do i look russian to you?

[amw]

I had a really shit week at work. I will never understand people who have no interest in improving either the efficiency or the quality of their output. Like, why even bother working in the first place if you're just going to do a shit job? I'd rather have a dozen motivated staff with no technical background at all than a handful of so-called

Comments

[benicek]

You look as English as salt & vinegar crisps.

[amw]

I remember growing up in New Zealand and continental Europe I was in a bind - although I was clearly pastier and weedier than most of my classmates, I also was always outshone on that front by Britisher Brits than myself. I specifically remember one Scottish girl with porcelain skin that left me realizing I would never be the prime physical specimen of Britishness. It's haunted me my whole life.

Well, not really. I would like some salt and vinegar crisps now, though.

[meowmensteen]

I need to go back and read some of your old entries. I looked way back (because of my recent post) to where you were in Australia and hated it, but I still need to learn about what brought you to China.

[amw]

Ugh, yes, my 20s were hideous. I went through a lot of personal crises around mental health, relationships and gender dysphoria. I think there are probably a few entries back then where I expressed myself well, but there were a lot more where i was just angry and bitter and confused.

I would venture to say the turning point came when i stopped all the medication - both for bipolar disorder and hormone replacement - and separated from my (then) wife. That was around 2013ish, i think. Since then i have been single and happy and enjoying my life on my own terms.

How did i end up coming to China? I'm not really sure. I always liked Chinese food, and i am fascinated by the urbanization happening here, but i didn't really have a plan to end up living here. I left my previous home in Germany just over a year ago, in March 2017. The travel blogging starts March 31. That might be a fun place to start.

[king_of_apathy]

I was asked if i was Russian on the weekend, but that's the first time it's ever happened! I read a good book on the Columbian Exchange, '1493' by Charles. C. Mann. It may be down your street.