On the fourth day...

I've never been a Halloween kinda guy. I used to hate dressing up and going to themed parties. I used to hate the rigmarole of finding a costume, buying it, dressing in it and (often) being uncomfortable for hours on end. Part of it is just my general lack of planning and foresight, but it's also a question of sheer comfort. But since moving to China, it's been one of the things that has garnered greater and greater appeal as days have gone on. All western holidays here seem to have more impact, simply out of their tremendous novelty. So I embrace. I jump in. I participate. However, if you start playing Christmas music on November 1st, I will not speak to you. Too soon, friends. Too soon.

This year, I tagged along with a crew of the newbies and dressed up in the garb of Ryu, one of the old Street Fighter characters. Now, I have to get people to forgive my costume because it's not nearly as Ryu-esque as I wanted (a lack of planning contributed to this scenario), but it worked out in a pinch. Also, I apologize if the picture is grainy but you get the idea. The second pic is of me and the SF crew (with MJM jumping in). The best costumes of the night go to my friend AK (Poison Ivy), Cobra Kai (JM, KG, WS, and RS), Mugatu (CM's dude, Curt), Poison Ivy (MM), Freddy Mercury (LS) and the Crew of Dictators. You guys all inspire me. Next year, I'm on the ball!

Although it's almost time to sign off for the night, I'll hopefully share some funny stories stemming from the 60 or so narrative essays I'm marking tomorrow (along with another 60 over the weekend). For now, I'll leave you with the text from one of MJM's beauties. From the midterm exam we're currently grading...

"Drinking milk can grow us as strong as a beef.I like drink milk very much. The milk tast so wonderful. It's my favorite drink.When I was a little boy, I was very thin. I can't played b-ball. I can't played with other strong boys. I was very sad. I wanted to become stronger. My parents also worries about this question. One day, I had very serious fevers. I feeled so bad, I Didn't want to eat anything. Drink water is not very useful. I remember when I was born my mother always feed milk to me. Then my parents gave me a cup of hot milk. I had drank it, I feels more comfortable. After that, I always drink milk, twice a day. One day, I found that I had become stronger than before. I was very happy. I found a good way to achieved my dream. After two years I became stronger I can plan any thing with my classmates. If you have the same problem as me, please try this way.it will be very useful."

T