Chantal Cheri's Blog

I do not do drugs so 4/20 really has no significant meaning to me.  So when I got my tickets to see Rammstein on April 20th it never occured to me that I was basically agreeing to lock myself inside an arena with 40,000 people on International Smoke Day.  It was not until I called my friend Big V to tag along with me that she pointed out the date.  We both thought what the hell, we haven't been to a real big production rock show since Marilyn Manson.  Yeah, old Manson not new Manson.  Go ahead and date me for that one.  Oh and yes I know April was almost four months ago but hey, I am still doing better than my brother.  I am sure he will be calling to wish me a Happy Birthday any day now.....my birthday was in January.  

 

Anyways, Big V and I entered the arena around 8:30pm.  We are late to everything.....EVERYTHING!!!!  After going through the 5 security checks we enter the walking area that circled the arena.  It was there that this little German man approached us.  No, I am not just guessing he was German, I know for a fact he was German.  He had a German accent and was from Berlin.  I politely asked his Country of Origin, thank you.  And he was littlle to me because I am 5'8" without shoes and I was wearing 7" high heeled boots.  You do the math.  He said to us, "hello, I am with the Rammstein (showed his pass) and we are having an after party after the show.  Would you like to come?"  Big V looked at me.  I played cool and said, "sure."  What was I going to say?  NOOOOO!!  Hell no!!  When you get invited to party with Rammstein, you party with Rammstein.  I don't care if you left your baby in the car with the windows up.  

 

So, he put after party wristbands on us and led us down to enjoy the show.

 

Rammstein did not disappoint and it was quite possibly the best concert I have ever been to.  They put on a full production and it was worth every penny to see them.  Here are some shots.  

After the show we went to go wait in Section 104.  Supposedly that's where we were going to be picked up and taken to the afterparty.  Let me just say that at this point I felt like my face had melted off.  The pyro was so intense that it literally felt like I was on fire and I wasn't even in the front row of the show.  I was towards the back of the floor as I have been warned by my friend who have seen them in the past.  

While walking over to Section 104 I ran into my homegirl RubberDoll.   In case you don't know, she is kind of a big deal in the fetish world and we will leave it at that.  We are both Cuban girls living in South Florida that like latex.  TWINSIES!!    

 

LOOK AT MY BANGS!!!!  They were so perfect when I got there....then, hell on Earth happened and foreheads got real moist.  


Anyways, Big V and I went backstage with RubberDoll and some other people.  We were told on the way to the party room to please not take any photos or video.  Basically that was code for "If you take photos or video we will kick you the f*ck out!"  Germans are way too polite.  They should know Americans need to be talked to rough to get it through their heads because sure enough people tried taking photos and they were kicked out.  I did sneak and take a video but I cannot and will not share that: one I don't want to be sued and two, someone on there is an educational provider to the youth of America and might lose their job.   No, I am not the one in risk of being fired.  I am sure I would be fired faster for the things I've written then for what's on that video.  Anyways, the best way to describe the party is as an 80s German Disco.  

 

Overall my 4/20 was great and I would like to give a shoutout to these dudes for being so bombed during the show that they provided the best display of Bromance on the planet.  

 

 

 

 

@Chantalcheri
INSTAGRAM: CHANTALCHERI 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First, yes I am alive and sorry I've been moving.  The End.  

 

Now, in case you have been busy or just do not read the news here it goes:

Chick-Fil-A President Dan Cathy gave an interview to the Baptist Press and addressed the issue of same-sex marriage:

 

Some have opposed the company's support of the traditional family. "Well, guilty as charged," said Cathy when asked about the company's position.

"We are very much supportive of the family -- the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that.

"We operate as a family business ... our restaurants are typically led by families; some are single. We want to do anything we possibly can to strengthen families. We are very much committed to that," Cathy emphasized.

"We intend to stay the course," he said. "We know that it might not be popular with everyone, but thank the Lord, we live in a country where we can share our values and operate on biblical principles."

 

So glad to know he is still on wife number one.  I feel so much more comfortable ordering a heart attack on a bun from them then those adulterers at McDonald's!  Don't even get me started on the family unit at Burger King.  

 

Anyways, since Chick-Fil-A is ran by the single most intelligent force in business suits since AIG, Dan Cathy was once again allowed to speak in public but this time on the Ken Coleman radio show.  He had the following gems to share:

 

“I think we are inviting God’s judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at him and say, ‘We know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage,’” said Cathy.

“I pray God’s mercy on our generation that has such a prideful, arrogant attitude to think that we would have the audacity to try to redefine what marriage is all about,” he added.

 

Well, much to no surprise this has only led to a massive backlash against Chick-Fil-A.  

 

The Mayor of Boston, Thomas Menino, sent this letter to Mr. Cathy:

 

The city of Chicago joined Boston when Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel pledged to block Chick-Fil-A from operating in his city.  

 

 

I guess this poses an important question:Should a company be punished for its President's opinions?

 

 

As an educated consumer I have known for years that Chick-Fil-A donates money to anti-gay organizations and for that reason I won't buy anything from them.  I don't support hate, whether it is being served on a tray with a smile or at the end of a barrell of a gun.  Hate is hate no matter how you serve it up!!!

 

@ChantalCheri

 

INSTAGRAM: CHANTALCHERI

 

So my good friend Bobby Schubenski (Suffer Well bassist and Combichrist drum tech) has been hard at work on a brand new clothing line Rusted Horse.  Tomorrow at 1pm EST his online store will officially be up and running, but for for now, Rusted Horse's Facebook page is up and running so be sure to head over and "like" the page.  You will also get a chance to check out some sample designs and shirts before the store opens to the public.  

@Chantalcheri

Lacey Conner is quite possibly most famous for appearance on the first season of the VH1 show Rock of Love with Bret Michaels.  Just in case you don't remember Lacey here are some videos to help the memory cells:

Now that your memory is refreshed check out Lacey's new music video for her song "The Stranger".  Normally I would not be bothered, however, Trevor Friedrich (Combichrist/Imperative Reaction) is in this video and well you all know by now that he's legit. 

Not quite sure how I feel about the song but it may have potential to grow on me.  Any thoughts?  

@Chantalcheri

Zhuo Danting is an amazing tattoo artist from China that has been featured in countless magazines, news reports, etc,.  She is origianlly from Harbin (home to the Ice Festival) but now currently resides in Shanghai.  I have been following her work for about two years now and jumped at the oppurtunity to have a portrait/the greatest tattoo on the face of the planet done by her.  

Anyways, it has been a long time coming but check out her new commercial for ADIDAS Originals in China.  Wish I could embed the video but Vimeo is not supported on here so please click the link and check it out.  

To learn more about Zhuo Danting you can read this awesome piece that CNN did last Spring.

@Chantalcheri

So, I have returned from my epic journey through China.  You know if someone would have told me when I was a child that I would someday live in China I probably would have had no clue where the hell they were talking about. All I can say is that it was quite possibly the best thing I have ever done in my life.  I won’t say it is the best thing I will ever do because who knows what tomorrow may bring, but, for now China holds the top spot in my heart.  For those that don’t know here is a brief (but not so brief) reflection of my journey.

It all started a year and a half ago when I was informed that I needed to meet my foreign language requirement at my university.  I lived in South and Central America most of my life and took 6 years of Spanish and judging by my current level of Spanglish I knew Spanish was a waste of my time.  For a long time I have always wanted to travel to Tokyo so I thought to myself, “I’ll take Japanese!”  Unfortunately, beginning Japanese was already full.  Well, I wasn’t going to take Italian because look at how well I did in Spanish.  I kept going down the list and French just seems too romantic for my taste.  But then, I came across beginning Chinese.  I contemplated taking the course for three weeks.  I signed up last minute and filled the final spot left in the class.  I went into the class thinking I would just take two semesters, fulfill my foreign language requirement, and then move on with my life.  I never, in my wildest dreams, would of guessed that this class, this class alone would change my life. 

I remember entering the classroom on the first day and there were only fourteen of us in the class.  I sat next to this girl Debbie, who turned to me and said, “I have no clue what the hell Chinese sounds like but here I go!”  Debbie and I were partners the whole semester and at the end of the semester she loudly proclaimed, “I HATE CHINESE!”  That was the last I saw of Debbie.  The second semester of Chinese things started clicking for me.  I realized if I wanted to actually carry on a conversation I was going to have to bust my ass.  I don’t care if it met not spending nights out and literally staring at index cards with characters on it for countless hours.  Then, it came time to register for my final semester.  I wanted to move up and take intermediate Chinese with my eyes set on a certification in Asian Studies.  Then, I noticed that the professor of Chinese history was no longer going to be teaching at my university and everything I had been working towards was lost.  My Chinese language professor suggested studying abroad to me.  Studying abroad?  Ugh, I wanted to go to China but on my own terms.  I was worried that I was going to end up in some study abroad program that would later become my greatest regret.  Of course since I can’t get money for anything I really had to think this massive expense over.  I finally agreed to do it after about two months of sitting on a pile of packets. 

The next couple of months were a complete headache.  The study abroad office at my school was/is worthless and failed to mention some important things to me, which caused me to have to run out of my way to get things done (and large overnighting fees).  Time seemed to move slow back then but all of sudden August came around and the next thing you know I am packing up my life into a suitcase to go to a country that I had only ever read about.  I booked my flight through Orbitz (as requested by the program) and I will never book anything through them ever again.  They switched my itinerary and then failed to reissue the ticket leaving me stranded at the Delta counter with no connecting flight from Atlanta to New York.  What the hell???  The Orbitz customer service rep had no clue about anything and honestly it’s not his fault.  He probably gets paid slightly above minimum wage and sits in a cubicle all day listening to people complain about Orbitz’s constant failing while the CEO sits in his fancy office with a view dreaming about his next golf game. 

After much delay I ended up getting a flight out of Fort Lauderdale and just when the day can’t get any better (sarcasm) my flight lands in New York at the exact moment an earthquake hits the area.  After much annoyance I make it to the international terminal and found myself contemplating once again if this was a good idea.  All signs so far point to “NO”.  I am sure if I had a magic eight ball and asked it if going to China was good idea that thing would pop up with, “HEEEELLLLLL NOOOOOO.”  I boarded the 18-hour flight from New York to Shanghai and couldn’t sleep.  My mind refused to shut down.  I thought about my parents, my dog, my home, and all that I would miss by being in China.  Everything was about what I would miss.  I even told myself, “I can’t believe I am going to China instead of seeing Imperative Reaction.”  Never once did I think about all that I was going to gain from this trip.

Eventually I arrived in Shanghai and caught my connector to Nanjing.  At that point my Chinese was nowhere as good as I had once perceived it to be, so I could not communicate with anyone.  I would literally say things and they would all just stare at me.  I felt like a complete and total idiot.  It was 1am by the time I arrived to my apartment and I literally just put my stuff down and passed out in my comfy wood bed.  The next day I awoke and met one of my roommates, Liz, and we went out into the city.  Four hours later our other roommate, Ryann, arrived.  We all went out again to see what Nanjing had to offer.  This place seemed so big and everything was confusing.  Every time we left the apartment we would end up spending more time trying to figure out how to get home then doing anything.  Then after the first two weeks things started clicking for me and everything made sense.  Actually, it was better than making sense, I just plain got it and from that moment on every day made me a better person.   

There are so many fond memories it is hard to really narrow them all down but I will do my best.  Of course one of my fondest memories was traveling to Suzhou, Tongli, Shanghai, and Beijing with my program.  I got to see all the things I had read about and it really put everything in perspective for me.  Then there were the fond moments that were not the fondest moments for others in the program or as I like to refer to it, “Best Drunken Battles Ending in a Fatality.”  Some of those include the following:

The Two Ryan(n)’s vs. KTV mirror

Matt vs. The Mirror at Ellen’s

Anthony vs. The Faucet at Motel 168 in Beijing

Mario vs. Everything

Since I quit drinking completely while in China I was the only sober person on this trip so I was gifted with the memory of everyone else being a hot mess.  Then of course there was my music career while in China.  Who would of thought I, Chantal Cheri, would ever be a paid singer?  I didn’t say I was great, I said I was paid and that’s all that matters in my book.  I think it is safe to say that I was the greatest singer of the best fake band of 2011.  Most importantly, all of the people that I encountered on my journey will forever be in my heart.  I don’t know how I would of made it through those months without my awesome roommates Liz and Ryann.  Not to mention all the amazing Chinese people that entered my life and changed it forever. 

I learned a lot about while China but even more about myself.  I now know that I can actually do anything I want as long as I work hard at it.  It may not come to me right away but eventually it will come.  I am so humbled by this experience and like I’ve said many times before it will be one of the greatest things I have ever done.  And now it is time for some of my favorite photos/memories:

At the top of Purple Mountain (Nanjing, China) (left to right): Liz, Ryann, and me.

Beijing duck dinner (me, Liz, and Ryann)

Broken KTV mirror

Presidential Palace (Nanjing, China)

Epic coaster at Hongshan Forest Zoo 

Tiger Hill (Suzhou, China)

Tiger Hill (Suzhou, China)

Stealing silk from a cacoon at No. 1 Silk Factory (Suzhou, China)

The bird man (Tongli, China)

The Bund (Shanghai, China)

A Thousand Years of Tea Art (Shanghai, China)

The Bund (Shanghai, China)

The Pudong skyline (Shanghai, China)

Forbidden City (Me, Ryann, and Liz) (Beijing, China)

The Great Wall

The Great Wall

Bird Nest Stadium (Beijing, China)

Eating Scorpions at Donghuamen Street Market (Beijing, China)

Donghuamen Street Market (Bejing, China)

The Summer Palace (Bejing, China)

The Summer Palace (Beijing, China)

Marble ship at the Summer Palace (Beijing, China)

The Summer Palace (Beijing, China)

Open grave at the Nanjing Massacre Memorial (Nanjing, China)

The Nanjing Massacre Memorial (Nanjing, China)

The Nanjing Massacre Memorial (Nanjing, China)

Halloween Teddy Bears

Making my singing debut (Yinli, China)

Shanghai Planning Center model (Shanghai, China) 

Model of Shanghai (Shanghai, China)

Yu Gardens (Shanghai, China)

Busiest Apple store in the world (Shanghai, China)

Sitting in gum (Shanghai, China)

Fireball at the final dinner (Nanjing, China)

The last dinner (Ryann, me, and Liz) (Nanjing, China)

Nanjing Normal University (Nanjing, China)

Nanjing Normal University (Nanjing, China)

Laoshi Longmei Ci (Nanjing, China)

Parking (Nanjing, China)

Home at Wu Tai Hua Yuan (Nanjing, China)

Wu Tai Clan at the Nanjing City Wall (Nanjing, China)

Wu Tai Clan at Purple Mountain with Chinese tourists (Nanjing, China)

Wu Tai Clan at the Forbidden City (Beijing, China)

Posing with Chinese people at the Forbidden City (Beijing, China)

Posing with Chinese people at the Forbidden City (Beijing, China)

My room (Nanjing, China)

Dragonboat Racing (Nanjing, China)

Singing Katy Perry "Hot N Cold" at KTV with Ryann (Nanjing, China)

Sharing a table at KFC (Nanjing, China)

Getting massaged (Me, Ryann, and Liz) (Nanjing China)

Dancing at the DJ booth at a club in 1912 (Liz and me) (Nanjing, China)

Cooking in a kitchen made for a child (Nanjing, China)

Completed tattoo of my mother and myself done by Zhuo Dan Ting from Shanghai Tattoo (Shanghai, China)

Now, on a sad note.  I returned from China on December 10th and due to a family emergency I was forced to travel up north for some time.  Things are now much better, however, while I was in China my dog, Memphis, was diagnosed with terminal cancer.  By the time I returned she could barely breathe due to large turmors that had formed on her lungs.  After watching her struggle for air I knew that I could no longer let her suffer so I had to make the hard decision to put her down.  My vet confirmed to me that she was indeed suffering and it was the right thing to do.  I am very saddened by the loss of Memphis as she was and will always be the greatest dog I have ever had.  She was kind, loving, and always there.  She was like my child and will forever be missed.  I picked her remains up from the vet this week.

R.I.P. Memphis 

Now I am stuck with the struggle of finding employment.....ugh!  Let me just say this is so hard.  I don't even know where to begin or what to do with myself. 

@Chantalcheri

Raz is an amazing artist from Miami, Fl  and well, a legit friend.  I think everyone knows how hard it is to find legit people that you can trust.  Anyways, he finally started a Facebook page after much harassing by yours truly.  So please go and “like” his page and check out more of his work. 

 

 LIKE RAZ'S PAGE

Thanks loves 

@Chantalcheri

Last weekend I went on a group trip to Shanghai.  I have already been to Shanghai about four or five times now.  I love it!  It is clean, modern, and the people are cool.  This trip was far from a good thing but it led to one great story.  Now I should tell that this story is a second hand account of an event that took place on Saturday November 19th in the Pudong district of Shanghai.  According to one of the guys on the trip the girl (who will remain nameless) that I was sharing a hotel room for the weekend got a little crazy.  Here it goes:

The group went on a party bus (panda express) and it provides them endless alcohol and club to club for $100RMB.  On that particular evening Ministry of Sound happened to be in Shanghai so the party bus fee got everyone into the event for free.  Prior to Ministry of Sound the bus dropped the group off at a popular club/bar district.  The group piled off the bus and this girl had already drank an enormous amount of alcohol.  So two of the guys decided to follow her and make sure nothing bad happens to her (especially since we all had to sign an agreement saying we are responsible for each other….lame!).  There was this particular club with a large crowd hanging outside the iron gates.  The girl decided to push through the crowd even tossing some German girl aside and saying, “Get out of my way you stupid c**t.”  The guys continued to follow behind her and then she came up to the iron gate.  She yelled at the doorman to let her in and she is supposed to get in for free because it is part of the panda express.  They laughed (as would I) and that’s when she got a little crazy.  Now, like I said this is a second hand account of the event.  The girl started screaming “THIS IS LIKE TITANIC!!!”  She then grabbed a higher part of the gate and lifted herself up.  Once near the top she began yelling “THIS IS TITANIC!!!” repeatedly at the crowd.  The crowd gets so riled up that she came down and they rushed the gate into the club. 

I awoke the next morning to find her passed out in fetal position under a blanket at the foot of her bed. 

Around the 9 minute marker is the gate scene.  

@Chantalcheri

So, a week or so ago I had one of the most bizarre days in China.  First, I got back from Chinese class around 9:30am and one of my roommates was on her way out to class (the other was site seeing with her parents).  Around 10:45am there was a knock on the door.  I answer and two Chinese men are standing there.  I couldn’t understand them so I called my “translator”….of course he doesn’t answer.  He never answers!!!  So I called the head of the program, he didn’t answer.  So, I resorted to calling another kid in the program.  He tries to speak to one of the men but he couldn’t understand anything they said.  Now, I am stuck with these two men at my door who, won’t leave until they speak to someone.  Eventually after about 45 minutes of gazing into each others eyes they decided to leave.  

The day continues on and everything seems fine.  My roommate returns from class then around 2:45pm she leaves again for another class.  Literally she must have gone down one elevator as my next uninvited guests were coming up the other elevator.  At around 2:50pm there was a loud continuous banging on my door.  So I assumed my roommate forgot something and didn’t have her key.  I rush to the door and answer it without yelling “SHEI YA (Who is it?).”  That was a mistake!  I answered the door to discover three policemen and a well-dressed woman.  The woman spoke English fairly well.  She had originally spoken to me in Mandarin but I didn’t feel comfortable discussing legal issues in a language I am not fluent in so we switched to English.  She informed me that this was a “routine search” and that I needed to get my passport.  Routine search?  I have been here for almost 4 months and have yet to experience this “routine search”.  I grabbed my passport and gave it to her.  She asked me when I arrived to China, when I am leaving, and who do I live with.  I informed her I arrived August 24, leave December 10, and I live with two girls from my program.  Then she asked, “is there an Italian girl that lives here?”  What the hell?!?!?!?!?! 

So, now I realize this is not routine and they are here looking for an Italian girl.  Don’t know why and I don’t care.  All I wanted was for these people to get the hell out of my apartment.  The three policemen went off into the apartment and tore through my belongings and my roommates’ belongings.  The woman asked me if I had been to the police station and registered.  I informed her that someone took care of that for me and then she asked why I wasn’t registered to this apartment.  Of course the person who happens to be my “translator” also happens to be the one who registered me.  Why would I expect that shit to have been done right?!  Ugh, so now I am informed that I have violated a Chinese law that states that all foreigners must register within 24 hours of entering China and within 24 hours of changing addresses.  WEISHENME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So I was stuck apologizing for someone else fucking up, yet again, and now I have to try to solve this…….and quick!  The last thing I want is to end up in a Chinese jail.  One of the policemen took two photos of me while I was speaking with the woman.  Finally after filling out some paperwork they all leave.  I immediately texted both my roommates and headed to the program office to explain the situation. 

@Chantalcheri 

So, Saturday I got paid $1000 to sing 6 songs at this real estate event in a city 5 hours north of us called Yin Li.  Well, I actually had to sing but the 3 guys in the "band" only had to pretend to play instruments.  It was hilarious!  First, we left on Friday afternoon and were driven to the bus station around 4pm.  There we met up with this Chinese guy named Winnie, yes, just like the bear.  He spoke very little English and was supposedly a "model".  This whole model thing will come into play in a little bit.  So, we catch this bus ride to Yin Li.  We get on the bus and there are televisions playing KTV videos (Karaoke videos) so I decided to sing along to all the ones I knew.  The Chinese people loved it.  Anyways, after an hour long KTV session they put on a movie called Fatal Mode.  It is a Chinese film and basically people just get limbs cut off the whole film.  Anyways, this guy Ryan (bass player) went to go lay down in the back of the bus since no one was there. He awakes during Fatal Mode to a scene where a woman is being tortured by having her teeth and nails pulled one by one.  I hear Ryan yell "JESUS, were there no other options for movies?"  We are now about 2 and half hours into our bus ride.  There is nothing around us.  LITERALLY!!!  There is nothing but highways every so often I can see little shack homes but that is about it.  The pull over at this rest stop and everyone piles off the bus.  It is about 30 degrees outside. I would have rather stayed on the bus but I wasn't sure how much longer we had so I got off to pee.  The bathrooms were..........well I literally had to straddle over a tile trench and squat and piss.  I had to grip the wall in front of me for fear of falling into what could possibly be easily 1,000 plus people's pee and doo doo.  As I am gripping the wall and shit fly is slowly making its way towards my hand.  I couldn't panic.  I just had to keep peeing and let it slowly get closer to me.  Luckily I finished peeing and was able to get the hell out of there.  I walk outside and meet up with the other guys.  We go inside the store and buy some beverages and head back to the bus.  

The second half of the bus ride Matt (guitar player) starts freaking out.  He literally turns to me on the bus and says, "this is so sketch".  That is the cue for his freak out.  He keeps going on about how we are going to get kidnapped and all this shit.  Anyways, here is when the model thing comes into play.  Matt turns and says, "he can't be a model.  Look at him!  He has bad skin and an overbite!".  I am dying laughing.  Ryan (bass player) awakes from the back and returns to his seat next to Anthony (keyboard).  Anthony has been trying to sleep but can't so he now jumps into the conversation and laughs at Matt with me.  Ryan is in his own world talking about what "rockstars" we all are.  He says that tomorrow they people are going to ask for an encore, paparazzi won't stop taking photos, and girls are going to be going crazy in the front row.  I am going to piss myself.  Finally we arrive in this little city Yin Li after one of the scariest bus rides ever.  The bus driver was insane.  He literally would drive in the shoulder lane to pass trucks and just honk so they knew he was coming.  In Yin Li we are dropped off at a bus stop.  A literal bus stop not even taken to the bus station.  We wait there for a car to come get us.  By car I mean two taxis!  Ryan and I hop in one and head to our hotel.  The town is a ghost town.  Ryan says it reminded him of the town in House of Wax.  Just great!  We pass by this super nice hotel and make a u-turn into a shitty hostel.  I instantly laughed!!  Ryan and I look at each other and say "Matt is going to freak".  Sure enough Matt and Anthony pull up and Matt and saying "dude this is fucking sketch!!".  We bang on the front door so the front desk man can take the chain off the door and let us in.  We are probably the only people in this hostel.   I get my own room.  Matt and Ryan are sharing a room.  Anthony gets stuck sharing a room with Winnie (the model).  We put our shit down and go to find something to eat.  We literally end up at this shitty looking restaurant.  We are in the back room and flies are everywhere.  Ryan gets up and goes to the bathroom.  He described the experience as follows, "guys, you have to go see the bathroom!  Even if you don't use it.  First, I walk into this dark room.  Then I walk through plastic into another dark room, then through plastic again.  Then while I am peeing I hear noises.  Have you ever seen Goonies?  You know the noises the monster makes?  Just like that!  The monster from Goonies in this restaurant's bathroom".  Matt is freaking out.   After dinner it is now 1am and I have to be up at 6am,  So, we head back to the hostel and have a quick meeting in Ryan's and Matt's room.  Actually, I let them listen to the songs since no one knew what the hell was going on anyways.  After a quick meeting I head back to my room and get ready to go to bed and right as I am about to pass out my phone rings.  It is Anthony.  He says he is coming to sleep in my room.  He comes in and he says after dinner the first thing he sees when he returned to his room was Winnie's dick.  I am dying.  So we go to bed.   It is 6am Saturday and my alarm goes off.  Time to shower and get ready.  Anthony asks me to set my alarm to 645 for him.  I go into the bathroom and take a shower.  Literally there was no shower.  There was a shower head but the shower was just the entire bathroom, toilet and all.  I got ready for the days performance and when I was finished it was time for Anthony to wake up.  I packed up all my shit and he got ready.  We all meet in the lobby at 7am.  It is time to head over the venue.  The venue was extremely nice.  Yin Li is just now being built and we played in the front area of an apartment complex that had a Tiffany's and Co. at the bottom level.  So this is not a cheap area.  It is probably 30 degrees outside.  We go to do a sound check.  It was hilarious!  Ryan kept saying "they know we can't play instruments right?"  I am dying!!!  After our "soundcheck" we waited for the people to give a speech and then went on.  We were told to play 3 songs, have a break, then play the last 3 songs.  The first 3 songs were: Wonder Girls "Nobody", Nelly Furtado "Say It Right", and Miley Cyrus "Party in the USA".  I was so cold all I could is stand there.  After the first 3 we were told to have more energy.  I said "Okay!!"  I wasn't sure what do since I didn't want to offend anyone but if they want more I will give them more.  So, this legitimate Chinese rock band goes and then it is our turn for our second half.  Our second set was: Coldplay "Princess of China", Katy Perry "Waking Up in Vegas", and Lady Gaga "Poker Face".  Dude, we killed it!!!!!!!!  There was a group of girls in the front row going crazy and singing along.  There were probably around 500 people at this event.  They loved it so much we were asked to play 3 more songs.  We didn't have three more songs.  I only got the instrumentals for those 6.  So they said that was fine to play those 3 songs again.  Once we were done with those 3 songs we went inside and all this press was taking photos of us and then random people came up and asked for photos.  This guy came and got our information because he wants to book us for an event.    Now we are sitting inside waiting to get paid.  Ryan says "WHAT DID I TELL YOU GUYS??"  We all look at him and ask what the hell he is talking about.  Ryan says "I told you they were going to want an encore.  I told you paparazzi would be taking our photos.  And I told you that girls would be going crazy in the front row....I never said how old they would be."  We all bursted out laughing!!!!!!!!!!  So Ryan called our success!!!  Anyways, we get paid and head to the bus station.  The bus ride home was long and boring.  I got some shut eye and pissed in a trench at another beautiful rest stop.  Finally we get into Nanjing.  Ahhhhhh Nanjing!!!  I have never been so happy to see Nanjing.  Ryan starts getting anxious and wants off the bus which leads him to telling us random stories about how he hates being on a bus.  I recorded one of them and it was hilarious.  Anyways we get off the bus and these people won't stop harassing us to get into their "taxis".  We keep telling them "no" but that didn't seem to work so we had to resort to "fuck off" in Mandarin.  They left us alone.  We went and hunted down a legit taxi and made it home.  I dropped my stuff off and went to Fajita night with my roommates and Ryan.  Ryan and I told them everything that happened and they were just dying.  So now I am technically an international singer.  Pretty sick and totally going on my resume.  And now I am $1000 richer with a hilarious story to tell for the rest of my life.   Here are some photos:









@CHANTALCHERI