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| This guy wins a
big fucking
gold star
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| Day 3 - Tuesday
Went to explore the nearby shopping areas again. It's a tradition
for me -- every time I've returned to Shanghai, I've made it a point to
walk to that area on foot and visit the places I used to love as a
kid. It's then you realize that they're not really that big, or
exciting, or particularly awesome, you were just easily amused.
Didn't find much in terms of merchandise, but the girls were easy on the eyes.
Day 4 - Wednesday
Sometimes it amazes me how I've maintained childhood friends of over 15
years. Low maintenance, I suppose. Early during the day, I
got in touch with one of the two friends whom I still make a point to
visit every time I return to Shanghai. I never remember him to
pay much attention to his grooming, but this is the first time I've
returned and found him meticulously-dressed -- not in a preppy,
business-like fashion. The word I am looking for, I guess, is
"pimply", but I know it to be an overstatement. Having never
pursued higher education beyond lower-level High School, he has
survived and thrived on the numerous connections his family
possesses. Having invested in various net-cafe's, arcades, as
well as owning a small computer parts company complete with three
employees on the payroll, he speaks like a businessman. He
constantly offered me advice on how to take advantage of opportunities
around me, and clarified everything in terms of loss and profit.
He also eagerly converted RMB values into USD, as if that would help me
appreciate better the scope of his subject.
We talked, we joked, we wasted time -- just like the old days.
Then we talked about relationships. I'm not sure if he understood
why I held a grin on my face as he explained how he's on his 5th
relationship in 2 years, how he's now a regular of the local bars, how
his parents no longer comment when he brings girls home, and how he got
himself into his current "situation." It wasn't a grin of mockery
or admiration, but one that said: "never would have thought..."
He asked me if American girls were more into "feelings" or more
"realistic". I said I haven't hung around enough to know.
He explained that Shanghainese girls are more realistic -- car, house,
financial stability. I answered with a sour shrug. "You
should hook me up with an American girl," he said. "Not before I
find myself one first," was my answer.
We met with the second of the aforementioned two sure-visits, Iris,
later in the evening. She was 30 minutes late as usual.
She brought a good friend of hers, whom she introduced to us. I
extended my hand automatically and was met with a few seconds of
hesitation, a half-hearted shake, and a question directed at Iris: "eh?
we're supposed to shake hands?"
We dined at a small mini-lobster house where my friend ate his heart
out. The lobsters were good, but a combination of humid weather,
subpar air conditioning, and mildly spicy plates of steaming
mini-lobsters had us sweating within the first 15 minutes.
Appetites seemed to leave the three of us along with our sweat.
My businessman friend was the only one whose appetite unaffected while
we ate, chatted, and laughed and giggled our snot out over little,
stupid, and possibly invisible things that reminded us of who we used
to be, and how some things never change over the years. The
friend Iris brought seemed out of "the loop". I hope our clowning
was entertaining, at least. | | |
| China: Day 2 - Monday
Visiting grandpa at the hospital had always been a bittersweet
experience. Watching him on the
hospital bed, moving his body with notable effort, I feel as if his
frailty is contagious. I felt like my bones would break at a
moment's notice. He's still in good spirit,
especially when I am around. Perhaps that's the best I could do
for him now. My relationship status kept appearing in the
conversation of the elders. I guess there comes a certain age
when your future
is but the futures of your posterity.
Went out with an extremely good childhood friend of my uncle's.
We practically treat him like family, now, and he had never hesitated
to act like our own. With a balding head, growing
waistline, and missing teeth, the 40-some-year-old uncle Yang speaks as
if he were one of us -- never preachy, never didactic, and never
excercising his "rights" as an elder generation. Talking to him has
always been a pleasure as if talking to a college buddy.
Eventually, the fact that he's still single invades my brain: an
easy-going man with the heart of gold with no one to accompany
him?
Maybe he's cheerful enough to enjoy life to its fullest without feeling lonely. | | |
| China : Day 1 - Sunday
The flight was uneventful. A woman of 30-something (from her
looks) sat next to me kept demanding things from the flight attendant,
most of it being hot water, and fussed about everything from the food
to the number of blankets available.
Economy-class seats stopped being comfortable about six years ago when
I approached 6' in height. Flying long distances ceased to be
hours of boredom, and instead became hours of boredom that I cannot
suppress through sleep. I toiled in forever discomfort in an
attempt to fit myself comfortably in my seat, attempting to nap, and
praying I don't wake up 20 minutes later with a neck cramp. I
woke up with neck cramps. I have a long neck.
About half way through the flight, the woman next to me finally spoke
up and asked me to open the sunshade because, she thought, there should
be some sort of physical phenomenon near the international
dateline. I refrained from chuckling and quickly dispelled
whatever myth she held in her mind regarding the IDL. Turns out
that she was from Nanking, working for a printing supplies company as
sales, and came to the US (for the first time) to attend to some show
in Vegas. She spoke English pretty well, and eventually revealed
that she was once slaving away as a graphic designer. An
ex-comerade-in-arms, I thought, developing a twisted sense of sympathy
and respect, at least until I found out she quit because the schedule
was too grueling. So much for that.
I kept wondering if the customs would seize my copy of Atlas Shrugged,
but they didn't even pay attention as I walked through the "nothing to
declare" exit with 24,000RMB in equipment (for personal use, of
course!).
The night passed quickly as I succumbed to the eventual effects of jetlag.
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| A Glimpse of What May Possibly Be Hope
I bring you this piece of newsworthy information straight from the
other side of the Pacific, where I have absolutely zero idea of the
impact of the recent abomination, Katrina, has had on New Orleans.
But I'm happy to announce that there is still hope!
http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Fats_Domino_rescued_in_New_Orleans
Rock'n'Roll BE SAVED!!!!!!!111oneone11
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