Friday, March 30: This is the time I had the opportunity to explore the streets of Shanghai a little bit more since the training officially completed the day before. :)
Shanghai City looks very much like a typical city would.
What self-respecting ex-graduate student would not delight upon the sight of this evil empire? Yes, PrincessJ, I'm talking to you. XD
Along with Starbucks, fast food joints such as KFC snuck past the China borders. I have to say this was one of the BEST KFC meals I've ever had. There were two choices: Orange juice + corn based coleslaw vs Soda drink + French fries. No guesses as to which I picked. I also loved the wrap. It had chicken, cucumber, some other local greens and a dark sauce that reminds me of hoisin sauce with a dash of chilli in it. Wow, I LOVED this combination!
Street-peddlars were common, even in the heart of the city. Shoes, wallets, accessories, makeup, clothes, pottery, illegals DVDs....name it, they have it. This was taken on an overhead bridge, btw.
This guy creates art decorations with what looks like rattan/bamboo leaves. Awesome! He didn't seem to mind me taking photos; he even positioned this horse for my shot.
Food also spills out onto the streets. This looks like some dumplings being cooked outside in the open on some eh...interesting contraption.
Speaking of food, this is milk/yoghurt drinks sold in packets in liquid form. I thought that was interesting.
As expected, many things are endorsed by local/Asian celebrities. Don't know who the chick is but Jay Chou is looking really awesome in these Motorola ads.
But I never would have thought that I'll see boyband-endorsed biscuits! Here's Taiwanese boyband, Fahrenheit thumbs-upping biscuits made by Master Kang. The blueberry-flavored ones were quite good, btw.
Apparently, Wang Lee Hom, my dream guy, endorses food items as well. But....but....what's up with the cleancut goody Chinaboy image? (0__0) Whatever happened to the hip-hop street gangsta cool look, yo? Something tells me China doesn't like the Chink look.
More LeeHom! Still looking like a cleancut good Chinaboy, he endorses bottled water. I just had to buy this product. I mean, how often do you find something labelled Wahaha?
I only noticed this when I looked up. Looks like the city could use a new rewiring system. XD
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Would I like to live in Shanghai? I'm not sure due to two main reasons.
Woa....WTH? I'm washing my face thrice as often and bringing out my own oxygen tank now.
LOL Where is everyone going? The traffic in Shanghai is best described as chaotic with lots of honking going around. Bicycles, motorbikes, cars, trucks and pedestrians are all over the place! My colleague barely got knocked down flat by a speeding bike. My China colleague told me that you can distinguish the locals from foreigners/visitors.
"Oh, it's easy. The foreigners/visitors look left and right before crossing the streets carefully."
XDDDD
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There you have it: A quick short summary of my Shanghai trip. I could ramble more about my trip to the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum and other random stuff but I think that's enough for this round of blogging. ;)
Hello Shanghai - Part I
I've just returned from a one week business trip in Shanghai. Surely, this experience is worthy of a decent length of blogging, no?
Whenever someone asks me, "So, how was the trip to Shanghai?", I shall direct them to this blog to save myself from repeating my story.
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Sunday, 25 March: Arrived in Pudong International Airport late night. I quickly learnt how fast Shanghai cab drivers drive. I don't know what the exact mileage this uncle was doing but my colleague and I sure felt like we were flying on a mad goose whose tail is on fire. I also learnt that the cab driver deliberately doesn't calculate change properly. The fare was RMB 176. I gave him RMB 200. He gave me back RMB20. Ehhhhh........
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Monday, 25 March: Met my China affliliates and consultant handling the training session. Visited the company's branch in China and begun training. Suffered from female pains halfway through the course. Had Shanghainese cuisine for dinner on a miserable raining evening and checked out a Walmart branch. The only interesting thing worth mentioning is this.....
this strange pair of shoes. What is this? Some acupunture/foot massage thingy?
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Tuesday, 26 March: Back for more head-pounding training and had Cantonese cuisine for dinner on a wonderful evening. Witnessed and cheered on my colleague as he bought up a bunch of illegal DVDs and cooed over a pair of cute kittens., supposedly owned by the illegal DVD seller.
For a split second, I thought, "Gee, aren't these kittens starting things a little teeny weeny too early?" in reference to their eh...cute position.
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Ordering our Szechuan meal. The waiter was quite cute but I must have made him uncomfortable taking shots of him. ^^;;
Anyone notice a pattern here?
Chilli. Oil. Pepper.
Crazy Szechuanians. LOL
But really, it wasn't painful hot as you would get from cili padi or nostril-shocking like wasabi. It's more numbing hot but seriously, it wasn't that bad.
Then, we wandered around the Bund, which is an area circling around the Huangpu River. The citylights were gorgeous at night. XD
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Thursday, 28 March: More training. They weren't kidding; this is intensive stuff! Met an old friend who has been working in Shanghai Nestle for ~ 2 years. It was great to meet her again! Had dinner at some Taiwanese/Korean fusion restaurant where everything was excellent. Sorry, no pics here since we were enjoying the food too much. XD
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[Onto to Part II]
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Where did all the time go?
Sure beats me. Lately, I've been slapped with work left and right. This is a situation I anticipated upon accepting my day time job but I guess it's still different when you're imagining it as opposed to experiencing it.
It's funny how humans have a tendency of making themselves feel worse when they could have gone straight to God to sort things out. I've entertained anxieties, experienced occasional panic attacks, refused to pray, indulged into certain things I won't mention and then, wallowed in guilt. What a mess, hmm?
Anyway, I'll post some short rants in the spirit of blogging.
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Some guys just look better with moustaches.
Don't believe me? Check out Ken from L'Arc-En-ciel. Like many young JRockers, they explore all sorts of hair styles and fashion. Ken sure had some boo-boos but when he decided to grow a moustache and sport that just-got-out-of-bed messy hairdo, I bet his fans squealed in joy. 1000 cool points for Ken!
Another dude who looks better with a moustache, IMO, is Mr. Orlando Bloom. I liked him as Legolas but he looks better as Will Turner. XD
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Philip Yancey rocks. I don't care if he's an old man who has strange puffy white hair.
I'm currently reading one of his older books, "The Bible Jesus read," which brings back appreciation for the Old Testament books. I was mostly moved by the statement, which highlights the fact that when evangelism is done in some tribal groups, they relate better to the Old Testament than the New Testament. They seemed to understand the experience of feuding kingdoms/tribes, the trials of agriculture and the concept of a divine God who blesses through rain and sunlight. In a way, I'm starting to appreciate the Old Testament too. I used to think that those books were obselete and too depressing but you know what? I'm starting to relate to books such as Psalms, Job and Ecclesiastes. All these books deal with faith during times of agony, pain and a sense of meaninglessness. This is when I truly love the Bible. It speaks reality.
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Why do ppl like creating their own forums out of pure whim?
I don't know why but I truly get annoyed when I see ppl create a forum similar to one that ALREADY exists. I mean, what's the point? Is there some form of pleasure in being able to make your own rules and control a community? It gripes me even more when they invite others from the original forum and then, laments why no one wants to join their forum. I can't believe these individuals have that much time in their hands to do all this stuff online.
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Good Monsters ~ Jars of Clay album ROCKS!
Originally, this deserves a whole blog posting alone but for personal reasons, I won't go too in-depth. As a whole, I'm very pleased with JoC's new album. I have to admit that I wasn't attracted to most songs upon first hearing except for "Carry me (I'm a Dead Man)" but the songs grew on me and I now relate to their lyrics.
I suddenly realize why I like JoC so much. In a way, their approach to blending their Christian faith and their music composing mirrors mine (in webmangakaing). We're not here to slap you with God's Word and why you should be a Christian. We're just want to share our life experiences as Christians. Period.
Not just the happy, joyful moments, mind you. EVERYTHING about being a Christian, including the struggles, disappointments, doubts, sorrows and confusion. No sugarcoating, babe. Just the plain good old truth.
I'm digging "Oh My God" where JoC cries out to God about the suffering sin inflicts on mankind. I also love "Even Angels Cry" which deals with sorrow and pain as well. "Light Gives Heat" and "Take me Higher" have a more hopeful note but either ways, all songs deal with having faith even when the world is collapsing all around us.
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Can't remember what the forum discussion was, but folks, this is just WRONG on so many levels. But, here I am laughing my head off. XDDDDDDD We crazy anime/manga fans!
Cheers~
Mave
