGHAI TO XI'AN Z92 Train departing at 18.44 Duration: 14hrs 45mins Soft Sleeper - £52

The Z92 sleeper train pulled out of the main Shanghai railway station at sunset. Being a Friday it was packed with people heading home for the weekend. Luckily for us, no one took up the other bunk beds in our 4 bed compartment and we were able to spread out and enjoy a romantic chicken and mushroom pot noodle dinner for two. Served with tomatoes, and bread for dipping in the left over soup.

The most distinctive feature of Xi'an, and you see it as soon as you arrive at the main railway station, is the iconic perimeter wall that surrounds the old central part of the city. The wall dates back six centuries and extends for more than 14km and you can walk all the way around the top of it. At 12 meters high it makes for a pleasant stroll to take in the sights of the city. We walked the whole lot and in doing so smashed our daily steps record for the trip with a score of 37,564 (21.3 km) taking our 7 day average up to an impressive 24,000.

At night, along with the drum and bell towers, the wall is lit up with rows of red lanterns and spotlights that reflect attractively in the waters of the surrounding moat. You really get a feel for the old ancient, mystical China when in Xi'an. You also start to see a more diverse ethnic mix in the population. Xi'an is the start/end point of the ancient silk road, and as well as being a famous trading route for goods, over time traders from the predominantly muslim middle east and central asia have ended up settling here.

The Muslim quarter of the city is characterised by it's minuet domes and it's famous nightly food market, which is a real pull for two hungry travellers on the look out for a cheap meal. The hand stretched noodles are famous and the men cutting them up and whipping them on the ground draws crowds. We are cajoled by an eager host into a nearby noodle cafe to try some of them. Without choosing, ours are covered in a peanut butter sauce, and a sprinkling of veg and chilli on top.

Again, like in Beijing and Shanghai, the public parks here are heaving with locals stretching, running, playing table tennis, dominoes. The Xi'an 'peoples  parks' are particularly charming as they border the outside of the medieval perimeter wall.

23/04/17 XI'AN TO URUMQI Z105 Train departing at 11.02 Duration: 24hrs 13mins Soft Sleeper £75

Two local Xi'an lads heading west for the week shared our 4 person berth. They looked like they were on a 'business' trip of some sort. Maybe someone at the Xinjiang end of the business wasn't playing ball? Lo spotted the armani jeans and high heeled leather ankle boots, along with a rolling stones live in Zurich 1817(?) t shirt. Also, a faded England football cap, worn with the bent visa as if on his way to tear up some quiet Belgian town at euro 2000.

The first hour of a 25 hour journey was a struggle to settle in. Our cabin was in a bit of a state from the night before, the occupants from Jinan to Xi'an had left half empty pot noodles and an overflowing bin for us. The Chinese carriage attendants didn't  seem too bothered about it, and there was no way Chinese Danny Dyer, a toothpick in mouth kinda guy, or his pot bellied mate were clearing it up.

We enquired with our new friends where they were heading, and a glance at the time table showed they would be leaving us around 1am which offered hope of some space and a bit of peace and quiet overnight. This is customary chit chat on long sleeper journeys. People act polite in asking where each other is going, inside you are all just hoping the others are f***ing off soon so you can have the compartment to yourself. We had it easy on the Shanghai to Xi'an leg, no one to share with, a delightful introduction to long haul train journeys for Lo.

Things got a bit confused at Lanzhou station around sunset. Me and Lo are outside stretching our legs haggling for some apples from one of the platform food sellers. We come back to find we have been joined by another room mate for the night. That makes it 5 people sharing a 4 bed compartment? Confusion all round for a while, especially from our new Lanzhou buddy who's not sure where to put his stuff. He is a big lad, chubby baby faced, no older than 20, carrying a bag of sweets and watching videos out loud on his extra large samsung mobile. This is obviously alarming, coming up to bed time. But what really concerns us is his heavy breathing, especially as he struggles up to his top bunk berth. He is going to be a big snorer and me and Lo know it. Along with Danny, a heavy smoker, it could be a long night ahead...

It turns out Danny's mate doesn't even have a ticket for this bit, he is supposed to be a carriage down, slumming it in hard sleeper (third class) but has just been hanging out with us for the day at no extra cost. As we make up our beds for the night, making it clear to all that we are wanting some sleep, Danny's mate finally leaves us for his actual seat, and all is quiet for about 5 mins before the crescendo of gargling throat noise begins from the beds opposite.

Danny left us at Jiuaguan station at 1am, the door slamming shut behind him woke up the big lad on the top bunk, and we had a brief spell of quiet as he rolled onto his side into the recovery position and began breathing a bit easier.

That was now the aim of the game for me and Lo. Every time he rolled on to his back and started bellowing out his struggling diaphragm rhythms, we had to try and wake him up. I tried a loud clap of the hands, this woke him up but didn't force him to turn over. Lo would scream "for f*cks sake, please stop!" again, this woke him up in a mild state of bemusement and for a few seconds we would have peace before he started up again. Lo eventually lost it and grabbed his arm and shook him. I switched on my bedside light and as he looked down at me wondering what the hell was going on, I begged him "please just stop that noise!" and hand signalled for him to turn over. I don't think he spoke a word of the queens but he got the message and we finally got some sleep before he left us at 6am at Hami Station, a small town on the ancient silk road famous for it's sweet melons.

The rolling desert landscape seemed like it would go on forever until out of nowhere appears this huge ugly looking metropolis in the distance. Exiting Urumqi South station and we knew we had arrived in Central Asia. The world's Uyghur Muslim population is around 8 million. 7.5 million of them live here, in the Xianjing Uyghur Autonomous Province of China, known to Uyghur's as East Turkestan. It's the largest but least populated of the 23 Chinese provinces. 

Trouble has been brewing here in the provincial capital in recent years, a growing separatist movement claims that the region, which they view as their homeland and refer to as "East Turkestan", is not part of China, but was invaded by China in 1949 and has been under Chinese occupation since then. China asserts that the region has been part of China since ancient times, and now calls it Xinjiang Province. Xinjiang, literally meaning "New Territory" or, officially, "old territory returned to the motherland". As such, tensions are high in Urumqi, and after a few bloody terrorist car bomb attacks in recent years, there is a heavy military presence on exiting the station.

Our hotel in the centre of town, had two security guards armed with riot shields at the entrance, a tad unnerving, especially as you had to wonder what good the rather elderly looking dads army guards would do if a another riot did break out on the streets.

Urumqi provided cooler temperatures than we had experienced since Beijing, and 4 nights here with not much in the way of tourist sights to see, we bunkered down in our executive suite hotel room and recharged, ahead of our journey into deepest Central Asia. The executive suit came at no extra cost after Lo demanded we get a room that didn't smell of smoke. This suite still smelt a bit and despite it being a clearly signed non smoking room, it still had an ashtray either side of the bed and one in the bathroom.  But it was huge, so we took it.

The hotel £2 all you can eat breakfast buffet, was putting too much of a dent in our daily budget, so we had to turn it into a breakfast and a lunch buffet. Trick was to turn up just before it finished at 11, take our sweet time eating as many eggs boiled in tea (it's a thing in China) as we could stomach, and filling up a small bag of bread and jam spreads as we went up for seconds and thirds.

To the south of the city was the rather tacky looking, 1980's built grand bazaar. It was supposed to recreate the feel of the once bustling silk road markets that would have flourished here before the Chinese turned the city into a concrete jungle. A walk around the Bazaar felt more like a stroll around the elephant and castle shopping centre, but without the DVD sellers (which is quite ironic) and instead, sacks of spices and nuts for sale.

Some great food is to be had around the side streets of the bazaar. We tried our first plate of 'pollo' (mutton and rice) an Uyghur staple, and a decent pot of tea to wash it down. The most common food stall's here serve the famous naan like bread.  Large furnace ovens are constantly churning them out, and they are delicious plain (great for dipping in yogurt), with almonds and red beans, or sweeter ones with raisins and sugar inside.

The regional museum killed an hour, the walk up to it about 2 hours. Urumqi is probably the most unfriendly city for pedestrians I have ever been to. Gridlocked, six lane highways everywhere, pavements often disappear without warning or are turned into car parks, pedestrian crossing lights often don't work, and some of the most bizarre raised walkway constructs you will see in a 21st century city. The people's park and hongshan park are the only escapes from the chaos. 

We boarded the Saturday night K9595 train from Urumqi South bound for the Khazakstan border and eventually, after 33 hours, we would arrive Almaty.