The Audio Blog of Steven Sirski

How was the health check? Did you pass? New bank account opened! CAN’T BUY GOLD! Why not? FOREIGNER! Workout in! Not only did I cycle to AND from the health check, I once again tried my modified Murph workout: a couple laps around the compound, 104 pull ups, 208 push ups, 312 squats with a 6kg weight vest, all in 1hr 5min and 8sec. Did NOT want to! Post workout elixir of coffee, cola, water, soda...

A quick thank you to the elderly lady from yesterday… she gave me the content for the episode! Today is that day that which we shall not speak of! Jeffery Wasserstrom on Lex Friedman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7udd0SkbSHI Health check tomorrow, gotta go through the hoops. Workout in! 6.5 km run done in 40.57… I need a new watch. Garmin? Meta glasses?! Also got some kettlebell work done… and...

Slowly getting better, got up before 7.00! Workout in! No gym membership just yet. Live stream done! And the challenge of living in Beijing continues… connection issues. And what is the state of my Chinese? STILL having trouble talking to the elderly lady on the compound! Donate to the show! PayPal link below! https://www.paypal.me/stevensirski?locale.x=en_CA ***Show notes n tracks up on stevensir...

Still knackered! No run done today, but late day kettlebell work. hot and humid, smoggy too! Job application continues and a reminder why I want to build something up online! BA! MA! Transcripts! Name changes, etc.! New method of social media marketing is to create multiple accounts for your different brands. OMG, when does it end?? And Household registration done! Don’t forget! Twenty four hours!...

New month, new city, new country! Yes, I’m back in Beijing. How was the trip back? Taipei > Shanghai > Beijing, 3hr layover in Pudong… I WOULD’VE been bored but I had something to keep me entertained: reconnecting to the outside world! Did I focus overly much on my content creation talk? Maybe, but I think that was because I was getting really tired along the travels. Wasn’t sleeping all the...

Well, you’ll either love the way I travel… or hate it. One more night in Taipei, I promise! Why?? Went to Taipei 101… wasn’t going to go up the tower but… gotta get the content done. And met an apparently famous Singaporean YouTuber. Live streams done, walking down Taipei, Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial. And, Steve, given all this hubbub, do you have a philosophy of travel? Donate to the show! PayPal li...

One more night in Taipei! Hostel change, no problem with that. Didn’t sleep well last night… maybe too much coffee and… can you sleep with the taste of garlic in your mouth? May have to get going tomorrow anyway, what’s the cost of staying another night?? BIG MONEY! Workout in! Body weight at the park, and waving to my new friend who has a beer at 8.30 am! To the National Palace Museum I go. How w...

Fingerprints done, that’s a load off! How much did it cost?! Did you enjoy yesterday’s episode? Didn’t get it published till this morning… I was SO TIRED! Am I done with Taipei? Maybe not just yet. But the weather is about to turn. Run done, 7km, tomorrow, go again or take a rest? Looking forward to getting back to my old routine. And more people working online and travelling in their spare time…...

Steve, if you’re not going to do cultural stuff, why are you still in Taiwan? Off to the museum today, how as it? Cheap! Fingerprints, apostille and visa applications, how is it going? How is the hostel? YOUNG! Lots of recent grads taking a few weeks off before finding or starting a job. They talk about going to all the places I’ve been! And an interview with another expat, Russ, from the USA! Hea...

Fukuoka - why did you stay? Thinking about the costs. To Osaka, thinking it would be better to fly out, it just cost me more. To Taipei, why didn’t I come here earlier? How long will I stay? AND HF! The size of a spider in Taiwan! Donate to the show! PayPal link below! https://www.paypal.me/stevensirski?locale.x=en_CA ***Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.com And on Notion: https://stevensirsk...

Recording this one quietly because I’m not sure if this is a cult! 9Hours capsule hotel… complicated set up. Different floors, reception, storage, capsules… all through one elevator per gender. Still in Fukuoka, will I be able to make it out tomorrow, or will I have to leave another way? Busan ferry SOLD OUT! Manila at midnight? Is it safe? Taipei, what do you say? Can we make it tomorrow, eh? And...

Steve! Enough with the content talk, how is Japan?? Have you done anything else?! YES! Staying one more night in Fukuoka, debating whether it’s a good idea to take the boat to Busan, stay a day or so, and then fly to Taipei. I feel like I’d be repeating myself. Of course, I could just always return to Beijing. Went to the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum… lots of China/Taiwan stuff. It’s Museum Week and i...

520! Did you forget? What if you’re in another country? The lady at the front desk speaks Chinese, from Xiamen. Lives and works in Fukuoka now. Hostel is nice, got to make good use of it today cause I slept most of it. Did venture out a little bit, through the Kawabata shopping lane and stopped by a cafe that smelled really good. Carried on and somehow (again) found the red light district, which w...

Could’ve taken the bus for a FRACTION of the cost of the train. AND had a place to sleep! Oops. 1700 yen vs 21,000 yen PLUS 6100 for the hotel. Ouch. Off to Fukuoka for the day, taking the bus! Was alright. Slept most of the way. Free WIFI on board so tried looking up hostels on the way. This idea failed. Two were closed by the time I got there and just about everywhere wants you to book online. N...

Hey Happy Birthday to me… podcast! Welcome to Nagasaki! What a trip! Forgot the PIN to my credit card so it took a little work to get everything booked. Cashier only took cash or card, no tap. Luckily another service staff member helped me book the ticket online. That way, you enter the card number and a password then use that same card to pick up the tickets at the station. A run around but it go...

Up early-ish and out the door for a 7 km run. Ran a lot quicker today than previous days. Made my way through Utsubo Park, very nice peonies I think they were. Osaka Castle for the afternoon. What’s next? Starbucks vanilla donut?? How was it? Not worth it! Bought some summer clothes from Uniqlo! UV protection gear. Nice and breathable! And I think I figured out a simple way to do Chinese subtitles...

Out for a run but it was hard to get going! Didn’t get last night’s episode up until around midnight. Hope you enjoyed the talk with Art after yesterday’s episode. His website is artimax.com Logistics of running! Japan obeys the rules and that means stop lights! And there are quite a few of those in the neighbourhood! Found it a bit difficult to navigate, not least of all because everybody was on...

And hello from Osaka! Finally booked the flight last night… completely forgetting about the idea of taking the boat! Darn! Lemon Cass, not bad. Had a few of those and some soju with the other hostelites. And I’m reminded why I don’t drink with people nor hang around 20 yr olds! Flight was uneventful, but getting to Osaka Station was a bit of work. I didn’t realize you could just take the airport l...

Staying one more night? Why?? Cause it's so quiet! Walking around Hongdae again, did one live stream on YouTube... I think I have a new content creation idea. Met up withthe Korean lady we met back in Australia! She lives in Gimpo so came over to Hapjeong for tea. Tried some BBQ, but not samgyupsol, some sort if pork barbecue. And I'm missing Trump again! Donate to the show! PayPal link below! htt...

Happy Mother’s Day! Did you remember to call? If not, do it today and you can blame the time difference! Still in Seoul, South Korea, most likely flying out tomorrow to Osaka. Need to find a finger printing place and then need to apply for a police background check somehow. Seriously doubting this job application. How has Seoul been? Very quiet! Only 9 million people here contrast that with Beijin...

Dae ha min guk! Clapclap clapclap clap! Arrived! BARELY got onto the flight! I completely misjudged the time it would take to get to T2 and when we got to the airport the check in was closed. Since I only had carry on, I asked if I could just get the boarding pass. He said no, it closes an hour ahead of departure. The papers have already been sent to immigration. Interesting. Gf chimes in and tell...

OMG! DON’T WORKOUT AND THEN EAT CAROLINA REAPER BEEF JERKY! OWWWWIEEEE! Each idea unto itself was good, the beer, the jerky, the curry. All together? OUCH! “Like menstrual cramps”. Streaming and broadcasting, thinking… a comprehensible English podcast? A relaunch of the Language Vlog Podcast but intended for language learners. Do I have to do this? Or do I vibe code some website? Ready to go? Seou...

Friday is D-Day! Departure day that is. As far as I understand the rules on the Chinese Embassy to Canada’s website, it’s entry day+1 for the 30 days. That is, the count doesn’t start until the day after so technically (hopefully) my visa doesn’t expire until Saturday. Good, tickets are a little better on Friday than Thursday. Will be hosteling it up and wondering, how will this go? Will I even wa...

End of the long weekend and getting closer to departure day, where shall I go? More live streams done, spending much of my morning editing clips. Will need to get some help for this. Thinking about my stuff and it’s not about the stuff I’ll get rid of, it’s about the stuff I’ll keep: where will I put it? GOLD STOCKS bottoming?? Chinese markets open again tomorrow. And marriages abound! Did my vide...

May the Fourth be with you! And such and such. Prepping to get going, where should I go? Should I go around the world? How much stuff AM I taking with me? Posting to XHS and developing a better Chinese subtitle workflow — it’s getting easier. Substack and live streaming, what if I just focused on one platform, not ten?? And how was Burger Fest? Donate to the show! PayPal link below! https://www.pa...