Happy Mid-Autumn Festival! Got the moon cakes!

Feeling better! Maybe it’s my only fan?!

My breakfast place is STILL CLOSED! WTF happened?

Video editing getting done, should I move this podcast onto video?

New Chinese class! How was it? Talked about eating pig’s ears.

And, Steve, have you seen any changes in the neighbourhood?

-“Older” lady who worked at April Gourmet no longer there.

-Cass beer no longer available

-Workers aren’t using the bicycles in the morning… though maybe I’m leaving at different times.

-Lots of the shops by DaoXiangCun are empty

-I’m told there are more foreigners at The Local… but I wouldn’t know cause I never go there.

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中秋快乐！

00:00 Mid Autumn Greetings

00:29 Restarting Life Beijing

01:29 Mooncakes Festival Plans

03:57 Editing Day Indoors

06:31 Teaching Schedule Check

10:15 Weather Air Health

16:19 Breakfast Shop Mystery

18:54 Neighborhood Shops Closing

29:22 Water Prices Food Costs

40:38 New Chinese Teacher

44:06 Automation Video Podcast

44:48 Wrap Up Links Thanks

Hey we got rain! Probably the last for a while! Why haven’t the leaves turned colour yet?

Up and out early to… study Chinese? Practicing Chinese writing once again! Gotta get into the habit! Last Chinese class today with one of my teachers, but signed up with another one AND… another language? Why?

Out to the gym for deadlifts then back to the apartment to run on the treadmill! Steve, is that the one you’re trying to get rid of? YES!

Video editing started! Gotta get this done!

And what am I reading now? American Gods by Neil Gaiman, a very easy read!

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Hope you have a great one!!

00:00 Morning Routine Reset

00:31 Back in Beijing Blues

03:36 Calendar Chaos and Classes

05:18 Italki Language Strategy

09:12 Teaching Talk and Barriers

14:05 Mid Autumn Mooncake Chat

19:25 HSK Goals and Auditing

25:04 New Teachers and Russian

30:59 Gym Plan and Murph Debate

33:57 Treadmill Running and AQI

36:24 Editing and Social Uploads

41:16 Reading List and Wrap Up

44:41 Outro and Links

It’s the weekend! No work tomorrow, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday! Two classes next week!

Up and out for a workout this morning, feeling alright, mostly back workout today. No run yet.

Meetings all day and it seems like a better idea than classes… but, it’s more work. How much do I have to carry the conversation and listen to the same responses?

And, many plans for the upcoming holiday? Other than video editing, maybe get back into doing some AI building?!

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Hope you have a great one!!

00:00 Weekend Kickoff

00:33 Back in Beijing

01:58 Mid Autumn Break

06:09 Holiday Plans

06:49 Editing Strategy

08:30 Podcast Rebrand

10:10 Language Learning Tools

11:20 Vlog vs Podcast Split

17:54 Beijing Staycation

19:04 Gym Routine Update

21:58 Coaching and Running

25:29 Office Hours Reality

28:04 Classroom Activities

34:06 Using AI for Essays

39:49 Student Nerves and IELTS

43:15 Wrap Up and Links

Too soon on the “I don’t hurt!” post-gym sesh! Owie!

Up and out for a run early this morning, and wondering how workouts actually change. Is it because you stop doing the things you don’t like? If you continue to work out for a while, then you start to add some variations and if you stop, you’re like, why am I doing this?

Thinking all these books… did some math on how much time I spend doing each thing each day and… not sure I’ll ever finish these books!

And hey, I found a rehearsal studio! I guess they always existed, but I’ve never used them. Should I pick up the sticks again??

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Hope you have a great one!!

00:00 Post Gym Reality Check

00:37 Why I Returned to Teaching

02:53 First Year Classroom Vibes

05:41 Speaking Exam Strategy

09:58 IELTS Memorize Debate

15:00 Sore Legs Morning Run

18:19 Supplements I Actually Use

21:22 How My Training Evolved

27:02 CrossFit Trends and Why

30:27 Book Math and Reading Goals

36:18 Time Budget Reality Check

37:33 Rehearsal Studio Drumming Return

43:52 Wrap Up and Links

I’ve been PSB’d! Passport gone until October 8th! Now the lovely yellow paper is all I got!

Class prep and podcasts, will they work?

Off to the gym and hitting 75 kgs on the bench! Could I bench my body weight? Squats lagging bigly.

Missed a Chinese class! And thinking… 1100 RMB for teaching an infant? Where do I sign up?!

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***

Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com

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Newsletter over at stevensirski.substack.com

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Hope you have a great start of week!

00:00 Passport Taken by PSB

00:35 Weekend Recap and Jet Lag

01:56 Visa Questions and PSB Visit

04:43 How China Visa Transfers Work

07:37 Yellow Paper Travel Limits

10:16 Reworking the Language Log

22:03 Missed Chinese Class and Meetings

26:40 1100 RMB Infant Teaching Offer

34:02 Back to the Gym Bench Goals

45:58 Wrap Up and Links

New donation! Thank you! Join the club! Paypal link in the show notes!

First week done and it already feels like it’s going faster! Gotta keep the students speaking! So far, so good!

Evening orientation for the newbies: don’t talk sht about sht!

Up and out this morning for a workout, deadlifts, pull ups and upper body. When can I get my run in?

And Beijing has banned drones! Like, even having them in the city!

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***

Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com

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Newsletter over at stevensirski.substack.com

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Hope you have a good weekend!

00:00 Quick Housekeeping

00:40 Back in Beijing

01:29 Orientation Rules

02:55 Strikes and Penalties

07:20 Classroom Surveillance

09:19 Learning Student Names

11:07 Course Setup Sustainability

15:40 AI and Office Hours

20:08 Holidays and Scheduling

23:35 Donations and Production

27:50 Gym and Fitness Plans

32:48 Beijing Drone Ban

37:04 Wrap Up and Links

And how’s the food at the new uni??

How about this: we record right now so we don’t have to fight through the jet lag?

Fell asleep right after recording yesterday’s episode and up at… 2 am again! Never did eat my guobaoriu!

Finished The Stand! Finally! Looking at the condition of the book, looks like I should just get rid of it. What’s next?

How were those books for the gf? Can she read them? Yes… but understanding is still a bit difficult.

Got a new APP to read Chinese books… reader-made, not professional.

And doing some calculations on the life of an expat… how long and where do you end up?

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***

Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com

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Newsletter over at stevensirski.substack.com

Language vlog on http://www.youtube.com/@stevenslanguagevlog

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Hope you have a great one!!

00:00 Early Recording Plans

00:37 Beijing Expat Update

00:50 Teaching Schedule Breakdown

01:55 Course Prep Confusion

02:34 Office Hours Frustrations

05:12 Tomorrow Class Activities

06:48 Jet Lag Battles

10:19 Chinese Class Complaints

12:21 HSK 5 Semester Goal

15:02 Course Goals And Exams

21:52 Language Log Season Plan

23:27 Finishing The Stand

26:18 Books And Time Budget

28:49 Girlfriend Reading Practice

31:49 Tomato App For Chinese

35:09 Expat Life Calculations

37:55 China Visa Age Limits

42:37 Money And Content Real Estate

46:45 Final Thoughts And Outro

Quick! Record now before my food shows up and I fall asleep!

Jet lag strikes and up at 2 am! Went for a walk and no one was out.

Last first class done, now onto the second. Meetings a go go and what are the office hours really? And when is class prep or grading time? FREE apparently.

Off to the gym in the morning for the first workout in a very long time and then a run in the afternoon… now my chest hurts. It’s smoggy outside.

And did China steal the blueberry? I don’t often buy them here any more since they are kinda expensive, 25 RMB for a small clamshell box of them. Neat how they do the growing, however, in coconut fibre.

https://www.wsj.com/business/driscolls-berry-farms-china-competition-b0b49f04?mod=itp_wsj&mod=djemITP_h

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***

Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com

Transcript and more available on Google Drive: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1om1Geup1o6Adi-A8kTAnCf12Zo7nDkAt?usp=sharing

Newsletter over at stevensirski.substack.com

Language vlog on http://www.youtube.com/@stevenslanguagevlog

Google Stock Tracker Sheet

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Hope you have a great one!!

Better record this now because jet lag a startin’! How ya feeling? Yesterday’s episode was ROUGH!

Class is in! And how does it feel to be back? How are the students? What’s it like?

Learning some new APPs: Tencent Docs and WeChat groups, but much more freer than last year.

And are you seeing any changes? Not much… other than a new elevator and sign: don’t pee in the stairwell!

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***

Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com

Transcript and more available on Google Drive: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1om1Geup1o6Adi-A8kTAnCf12Zo7nDkAt?usp=sharing

Newsletter over at stevensirski.substack.com

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Hope you have a great start of semesters!

00:00 Back in Beijing Jet Lag

03:05 Flights Luggage and Winter Plans

04:57 First Day Teaching Again

07:15 Campus Commute and Facilities

14:38 Office Hours and Tracking

20:19 Assignments and AI Rules

23:44 Content Strategy Substack Shift

26:31 Student Boundaries and Participation

36:25 New Apps and Apartment Changes

41:12 Wrap Up and Links

Hello from Beijing! Back to the city and into my humble abode… again. Still.

How was the trip? How was the food? It was decent but has been better. Same with the snacks. No brownies this time. They seem to be giving free beer on domestic flights these days.

Watched Suits, Succession, and Narcos.

Are you a YouTuber?

And, do you like being back?

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***

Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com

Transcript and more available on Google Drive: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1om1Geup1o6Adi-A8kTAnCf12Zo7nDkAt?usp=sharing

Newsletter over at stevensirski.substack.com

Language vlog on http://www.youtube.com/@stevenslanguagevlog

Google Stock Tracker Sheet

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Hope you have a great one!!

00:00 Back in Beijing

00:38 Air Canada Flight Recap

01:54 Carry On Seat Drama

03:58 Souvenirs and Books

06:01 New Job Starts Tomorrow

07:51 Arrival Customs Tips

09:39 Canada to China Itinerary

11:28 Headache and Airport Shopping

14:26 In Flight Shows and Editing

17:24 Vlogging Without B Roll

22:02 Are You a YouTuber

30:58 Do I Like Being Back

38:42 Closing and Links