this is about the site, isn't it?
"Shuaige" means something like "beefcake" in Mandarin Chinese. The term was used as a joke while in high school, but I held onto it as a cool little word that no one can pronounce and very few will ever understand.
This site was originally created sometime in 2000 and has gone through multiple lives since that point. As I've grown up and progressed as a developer, I've redone the site to fit the point in my life. At this point, it still focuses on China, but with a much more skewed viewpoint. is this about me or you?
My name is Colin Gremillion. I'm a 25-year-old web developer living in Tucson, Arizona. I work for the University of Arizona full-time running a departmental web site. I'm single, childless, rent an apartment Downtown, drink often, rarely use drugs, and don't usually smoke. I smile often, but mostly sarcastically. I'm a staunch liberal, atheist and somewhat of a socialist. I am obsessed with seeking out natural beauty, and love spending time in the deserts and mountains. In my free time, I read, watch moves, go hiking, travel, take random drives into the desert, or work on web sites and computers. I also play the drums in no bands. Why no bands? Because I want to play music that seems to scare others. I've played the drums for about 12 years, playing a wide variety of styles with a wide variety of people.
I was born in New Orleans in 1981, but have moved around quite a bit living in Boston, Austin, Northeastern Tennessee, Houston, Singapore, and Shanghai, China. I graduated from the University of Houston in 2003 with a BBA in Management and a minor in Chinese Studies. I do speak Mandarin, but not fluently and it's progressively gotten worse over the years as there are few Chinese people in Tucson to practice on.
I moved to Tucson in September 2003 after a month-long trip through the Southwest. I chose Tucson because I think that it's one of the best cities in the country. Why do I like Tucson??
- It's a small city, but large enough to have some of those things that are great about big cities, like...
- One of the best radio stations in the country, KXCI, playing a wide variety of independent music and completely free from commercial interests.
- Some very cool bars. My favorite is Plush (which also features some great shows), but the Red Room, Surly Wench, The Shelter and The District are also very cool.
- A vibrant art community but is not overly arty or touristy.
- It's an hour drive from the 9000+' Mount Lemmon which boasts the country's southernmost ski area and a reliable annual snowfall.
- It's home to a very cool Asian grocery store (17th Street Farmers' Market) where all of the conveniences of home (if your home is China) can be found. The store also features organic produce and other locally-made products.
- It's on the edge of the Sonoran Desert. Although it's the wettest desert in the world, it is still certainly a desert and offers the same mystique and solace you'll find in other deserts.
- The economy here is not good compared to other places (namely Phoenix), but it's good enough that you can get a good job (even a web developer job) with just a couple of months of searching. This keeps the assholes out and the rent down.
- Tucson is very conservation-minded and anti-development (home of Edward Abbey!). There is a so-called "Big Box Ordinance" in the city, which is why there are currently no Wal-Mart Supercenters within the city limits.
- Tucson is surrounded by Saguaro National Park and Coronado National Forest, meaning that no matter how much the suburbs push out here, there will always be isolated parts where vehicles will never reach.
- Arizonans are some of the coolest people you'll ever meet. In Tucson, you can go to most bars alone and not be bothered by anyone (and most people will just ignore you and not just sit there gossping about you), but people will certainly talk to you if you strike up a conversation.
- Tucson is a transient town, meaning that few were born here and few will remain. This creates an environment of dynamic cultural mixing and progressive thinking almost unparalleled in the rest of the state.
- Tucson is home to the University of Arizona, one of the largest universities (#1 or #2 depending on what figures you see or who you talk to) in the state, so the population is generally more intelligent and socially-aware than average.
- and maybe nothing. I enjoy it though.
"Shuaige" means something like "beefcake" in Mandarin Chinese. The term was used as a joke while in high school, but I held onto it as a cool little word that no one can pronounce and very few will ever understand.
This site was originally created sometime in 2000 and has gone through multiple lives since that point. As I've grown up and progressed as a developer, I've redone the site to fit the point in my life. At this point, it still focuses on China, but with a much more skewed viewpoint. is this about me or you?
My name is Colin Gremillion. I'm a 25-year-old web developer living in Tucson, Arizona. I work for the University of Arizona full-time running a departmental web site. I'm single, childless, rent an apartment Downtown, drink often, rarely use drugs, and don't usually smoke. I smile often, but mostly sarcastically. I'm a staunch liberal, atheist and somewhat of a socialist. I am obsessed with seeking out natural beauty, and love spending time in the deserts and mountains. In my free time, I read, watch moves, go hiking, travel, take random drives into the desert, or work on web sites and computers. I also play the drums in no bands. Why no bands? Because I want to play music that seems to scare others. I've played the drums for about 12 years, playing a wide variety of styles with a wide variety of people.
I was born in New Orleans in 1981, but have moved around quite a bit living in Boston, Austin, Northeastern Tennessee, Houston, Singapore, and Shanghai, China. I graduated from the University of Houston in 2003 with a BBA in Management and a minor in Chinese Studies. I do speak Mandarin, but not fluently and it's progressively gotten worse over the years as there are few Chinese people in Tucson to practice on.
I moved to Tucson in September 2003 after a month-long trip through the Southwest. I chose Tucson because I think that it's one of the best cities in the country. Why do I like Tucson??
- It's a small city, but large enough to have some of those things that are great about big cities, like...
- One of the best radio stations in the country, KXCI, playing a wide variety of independent music and completely free from commercial interests.
- Some very cool bars. My favorite is Plush (which also features some great shows), but the Red Room, Surly Wench, The Shelter and The District are also very cool.
- A vibrant art community but is not overly arty or touristy.
- It's an hour drive from the 9000+' Mount Lemmon which boasts the country's southernmost ski area and a reliable annual snowfall.
- It's home to a very cool Asian grocery store (17th Street Farmers' Market) where all of the conveniences of home (if your home is China) can be found. The store also features organic produce and other locally-made products.
- It's on the edge of the Sonoran Desert. Although it's the wettest desert in the world, it is still certainly a desert and offers the same mystique and solace you'll find in other deserts.
- The economy here is not good compared to other places (namely Phoenix), but it's good enough that you can get a good job (even a web developer job) with just a couple of months of searching. This keeps the assholes out and the rent down.
- Tucson is very conservation-minded and anti-development (home of Edward Abbey!). There is a so-called "Big Box Ordinance" in the city, which is why there are currently no Wal-Mart Supercenters within the city limits.
- Tucson is surrounded by Saguaro National Park and Coronado National Forest, meaning that no matter how much the suburbs push out here, there will always be isolated parts where vehicles will never reach.
- Arizonans are some of the coolest people you'll ever meet. In Tucson, you can go to most bars alone and not be bothered by anyone (and most people will just ignore you and not just sit there gossping about you), but people will certainly talk to you if you strike up a conversation.
- Tucson is a transient town, meaning that few were born here and few will remain. This creates an environment of dynamic cultural mixing and progressive thinking almost unparalleled in the rest of the state.
- Tucson is home to the University of Arizona, one of the largest universities (#1 or #2 depending on what figures you see or who you talk to) in the state, so the population is generally more intelligent and socially-aware than average.
- and maybe nothing. I enjoy it though.