Monthly Archive for November, 2008

Sunbathing in China

Published on November 30, 2008 in people, stuff and travel. 3 Comments

It’s a lazy Sunday. It’s 12.30pm in the afternoon and I’m lazying around in the room. I decided to take a look out of the window and here’s what greets me…

…A big GOODYEAR advertisment balloon flying around (I know there’s a name for what this thing is called but I seriously can’t recall), cargo ships carrying stuff, sunny weather and it was actually hot! I can feel the heat just sitting here in my room! But it’s still a good 10C out there.

Anyway, besides high skyscrapers with that modern city outlook, there’s still green trees and parks around Shanghai. I can see this one park from my room.

…now, look at what that arrow is pointing to. Too small? Take a closer look.

A guy?

Sunbathing during winter?

In THAT position? Check out the dude sleeping next to him.

…and it doesn’t bother him with ppl walking around in the park. must be a common thing here. I’m not surprised in most ways. My first time in Shanghai 3 years ago — I see a couple, laying on the green grass, making out (like those in the Bollywood movies) as though the park was their room. I’m serious. I was shocked of coz… but it appeared to be normal to everyone. I was apparently the only shocked person around. So sunbathing in that position during winter… yup. It’s a sight though.

Well, that’s the most interesting thing for the day — so far.

p/s: I took all the pics from the 10th floor — with a 12x zoom. It’s a little blurry but, it’s good enough to show how ppl sunbathe in China during winter.

pp/s: Some white guy mistaken me for some tour guide of some sort during breakfast and asked me what time is the bus arriving. I think I gave him the confused blank look, but it still took him a good 1 minute to figure out that he got the wrong person. Apparently, all Chinese look the same to them. I guess it’s the same the other way round.

Subcrew UNITY ShangHai and Nanjing Pedestrian Street

Published on November 29, 2008 in me, stuff and travel. 0 Comments

As I’ve mentioned in my previous post, today would be the day for running some errands and hunting down the UNITY store in Shanghai. Weather was a pretty cool today — very nice weather indeed.

I walked alot today. I took the subway instead of the cab. I think it has become a thing about trusting myself more than the cab. Before I left, I’ve pretty much located the station that I’m suppose to get off so I was pretty sure of being able to locate the store. The maps here are pretty percise. Even the cab drivers sometimes uses them. The store that I’m suppose to head on to is located at 上海市南昌路356號. It’s really close by to the station that I got off. A mere 10minute walk from the station. Yay!

The store wasn’t open yet when I arrived so I took a stroll down the road. Despite the polution and cleanliness issue in China, the street has quite a view.

I think it’s the trees. Hmmm…

Anyway, I went back to the store approximately 15mins later and YAY it’s open for business!

The store is not all that big, but it has that… X factor. Or maybe it’s the Y factor. Well, whatever factor it may be, the store has a wide range of products that are featured in their web, especially their recent collection.

I left buying one of their latest cap.

Next stop — Nanjing Pedestrian Street. It’s getting back on the subway and getting off 2 stops later. Mum asked me to buy her 3 more strands of black pearl necklaces. Not exactly sure what she wants to do with it, but pearls here are rather cheap. The pearls aren’t exactly perfectly round and the size of each pearl for a strand may not be all that uniform. Nevertheless for the price that I paid (RMB160), it’s a pretty nice and well-worth buy. I’ve seen perfectly round uniform size pearl necklace (mum has one — bought it from HK) and that cost a whooping HKD1500. *gulp*. Hence, this is a pretty good bargain.

Pretty nice huh?

After pearl shopping, I went to help my colleague buy some peanut sweets. I hope I got the right one that she wants.

It was a pretty good walk and doing it alone was… okie I suppose. I started to get a bit paranoid when this young guy came up to me and started talking to me. *gulp*. I have no clue what he said coz in my mind, all I can think of was ‘WALK FASTER chiaoju WALK!’.

Well the weather is a little too dry though. It’s really dry and it’s driving me crazy coz I have cuts everywhere. The dryness has caused electrostatic to happen. I kept getting zapped! It has come to a point where I don’t want to have any contact with any object at all. The static was so strong that when I was combing my hair, it actually let out a ‘zapping’ sound. That’s like 5000V! Madness really.

There goes my Saturday. For tomorrow — it would have to be staying in the hotel, finishing my assignments and preparing for work the following day. Oh, bugger.

the morning after…

Published on November 29, 2008 in me, stuff and travel. 0 Comments

Today is the morning after my crazy crazy week. It has been a week since I arrived in China. It has also been a week since I last posted a new post in my blog. Lazy… well, more like I don’t know where my time has gone to. It’s definitely a crazily busy trip this time.

Aside from the crazy workload, everything appears to be eh-okie. Maybe some nose bleeding activity due to the cold weather… and some major headaches… and… a crazy drive to work one morning. Why did I say it was crazy?

Check out the view from our car — the visibility is a mere 10m. Our driver was still driving at 60km/h. It was fairly scary to be honest. I was in the back seat, and I don’t see nothing. Half the time I was thinking what happens if a monster of some sort jumps out from the fog. It would definitely be one of those scary movie moments. Okie… fine. I’m thinking way too much.

I stayed in the Shangri-La, Pudong again. It has been newly rennovated and the room is just… awesome. To top up the awesome-ness, I got a room with a view… of the Bund!

Nice view huh?

On one of the nights (and it has to be the night when the temperature dropped to 4C), I went for a walk along the riverside behind my hotel with some of my colleagues. View was again lovely and mind you, it was windy. Really windy.

…hence explaining the crazy hair-do of mine. Seriously seriously cold. Well it wouldn’t have been all that cold should there be no wind blowing at us. I was shivering, badly.

Well, again… today is the morning after a crazy week. My colleagues have flown home today so it’s back to me being alone in Shanghai again. *small sigh*. I went down to the cafe to have some breakfast. It was… okie. I guess it’s never fun eating alone now is it?

I brought my Cecelia Ahern book down to breakfast with me. Good book so far btw. The food at breakfast was okie. Nothing spectacular about it. They even have baby Christmas tree set up at the table — and then I realized my favorite holiday of the year is coming. I don’t celebrate Christmas, but it’s just a holiday season that I absolutely adore. Maybe coz it’s magical. I wonder if something magical would happen this year.

Daddy Day Camp is on HBO now. I’ll probably finish watching the movie (pretty hillarious), take a shower and hit the roads of Shanghai. I’ve got to go run some errands and check out Subcrew in this store call UNITY. Their main fashion line-up is street wear.

I’ve checked the map and I think I’d be able to find my way there — hopefully. Who knows, I may just get a couple of things from the store… especially for this person who somehow loves their trucker cap oh-so-very-much.

leaving again

Published on November 22, 2008 in me. 7 Comments

I’ll be away again… for 2 weeks.

*sob sob*

bye.

so close

Published on November 15, 2008 in love and music. 4 Comments

…sometimes it felt so close only to realize that it is actually still so far…

btw, love the movie.

Jon McLaughlin
So Close
(from the movie Enchanted)

You’re in my arms
And all the world is calm
The music playing on for only two
So close together
And when I’m with you
So close to feeling alive

A life goes by
Romantic dreams must die
So I bid mine goodbye and never knew
So close was waiting, waiting here with you
And now forever I know
All that I wanted to hold you
So close

So close to reaching that famous happy end
Almost believing this was not pretend
Now you’re beside me and look how far we’ve come
So far we are so close

How could I face the faceless days
If I should lose you now?
We’re so close
To reaching that famous happy end
Almost believing this was not pretend
Let’s go on dreaming for we know we are
So close
So close
And still so far

NKOTB reunite?

Published on November 13, 2008 in music. 2 Comments

NKOTB (New Kids on the Block). Yea, I remember them. They were one of the really popular boybands back in the late 80s and early 90s. Some of their hits were pretty good back then — typical boyband music that is.

then

now

They recently got back together, ready to storm the world… NOT! I was driving when the song “Summertime” was played over the radio.

First thought: Typical boyband music.

Second thought: I wonder who sings this?

When the DJ announce that it was the new single from New Kids on the Block, I was like, huh? Since when did they get reunited? Wait… How old are they again?! *big-eyed*

They are in their 30s. Some — late 30s. And they are singing “Summertime”? I mean, seriously? *gulp*

It gets more amusing as you watch the MTV. It actually felt as though I’m watching a group of guys who thought they were still in their teen years, dancing away with girls who are actually half their age. Creepy! Perhaps I should give them the benefit of doubt that they might just have other “more matured” songs to come. But… It is still amusing to watch.

break

Published on November 12, 2008 in emotions and me. 3 Comments

i just want a break.

i want a getaway.

That is All.

10 things I hate about you

Published on November 10, 2008 in love and movies. 2 Comments

Have you ever felt that you have hated someone so much, you could just ripped his head off… but deep down inside, you know you love him so very much that in true fact, you don’t hate him at all? Do you know that it’s possible to actually love someone, even if he’s the biggest jackass you’ve ever known?

I know it’s possible.

Here’s the poem from the movie 10 things I hate about you that made me cry. It made me cry then, and it made me cry now… still.

I hate the way u talk to me, and the way u cut your hair,
I hate the way u drive my car, I hate it when u stare,
I hate your big dumb combat boots, and the way you read my mind,
I hate u so much it makes me sick, it even makes me rhyme.

I hate the way you’re always right, I hate it when you lie,
I hate it when you make me laugh, even worse when you make me cry,
I hate it when you’re not around and the fact that you didn’t call,
But mostly I hate the way I don’t hate you,
Not even close,
Not even a little bit,
Not even at all…

I love this movie. How could I have possibly forgot about it? I need to have this downloaded…