Why hi there, Internet!  It’s been a while since we last spoke, because I guess I was waiting on better news… or news about being gainfully employed and well and truly On My Feet.  But I guess I may never be well and truly On My Feet in this country, so now’s a good a time as any to catch you up on what I’ve been up to.

Since the last post, I’ve (obviously) moved back to America– Fayetteville, Arkansas, to be more precise.  We’ve rented a fantastic, huge house a block away from Dickson St (the local bar/restaurant/general social life scene in Fayetteville).  The rent is probably outside of our budget, but a fantastic price compared to what other houses are renting for in the area (fine, $675/month, if you really must know).  Here are some pictures from when we moved in.  The pictures are very disorienting, as, really, the house itself is.  It’s very much like House of Leaves with giant rooms in what would appear to be from the outside a too-small of a space; the inside all with strange turnings and hallways where you’d never expect them, and quite possibly a minotaur roaming around growling.  Now that it’s a bit more furnished, it’s not quite as weird and disorienting… most of the time.  Also, it really is covered in a forest on the outside which is great for insulation and privacy.  From our house, I’m less than two minutes walk from a liquor store, about 10 upscale restaurants, 30 Restaurants-I-Can-Afford-To-Eat-At, the Fayetteville Public Library (quite possibly the nicest public library in the world), 3 or 4 playhouses, a public park, the university, and about a hundred bars– 5 of which I would actually want to go to/would actually be able to afford (dollar beers, $2 shots type places), and all of which have pretty good live music every night.  Anyway, here are those pictures of the house I was talking about.

After renting our SWEEEEEEET house, Anne Gresham and I got married.  It was an awesome affair that took place in a cave/mansion.  But I’ll tell you more about the cave (think a hippie-tea conglomerate’s swinging pad/bomb shelter in the 60s) and especially the wedding in a (very near) future post.  For now I’ll just whet your appetite with a couple pictures of the cave and a picture of Jackson bearing our rings (unfortunately we did not have an actual Ring Bear, but Jackson was a phenomenal second choice).

(By the way, this AWESOME photo is courtesy of The Most Supreme Wedding Photographer Alanna Cauley)

We’ve done lots of other things I would have told you more about had I been posting.  Here’s a taste in no particular order:

We went swimming in the buffalo (you can tell it’s an underwater picture at the Buffalo and not the Philippines because the water is green)

We went to a magical, fun place called Bluebird of Happiness!

We went to a dark, scary, creepy place called The Precious Moments Chapel.

I made a lot of cakes since it’s easy to bake in America. This red velvet cake was made merely to commemorate our watching of the remake of Friday the 13th– we need little excuse to make a cake.

And I’ve been cooking a lot.  However, I must note that everything in this photo was made by Anne, who is an incredible chef.

So that about wraps it up.  America’s fun.  The internet is super fast here and not censored at all which still sometimes surprises me.  We have netflix and hulu where we can stream thousands and thousands of hours of tv (and which is maybe my favorite thing about living here). I can drive around– really anywhere– without having to inform the police of where I’m going or when I’ll be back.

Of course it’s not all great.  Things are stupidly expensive here.  I mean RIDICULOUSLY expensive.   For what I pay for one chicken breast here, I could buy 20 entire chickens in China.  I don’t know why I chose that example; it’s just the one that always hurts the most at the supermarket… and I eat a LOT of chicken.  I’m not nearly as employable here either.  Finding a job in the States SUCKS and has been one of the worst experiences of my life (though I AM working full-time freelance right now, which is taking the pressure off significantly) .  Being able to understand what every single person around you is saying is very much NOT a good thing.  And I miss the living hell out of my friends in China.

Overall, though, I’m doing very well, even if I’m very poor these days.  And you can probably actually expect to hear from me more often on this thing which is just absolutely fantastic for you!

Finally, a huge thanks to Anne for letting me raid her computer for pictures until I bring my computer up to date! All photos and photo editing was done (very well, I might add) by her.  Also, Anne Gresham, update your damned blog already. CHRIST.