Rebecca A. Foster

What I learned about physics: sometimes, when you rearrange a whole lot of books and don't pay attention to putting the heavier ones on the top, this happens in your bedroom**: BEFORE AFTER AFTER AFTER My dad's personalized Army beer stein from when he was stationed in Germany, complete with his Battalion and Unit motto and insignia, that I left sitting on top of the bookcase, and which hit the wall when it fell. My dad left it to me when he died and throwing it out is not an option, so I called a pottery shop and got a recommendation for a glue called Bond 527 that I HIGHLY recommend if you are gluing glass or ceramic; it's thin and sets very fast. A friend is going to solder*** the little man back onto the lid for me. I've been piecing it back together and I'm finally down to the bottom part, which used to have the silhouette of a naked lady blown into the glass and when you held the stein up to the light, you could see the naked lady. I g...

Oh man, Black Celebration , I loved this album back in the day. I looked it up today on Spotify, it really holds up! Probably the most famous song on this album is Stripped , due to the movie Say Anything , but the whole album is just moody, dark and sexy. I always thought It Doesn't Matter Two  was a brutally honest, brilliantly background-composed song. I mean, just listen. Yes, absolutely. That moment when you realize what's really going on. That throbbing synth and rhythm. Just an astounding song. I also love Here Is The House* and But Not Tonight . I remember driving my convertible around at night in the 90's,  But Not Tonight blaring. Brings back so many memories, can't believe it's *gulp* 26 years old! (BRB, gone to cry a little.) If you haven't heard It Doesn't Matter Two , here you go. *"With or without words, I'll confide everything." Still gets me every time.

Orange and electric lavender eyeshadow, fun and bright for summer. No upper lid eyeliner because this was daytime, but you could make this very dramatic with eyeliner and false lashes. Make Up Forever brand, #s 18 (orange) and 9 (purple). I picked out this bike and then it was sold out! Waiting for it to come back in stock. I'll attach a basket to the back for groceries and whatnot. If there's one thing I learned from T. it is the importance of me wearing a helmet while biking, haha, so I hope to find a semi-cute one. (We only had one helmet and I *always* had to wear it. "No offence", he'd tell me, "but you need this way worse than I do." He was right. I can't wait to send him pictures of me on my bike with the helmet, he'll love it.) Gold leather high-heeled sandals. Very impractical for summer walking, so of course, perfect. (Actually, pretty comfortable due to the cork platform and Sofft-brand cushioning.)  And, so far t...

While in China, I put this mix list together for a friend. I have vague memories of dancing to it one night at his apartment; I have even vaguer memories of dancing to all of these songs back in the day. The 90's were fun. (I've included hyperlinks to every song on YouTube.) 1. Wild Thing - Tone Loc 2. I Wish - Skee Lo 3. Return of the Mack - Mark Morrison 4. Dazzey Duks - 69 Boyz 5. Ain't Too Proud To Beg - TLC 6. Get It On Tonite - Montell Jordan 7. 1,2,3,4 - Coolio 8. Doin' It - LL Cool J 9. You're Making Me High - Toni Braxton 10. The Humpty Dance - Digital Underground 11. Hypnotize - Notorious B.I.G. 12. Rumpshaker - Wreckx N Effect 13. Sweat - Inner Circle 14. Wiggle It - 2 In A Room 15. Move This - Technotronic 16. Temptations - 2Pac 17. Do Me! - Bel Biv Devoe 18. O.P.P - Naughty by Nature 19. Pony - Genuwine 20. Baby Got Back - Sir Mix-A-Lot 21. Tootsee Roll - 69 Boyz 22. Ditty - Paperboy 23. Whoot! There It Is ...

New York City makes me miss Chongqing dreadfully. It's a relief to not have to travel by car, to walk everywhere, to be able to pop into the corner bodega for shampoo and little cookies. I brought my iPad so I could work here and there on a work project while I'm gone because of a tight deadline. I activated the hot spot on my phone, uploaded docs to mobileme and downloaded them into Pages on my iPad. I'll use my phone to wifi power the iPad to send the docs back to the office. Technology continues to amaze me. Conversation T. and I had last weekend: Me: "I just want to live in an incense palace with houseboys, is that so wrong?" T.: "There is nothing wrong with wanting to live in an incense palace with houseboys!" I knew there was a reason I love him. And I would like that incense palace to be in New York City. Thank you.

I read this blog post about a memorable mix tape, and it reminded me of the box of mix tapes (and mix CDs) boxed up in my storage space. I got my first mix tapes from A., in high school. He was the rebel, I was the studious good girl, and twain we met over debate class and mix tapes. His tapes leaned heavily on b-sides of The Posies and Fugazi, with Nitzer Ebb  and obscure Japanese-release-only Depeche Mode songs thrown in for good measure. My friend C. made me mix tapes in college, mostly songs by alternative bands he found rummaging through second-hand record stores; I'd never heard of most of them, but he did introduce me to Henry Rollins, something I'll never forget. He sent them to me through the mail and I loved getting that recognizable padded envelope. We never dated, but I'd like to think a man who will go to the post office for you thinks you're pretty great. The creme of my mix tape cookie was S., who made me mix CDs by the dozens, full of alterna-rock...

How could I have forgotten Xanadu for 'X'? Here's a brief clip of the final medley , during which she wears her little tiger skirt outfit. One of these years, I simply MUST replicate this outfit for Halloween; anyone who recognizes who I am is instantly on my love list. When we were out in the countryside training rural English teachers, we got REALLY bored. It was hot, and there was nothing to do there. So we downloaded this movie and spent an afternoon watching it together. Now I always think of Yunyang, China when I hear songs from Xanadu. (Which is more frequently than you'd imagine.) For those who haven't seen it, please know this movie is all kinds of ridiculous and the ending makes no sense. But, it's an 80's kitsch classic. Another time, I overheard a guy in Target gushing about Xanadu. I immediately sent out a text that I was in love. My brother texted me back: "You do realize the chances he is straight are very slim, right?" Or someth...

NOTE: Um, I just realized I didn't forget V; V is for Vixen. I'm sorta dumb sometimes. But I wrote all this, so I'm leaving it up.   Sometimes I mess up the alphabet. UVW/KLM, I always have to stop and think about the order of those letters. Is it just me? Okay then. I love the message of India.Arie's song 'Video.'    If you haven't heard it, it's worth a listen. Don't get me wrong, I totally buy into the Beauty Industrial Complex. I own a ton of makeup, I color my hair and shave my legs and pluck my eyebrows and exfoliate and moisten and shine or un-shine, as needed. And I like doing it. But it's a good message to be reminded of: I'm awesome just for being me. In all the world, no one else is me. (If you know me, maybe you are thinking this is a good thing!)  No one is replaceable. I cherish my friends, and I hope they know how much I value them for being individuals and who they are.  __________________ I also love my little violi...

I can only think of two times in my life when I was clearly a vixen, and I have to admit, both times were really fun! I should do it more often, I'm just lazy or something. In San Antonio, for a time I was casually seeing J., who played in a band and had the best house ever. After it was clear we had the chemistry of friendship, not romance, we still hung out and I would have totally moved into his house, because J. was so cool and had a house tricked out like a 60's Rat Pack bar. This is a picture of me on his bed: Yes, he had mirrors on the ceiling. But this story is before that time. I went to see J.'s band play and as sometimes happens when you see a band play, I wore slightly more vixen-ish clothing than I did in my everyday life, namely black leather pants and a sassy shirt. (Sassy = cleavage.) After he played and came down to me in the audience, he ran into a girl that turned out to be the sister of a girl he had recently been seriously involved with, and who...

Last Spring V. and I were meeting up at the train station to travel together to our end-of-service conference in Chengdu; I got to the train station first and it was an uncharacteristically sort-of sunny day (one of our five days of sunshine a year, whoot!) so I sat outside to wait for him. A couple of Chinese grandmas and grandpas came over to find out A: "What are you doing in China?" and B: "Where is your umbrella, young lady, that sun is going to turn you brown!" One of the grandmas clucked her displeasure at my insistence that I liked the sunshine and didn't mind if I got a little darker. She stood next to me holding an umbrella over my head anyway, like I was an Egyptian queen on a barge (but there were no be-loincloth-ed men around, darn it). Chinese grandmas do what they want. Just as she was giving me another speech about my poor sun judgment and how it was going to make me too dark, V. walked up; his complexion is a little darker than mine, and grand...

I've had this little pig since I was a toddler. As you can see, it's been broken a few times. I loved this pig so much, I'd carry it around like it was a stuffed animal. I got very upset when I'd drop and break it, and even though it was just a worthless, cheap ceramic pig, my dad glued it back together each time. I've saved it as a reminder of one of the qualities I admire most about my dad: if it was important to you, it was important to him. Another thrift store find: my vintage Pendleton wool, double-breasted peacoat. Very heavy, very warm. I got it for $15 about ten years ago. It's been in storage for years and years because I didn't need a coat after I moved to San Antonio. I considered taking it to China, but it's so heavy it would have taken up precious weight in my luggage. But, the coat is back! The first time my mom saw it, she said, "Ew, it looks like something an old grandpa would wear." I KNOW, that's why it's awesome! ...

I got this t-shirt at Target several years ago. Yes, I do love nerds. Nerds know cool things! And can do cool stuff!  Now, saying you like nerds is not the same as saying you like socially awkward types, although there might be some overlap*. To me, nerds are people who care a lot about something and invest themselves in it deeply and don't care if it's cool or not; they do something because they love it, not because they care what anyone else thinks about it. And if it's not mainstream? All the cooler. Nerds unite! *I'm okay with socially awkward. It can be cute. _____ I hate wearing clothes. I'd go topless all the time if I could. My mom used to always say she hated wearing clothes and I was so scandalized by this! Moms should be dressed at all times! But now I totally get it. I have a bit of a reputation of liking to wear as little as possible, whenever possible. (I was gchatting with someone and they connected by video; me: "Um, I'm not dressed....

I just realized, both of my recent recollections about songs from John Legend and Jay-Z both involve V. What will I write about when I actually get to the letter V? John Legend's album Evolver , one of my all-time favorite albums. Very mellow, very sensual, very engaging. The day V. and I left Chongqing was crazy ; when we got to Chengdu it was raining, we had ALL of our stuff we were taking to America with us (I had more than he did, though; love when girl stereotypes are true!), and in the long-distance bus parking lot I was in a shouting match with a Chinese illegal taxi driver about the fare to take us to our hostel. V. asked me in English if we could pay the higher rate just to get us there. (He's very non-confrontational like that. I was prepared to keep yelling for a while, haha.) By the time we got to the hostel we were wet, loaded down and I can only speak for myself here, but generally just tired of dealing with China that day. My qipao was dirty and I'd been so...

I have a bit of an ear/neck fetish. Ears are very sensitive, no? (That why we poke holes in them, I suppose.) A man who is a good ear kisser is permanently on the "I'll Always Remember You" list. (I love putting people on lists; it makes my life a lot more organized!) That particular list is short, but it's a good one. I prefer sleeping with my ears covered; grandma came to check on me one night and saw me on my side with the blankets covering my ear. She got such a kick out of that because she needs to have her ears covered when she sleeps, too. She bought me a silk pillowcase so I could sleep with silk over my ears, what a grandma! I'll often wake up in the morning with my arms and hands curled up around my head, the backs of my hands covering my ears. I have a hard time sleeping with other people in my bed because I want the blankets over my ears. I don't know why, but it's comforting to have my ears covered. Hey, at least it's not my nose! ____...

This weekend our Peace Corps regional director came to Chongqing in anticipation of the big meetings going on this week in Beijing, so several volunteers from nearby areas came into town to have dinner with him. A few of them crashed at my place. I'm not a woo girl, but, WOO, so much fun! It was just one big slumber party, and I love playing hostess, so I had a great time having them here. Saturday lunch we went for noodles. I don't think I've posted pictures before of how delicious pulled noodles here are, so here goes. First, the cook prepares the noodles by pulling the freshly made dough like taffy, pounding it down, then pulling again and again until it strings up into noodles. It's magical. Here are a few pictures (notice the tables and chairs--these places are very casual): And a close up of the dough-- he's smiling because he's shy: The noodles are put into big pots of boiling water standing by: And then the freshly boiled noodles are added to ...

I am back in Chongqing after a full week away at my conference/music festival trip. It was great! I'm glad to be home, though. I got a sinus infection boo hiss, so I am laying low today while I wait for the antibiotics to really kick in. But, just wanted to mention a few things now: 1. Best taxi moment of the trip (and possibly of the last two years): our young taxi driver taking a few of us from the train station to our hotel asked me in Chinese if I like Lady Gaga. I said yes, knowing how popular she is here. The driver popped in her CD and started singing loudly to 'Bad Romance'; he had no idea what he was saying, but he was going for it, and it was covered in awesome sauce.  And of course I sang along, and when we got there he knocked five yuan off the meter! So my new nickname is 'The Taxi Whisperer.' I think I'm going to write a book just about about my taxi experiences in China. 2. The music festival was so much like a music festival in the U.S., we s...

1. Just like I’ve heard happens with the pain of childbirth, I’d blocked out just how bad the air is here. When I landed in Chongqing, I couldn’t see the ground until we were right on it. It looked like Oklahoma during the Dustbowl. The locals call it ‘fog.’ I can’t figure out if that’s a mistranslation or wishful thinking. 2. But anyway, I’m home! It just feels good to be back in my own apartment, walking these familiar streets, back into my routine of veggie market, fruit market, bus rides to visit friends, crowded sidewalks to navigate, and of course, the really delicious, spicy street food. Yum. I start classes next week. 3. From Beijing to LAX I had the best spot on the airplane that is not first class: last row in the front section of the plane before the exit, aisle seat, right next to the bathroom. Lots of space, no one kicking my seat, and easy access to the bathroom, perfect! (I always request an aisle seat.) On the way from LAX to Beijing, I got stuck clear in the back, ...

Hope you all had a nice Christmas; I ate lots of foods I am not used to anymore (read: dairy and processed meats and sugary treats sent by our various fams) and got a tummy ache, which made it seem like kid Christmas all over again, so that was kind of awesome. I got together with friends and bought myself some lavender/silvery eye shadow, so it was a great Christmas! And yes, I now get excited about eye shadow, it's a luxury purchase for me here. China: helping you find joy in the little things all over again. Andrew and I hosted the Christmas pageant on Wednesday night. Here is my report: -I didn't get to wear the dress! And the reason is very Chinese: they told me the shop had made a mistake and didn't reserve the dress after all, and someone else had rented it out. But I was not asked to go pick out another one instead. So I think they went over budget and no longer had the money to pay for it, but they couldn't admit that to me, it would be 'losing face...

My grandma is not doing well. So, I am no longer going to Bali and Beijing over my break; instead, I'll be flying back to the U.S. to spend time with her and other family. I was looking forward to these trips, but Bali and Beijing will be there for a long while. Grandma comes first. I am sure those of you reading can understand and would do the same thing. Now, a few things to share about daily life in China: 1. Street cleaning trucks in my city play "Happy Birthday" in a high-pitched tone, over and over and over. There is also a techno version of Happy Birthday they play in clubs. How "Happy Birthday" became both of these things, I have no idea, but I never want to hear "Happy Birthday" again. 2. Overheard yesterday as I was walking home: a clothing store blasting "Jingle Bells" set to a disco-esque beat, including the phrases "Jingle all the way, oh what fun it is to ride in a one horse open sleee." Sleigh IS spelled like Leigh, I...

That Christmas Pageant Andrew and I are hosting? Turns out it's a much bigger production than I anticipated. We'll be doing the introduction and closing, as well as making commentary between each act. Watch out, Dick Clark?? Pageant hosting in China is a really big deal, so yesterday my school took me to a dress rental shop to find a ballgown length pageant dress to wear. We found a beautiful cranberry gown that actually fit me (I am a giant here), I was shocked. And happy. I love wearing beautiful dresses! It's being held outdoors and I can't wear a coat while I'm onstage, brrr, but even so, I'm pretty excited to get to wear the dress. (And because my gown is floor-length, I'm totally going to be rocking some legwarmers. Shhh...) Definitely a new experience in my Rebecca Life Handbook. Btw, a cultural note: variety shows are extremely popular here, and the girls who host the shows on tv are known for being charming and beautiful. If you are a variety show...