This post is not about China

It's starting already. I decided to check out some of my favorite American stores online to see if I'm missing any good mall fashion while I'm away (answer: NOPE. Like, seriously Urban Outfitters, YUCK), and when I saw the ad "Sweater sale! Starting at 24.95!" I thought "They want almost 200 RMB for that?!" _{To put that in perspective, my dinner every night is usually about 10RMB, or less than 2USD}. Going back to America is going to hurt in many ways, and my wallet will be the most painful.

But I do need to buy some new clothes. In retrospect, bringing only five T-shirts and two hoodies to China was a poor choice. Also, I've been lamenting gaining weight over the past few months (too much rice + new medications?), but I had the revelation about a week ago that "Holy shit, my tits are huge." I need to work that shit!

In other news, I've been counting down to November 4th like it's Christmas. It's killing me that I'll be in stupid class when the results come in, not at Tufts with a bunch of fellow poli-sci nerds enthusiasts playing an electoral college drinking game. I mailed off my ballot last week, to the tune of about as much as those aforementioned sweaters, which I did not appreciate. I debated brielfy--I live in "Don't blame us, we didn't vote for Nixon" Massachusetts, my absentee ballot probably won't get there in time, and even if it does won't be counted. In the end, however, there was no way in hell I was sitting out my first presidential election or not taking the opportunity to squash my dad's redneck vote into oblivion, no matter what the cost.

Spending the fiercest months of the election year as far away from my dad as I can possibly go without leaving Earth was a better decision than I could have ever imagined. We'll leave it at that.

My mom asked me to start making my Christmas list today. I really have no idea what I want to ask for; every year my material demands decrease. Honestly, all I really want is a suitcase full of money so I can keep up this travelling thing I like so much.

HEY, a word to fellow blogging-abroad-ers: would you guys mind turning off your word verification for commenting? My internet connection here is shittacular, and the little box that shows the warped letters I'm supposed to type almost never show up, so I can't leave any comments. It's an easy fix--Settings>Comments>Turn off word verification.