Week 1
My reaction to the first day of "freedom" was unexpected. It was just another day. I didn't do anything crazy to celebrate, as everyone expected (for some weird reason). There was no alcohol and illicit drug binge, no orgy in my cramped apartment, and I didn't go out and trash a suburban neighborhood with a baseball bat and spray paint. I swiped out of the office as usual, caught a ride home with a friend, ate dinner, and went to bed. I slept 12 hours. Something I haven't done yet this year. In fact, I don't even remember the last time I had that luxury.
Interestingly enough, I didn't finish writing my book that first weekend either. This came as a surprise to some people who overestimated my superhuman writing powers.
"How's that writing going?"
"What're you doing today? Writing?"
"Why are you out? Shouldn't you be writing?"
"You finish your book yet?"
And yes, I assure you, I actually got that last line multiple times from very serious people. Now, I'm aware that folks are just being supportive, but who could possibly write a book in less than a week?!?!
Now I'm slowly honing the stock response for when people ask me, "so what's the book gonna be about?" I know you're dying to hear it, so here goes:
"It's about my travels in China thus far, excluding Shanghai, which will come later in another book."
Most responses I get fall into the introspective-nod-and-"iiiinnnnnnteresting" category, at which point I need to elaborate to try and hook in potential book buyers and future fans.
"Yeah, since I've been traveling since 2004, I'll chart a journey through all the provinces I've seen so far and try to impart some history and culture in an entertaining way. Most China-travel books are written from a pure foreigner perspective, mostly using China as fodder for jokes or fawning over modern China and how it's gonna rule the world, as if. I'll be able to offer a different perspective."
If the eyes don't dull over at that point, at least I succeeded in keeping that person in the conversation. This is actually harder than I thought. Selling myself, in a way, which has always been one of my more underdeveloped skills. I'm going to need to beef this up if I expect to self-publish, as I am planning.
If the eyes DO glaze over and said counterparty looks close to coma, I'll hit 'em with a "of course, if you buy the book, I'll autograph it too!" To which, 9 times out of 10, these comedians reply:
"What, you're not going to give it to me for free? You should give me a free copy! What's your name again?"
Silently, I curse them and remind myself not to include a personalized message in the autograph, instead providing only a signature. That'll teach them, the damned leeches.
Back to freedom. It's a tricky prospect. I've never been so free in my life. Ever. Unless you count the days when I was shoving toys up my nose and eating chopped up mush from a toddler bowl. Think about it. Even summer vacation ends after a couple months, and I'm looking at a very long haul. To be honest, this can actually get a bit boring.
In the first week, I met up with some friends during off-work hours (see: weekends and after 6pm), which I have recognized to be the only possible opportunities for socializing as long as I dwell outside the "normal" job market. Conversation is noticeably slimmer:
Poor working Joe: "So, what'd you do today?"
Lucky little me: "Uh, not work?"
Social activities have become solo activities. I went to see a movie alone, a luxury I'm only now starting to appreciate. Spent some time wandering around Shanghai at a slower pace. Quiet coffees by myself. For someone so talkative and social, it is actually a refreshing change of perspective.
It is OK to be quiet. It is OK to simply do nothing.
This is blowing my mind.
Also, in another hit to the activities of social animals, I avoid shopping now that a budget must be observed. It's actually a good thing, since I don't need to dress up for work anymore, I can wear whatever the fuck I want, like the good old days. Some splurge purchases from years ago can finally see the light of day, now that I don't need to worry about how I look in the office.
Likewise, I can no longer go out and drop hundreds of rmb on deluxe dinners anymore either. Which may help the waistline. So far, this has been the biggest change in my life.
Food.
On a normal office working day, consumption of foodstuffs occurred as follows:
Breakfast - yogurt, digestive biscuits, soy milk (optional)
Coffee
Lunch - either a fresh sandwich with salad or chips OR a bowl of noodles
Coffee
Afternoon tea - junk food snacks from the convenience store
Dinner - either eating out with multiple courses and beer/wine OR a quick meal at home with dumplings, pasta or pizza
As you can see, nothing too gluttonous or disgusting, but hardly a controlled diet.
These days, eating consists of the following:
Breakfast - plain oatmeal with cranberries, raisins & brown sugar; French-press coffee with low-fat milk and brown sugar; digestive biscuits
Lunch - sandwich (PB&J or grilled cheese), plain yogurt, green tea, orange juice
Afternoon starvation blocker - granola bar, citron/pomelo tea
Dinner - if I don't go out for a cheapo meal, either dumplings, pasta, cereal and toast, or pizza (as you can see, not much has changed here)
Without too much activity during the day, I don't get hungry as much. And when I get in the zone, sometimes I forget to eat (I know, save the lectures).
In the first week, it took some time to get into the swing of things. A typical day would transpire as follows:
1. Wake up
2. Actually get out of bed (time range from "immediately" to "four hours later")
3. Throw on a hoodie and stumble to the toilet
4. Turn on computer and heaters
5. Boil water
6. Breakfast
7. Waste time on internet
8. Alternate with spats of inspired writing
9. Eat Lunch (or, if I forgot, eat Dinner)
10. Waste more time on the internet
As you can see, this schedule sucks. The amount of wasted time made me want to kill something. Even though I got rid of my television to reduce temptation and the chances of brain off-time, the Internet is still the devil. Let's not forget the ease with which we can download whatever viewing materials we want now. The ditching of the TV seems to be purely symbolic at this point, though it did free up a quarter of my living room, which is now my "office" space.
This shitty schedule lasted a week before I got so frustrated that I had to restructure. Re. Structure. Precisely what I was missing: structure. Even though I was writing, there was too much wasted time in between. And there's nothing I despise more than waking up and going to bed in the same clothes without realizing a whole day has passed. It's just disgusting and too lethargic for me. I needed a change.
Week 2
After week 1's "getting to know you" phase was finished, I capped it off with a weekend of revelry and gluttony. But as my pals returned to work on Monday, I too cracked down.
1. Wake up before 10am (this was all I could negotiate with myself)
2. Get dressed (you'll be surprised how much this single action can affect the mentality of an entire day, as you are making a statement to yourself that you are getting prepared for something other than being a lazy fuck.)
3. Brush teeth (again, scheduling and routine are important, just ask my bowels, which have been sent into a tailspin without my beloved corner stall in the office)
4. Turn on computer and heaters
5. Boil water
6. Breakfast
7. Read morning news while eating (routine, routine, routine)
8. Tackle a chunk of writing, whether it is something simple (like this) or a larger project (like a travelogue or pieces of Book 1)
9. Eat lunch and take a mental break (Dexter and Sopranos have been helping me here)
10. Back to the writing, catching the late afternoon wave of inspiration that usually hits me about 5pm
11. Dinner
12. Whatever (shower maybe?)
Again, this is for a regular day when I don't have any real plans. So far, it is working better than the joke that was week 1.
Planting the seeds of my empire, I've set up a "professional" blog that will be strictly for travel and the activities associated with it (see: eating, exploring, jumping), which I hope can slowly start to get people interested in my writing. I also finally got onto Twitter (for me and for food) and Last.fm. Better late than never.
As the weeks carry on, I'm sure there will be other tweaks and changes to the routine. Money will slowly disappear and I'll need to start exercising to combat sitting in a chair for the bulk of the day. It's all a process that I'll slowly get the hang of, while I stave off disease and malnutrition.
To increase productivity, I stopped shaving, so that should free up about 5 hours per year (given that I used to shave three times a week for about 2 minutes per shave on average, resulting in 6 min per week, 52 weeks in a year). That means, if my calculations are correct, I should have some semblance of facial hair growth within 7 months. If I'm lucky. Combined with my projected weight loss, I should be as fit as Christian Bale's Machinist in no time.
He is Batman, you know.Sticking to my plans, 2010 should be a very interesting year.
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