Down and Out in Xingbake

The above picture could probably be reused for literally every day on my calendar when I have some amount of free time. Well, those days where I actually get out of my bed and make an attempt at productivity.

Today was one of those days! China has a prominent lack of any cozy cafe's, at least in the vicinity of my apartment, so I usually just go to the nearest Starbucks (Xingbake in Chinese - darned site won't let me use characters) to study, read, write, indulge my recent obsession for Mochas and just unwind in general. I have one of my major exams as soon as I get back to class after the (Chinese) New Year break. I balanced a few hours of study with a few hours of getting stuck into the end of Orwell's Down and Out in Paris and London. I've been chipping away at that novel for a while, mostly because I have been either too busy or restless to just sit down and set my mind to reading more than a few pages at a time. Only another few chapters left though. Fantastic book, I think it struck a special rapport with me because of the recent loss of my ATM card. This left me on a very tight budget and with Chinese New Year delaying pretty much all the post, predicting the arrival of my new card is rather difficult... And my funds are running out.
Soon I will be able to attempt my own Chinese account of Orwell's book!
Slight exaggeration on my part... :)