Monday morning. Here I am, doing my usual routine. Having a coffee and lecturing the cat about why he shouldn’t be jumping up onto the balcony railing.

He doesn’t give a fuck. He’s a cat. He’s just like, “Look, Ma, I can balance!” And I’m just standing there having a heart attack as I envision him smashing into the ground. Then I have to remind myself we’re only on the second floor, and there’s lot of grass, so he has a pretty decent shot at landing on his feet and walking away unscathed. Still, I would prefer to just not have any kind of anxiety attack at all while the sun is still rising over the hill.

I will miss him so much when I’m gone. He’s been my emotional support kitty since I came back from NY in 2020. I know I can trust my brother to take care of him since they have a bond, but still. This cat has helped me through so much. He doesn’t love cuddling, but he cuddles me when I cry, which is a lot. He’s also fun to play with. I’m always designing new games for him and building him new forts out of boxes and creating dark hiding spots in the closet. He’s my best friend. I am closer to this cat than I am to most people. I love him. <3

Not quite ready to turn on the news yet. Still enjoying the peaceful silence of the morning. It’s definitely become my favourite part of the day.

Spent the day yesterday down a YouTube rabbit hole. I discovered CNA, which is a news network based in Singapore. They had TONS of recent, up-to-date videos about the situation in post-pandemic China and Hong Kong. I spent about half the day watching various programs to help myself get a better understanding of what’s going on. I’ve only scratched the surface, but I had to start somewhere.

I watched a lot of different stuff ranging from HK-China political relations, a whole feature on the “Greater Bay Area,” and quite a few features on Gen-Z and the youths. They talked quite a bit about the concept of “Lying Flat,” which is not working in a traditional way because you don’t gain anything from doing so (HELLO! SO ME!), as well as the term “Slasher,” which I had never heard prior.

A Slasher is a person with multiple jobs/income streams. So that means I am a Writer (excuse me, “Content Creator”)/English Teacher/Yoga Instructor. And here I was so worried about fitting into Hong Kong! Turns out we have so much more in common than I thought! Same with the mainland youths. Young people seem to be having the same issues all across the world, regardless of government type, so it really makes me question all the garbage I’ve been taught even more than I already was.

It was also pretty interesting to see the plan for absorbing Hong Kong into the Greater Bay Area. China definitely has a vision there. I don’t have an opinion about that either way. I just know it was interesting to see the focus on the future instead of listening to old rich white people lament the loss of yet another former colony. Oh boo hoo, you don’t have the biggest naval power in the world and can’t indiscriminently oppress people anymore, get over it. Signed, an American who also isn’t the biggest fan of the British for obvious reasons. *shrugs*

Overall, what I’ve learned is that it’s best to just sit back, watch, and learn. It’s even better to just not have any kind of opinion about China, good or bad. Just sit there and watch what happens live without saying a goddamn word about it.

Just in case they’re already watching me, which is likely, I’m just here to clarify that I have no opinions about China. None. I am here to learn and enjoy this unique opportunity for a cultural exchange. Zero opinions. Positive, negative, neutral. Yeah, I honestly have none. And really, who I am to judge? I’m American. Shit is so fucked here. I’m not about to hold anyone else to any kind of standard when I am actively avoiding the news at this very moment because I truly struggle with watching that flaming dumpster fire live on TV.

Just like I have no opinions about Dubai. “It was built with slavery!” Literally, so was the United States. LITERALLY!!!!! As well as the Pyramids in Egypt! And all of the temples scattered across places like Greece, Turkey, and the artist formally known as Rome. Also, pretty much all of South America as we know it today. And parts of Europe as well. They also were really into the slaves building infrastructure thing, especially the Portuguese!

And you know what? It’s not okay. It’s not okay! It’s not okay for anyone to be a slave or have slaves or use slave labor, but I’m not going to pretend that my country is better when it’s CLEARLY not. Obviously I’m not okay with slavery, but again, I have the opportunity to visit this city where I can learn so much about the world that I’ve never been told.

I just don’t want to be lectured about “supporting slavery” by people who still eat fish. Do you actually know where your shrimp is coming from? Because guess what? There are slaves on Bubba’s Shrimp Boat! And you’re supporting that by continuing to consume fish. In fact, you’re not only supporting slavery, but also the genocide against the natural world, in particular ocean life.

Oh, and I see you’re buying clothes from SHEIN and H&M! Well, I have some even worse news for you about where your clothing comes from. Guess what? It’s all slave labor too! Oh, and just wait until you find out the truth about where your iPhones and computers come from, and what happens to them when you throw them away. Do you think they just disappear into a void? Because they don’t. And they aren’t created in a void either. Guess who’s mining all those rare earth minerals they’re using to create these objects. I’ll give you one guess! That’s right! The answer is slaves. Again. Surprise ending.

Do you ever think about that? No. You only think about yourself. That’s the real problem here. Are you ready for that reality check, or are you going to stand there and continue lecturing me because I booked a 3-day stopover tour of a major international city? Yeah, keep pretending to be outraged at me so you can keep living your own cushy lifestyle that was literally built on slave labor and pretend people like me are the problem with society. That way, you don’t have to change AND you get to pat yourself on the back for pretending to care about human rights.

So again, just want to reiterate that none of this okay. But I’m not gonna sit here and stay in my little internet bubble in the middle of nowhere and refuse to leave just so I can boycott everything and accomplish nothing.

I’ve actually been somewhat shocked by the amount of hatred I’ve encountered on Reddit towards Dubai. Same with India. With India, Reddit is like, “You’re going to get gang-raped as soon as you step off the plane!” Not my experience, but thanks for the warning, I guess.

With Dubai, Reddit’s take is, “You’re going to get pooped on by some rich guy as soon as you get off the plane!” That also seems pretty unlikely, but I guess I know now what kind of things those commentators get up to in their free time. Personally, I feel like there would be some red flags appearing along the way before the poop situation occurs, so, that’s not exactly a concern for me at this time.

Honestly, that whole situation just sounds increasingly more ridiculous and racist the more I go over it in my head. I just find it hard to believe that I’m gonna be walking around the beach and some dude in the full Emirati ‘fit is gonna look at me and think, “I got big plans for this chick today!” And then snatch me so he can take me home and poop on me? Like, what? That’s a racist cartoon character, bro. What even is reddit sometimes? Seriously.

Rest assured, fam, I don’t do yacht parties (been there, done that, snooze fest!), and I don’t do open water, so that’s pretty much step one for not getting trafficked in a foreign country with questionable laws towards women.

Ugh, have you ever been to a yacht party? Ugh. It’s like being trapped with all the thirstiest, most desperate social climbers you’ll ever meet with no escape for several hours. And like, most of the time, the food is not even worth it. So, no thanks, not for me. I prefer to sit in the harbor and watch the boats sail by from a comfortable distance. Just saying.

If anyone needs me while in Dubai, I’ll be shopping at the massive indoor mall complex with my own money that I did not acquire from sex work. We could talk all day about how the majority of “sex work” across the globe is literal, actual slavery, but hey, who wants to interrupt the “Empowerment” lecture from the same person who is apparently so concerned about modern slavery in Dubai? Exactly.

Talk to me when you do more with your life besides masturbate on camera for total strangers from the comfort of your parents’ McMansion in a gated community. In the meantime, I will be judging. I will! Because I know for a fact the little children who get sold into brothels in Thailand are not “empowered,” and neither are the adults still trapped there to this day.

Yes, sex work is such a fun and “empowering choice” for women… until you get stuck on a boat with some creep who wants to poop on you. Then you realize why sex work was demonized by society in the first place. It’s not a glamorous job. This yacht ride isn’t free. And isn’t that what this scary story is really about in the end?

Do you ever think about any of that? No. Because you only think about yourself, and that’s the problem.

This is why I like my cat more than I like most people… Even if he does still eat fish. He’s definitely in on the Seaspiracy, for sure. He knows it too.

So much to say today. This is just my random stream of consciousness as a person with no one to converse with. I just spend all day, every day, doing endless amounts of research and learning new things about the world and nobody cares. Nobody gives a fuck! Nobody wants to have a real conversation. They just want to talk shit about every single person they know, tear others down, then go home and post dumb memes about how happy they are they canceled all their plans to hang out with the same people they hate. Over it!

I believe this is what Chris Rock refers to as “Selective Outrage.” People who are so passionately angry about one issue, fail to see how it connects to all these other issues, and then nothing changes or gets accomplished because people are just standing around screaming into their own echo chambers 24/7. Welcome to America!

When I go over this post again, I can totally understand how I came to “Lie Flat” for so long. I just felt so helpless and powerless to change the world. I still do, and in general, I mostly am. I am just one little fish in an entire chain of Seaspiracies. What can I actually do to help the world?

I don’t have the answer to that, but I’m going to start by leaving my country behind and going to all these places that have been demonized and vilified in the media for most of my life. I’m going to meet new people and try to forge new connections. Frankly, I’m just not interested in what makes us different anymore. I want to know what makes us all the same.

I’m so excited for my great adventure across the world. I have this beautiful memory from when I was a child of laying in bed listening to my 1001 Arabian Nights audiobook tape over and over and over again. I would get lost in my imagination, dreaming that I was a princess traveling by caravan across the desert, through the mountain pass, and into a whole new world I could only ever dream of.

Now I’m doing it. I’m really doing it. I’m finally going to Xanadu!

I don’t feel sorry for me at all. I just wish my family felt the same.

Alas!

Time to watch the news now. Let’s see what I learn and discover about the world today!