L-dopa

Here comes the science

I'm increasing the level of dopamine (the gunk that gives you pleasure and motivates you) in my brain right now by having a bottle of fine Belgian beer called Duvel. It's kind of gross because it has 8.5% alcohol. After doing some research I've decided that my brain doesn't create or pick up enough dopamine, so I compensate by eating too much or by drinking DC, which is a source of phenylalanine (which either turns into dopamine or causes more to be released or something).

Obese people have fewer dopamine receptors. That might be why they overeat -- to make up for it, since eating will give you some dopa-pleasure. Exercise can also increase the amount of dopamine released and/or the number of receptors.

I guess what this all amounts to is that a) you should exercise if you're fat and b) alcohol is a pleasurable thing to drink.

Here comes the ladybar

Last weekend a couple of coworkers and I decided to check out one of the bar districts of the 'jing, and I don't know where we went wrong but it was a bad scene. We wanted some action, but it was mainly quiet bars with people listening to bad singers playing guitar. So after a while we thought we'd cave in and head to a ladybar.

We didn't know what a ladybar is. The bars hire girls to follow guys around and lead them in, so we let them lead us down a dark street and into one.

I assumed it would be a strip club, and even though I find them kind of yucky and uncomfortable, I figured it would at least be something interesting to do. I was wrong. The first thing you do after sitting down is choose from a line of ladies. I kind of wanted to get out, but the two other guys chose their ladies and so I did too.

This story kind of gets boring from here on out -- you know me, it's not going to go anywhere naughty. The ladies sat up against us, we had reasonably-priced beer, we were forced to buy the ladies unreasonably-priced drinks (which smelled very unalcoholic), and there was a big communication gap. I treated my lady to all the Chinese that I know ("I like to read!" and other useful phrases) and she treated me to all the Chinese that she knows, which is a lot.

Hi.

Ginger beef

I don't know how they block sites, but there's a way around it. I haven't tried it yet. And, if the gov't is reading: I WILL NEVER TRY IT.

This Chinese version of blogger won't let me upload pictures. I'll have to link to one:

bugs

I saw those bugs for sale at a food market on Saturday night. There were a hundred stalls of food. I'm pretty lucky I didn't become a Yes Man when I got to China, because the guy I was with suggested that he'd eat a scorpion if I ate a cricket. Then again... that's a good trade-off. What was I thinking? Poor little baby can't handle a little cricket in trade for watching a coworker eat a scorpion?

Anyway, I really like it here. Good place.