MSN

The crazy thing about doing business in China is that most is done over MSN. Right now, I pretty much FUCKING HATE MSN. Whoever came up with the annoying pictures that get displayed when you type needs to be taken out back and beaten.

...for example: 'WO' (which means 'I')...everytime one of my vendors types 'I' in Chinese, an annoying, bubble, flashing, irritating picture pops up.....

Few notes...

Life has settled into routine, which is not necessarily bad. However, it does make for a less-than-exciting blog. There are few things to note:

1) as of tomorrow, it will be exactly 2 week before Jeff and I will see each other for the first time in 5 months. Our plan is to go to the 'meeting' spot in the Bangkok airport. This potentially has disaster written all over it.

2) my friend sarah has just kicked my ass on the time-spent-in-a-salon-getting-my-hair-did.
6 hours (I only spent 4!) I'll take a picture tomorrow.

3) Have made rockin' cool plans for the weekend. A friend of mine who I met at a Jew event it kindly putting me up for the weekend. We hanging out Sat. A friend of his is leaving HK for good and so there is a party....all right bitches, bring it on! Then my friend is leaving town for a week, but letting me crash at his pad because I need a chop (aka stamp) and pages added to my passport on Monday.

4) I have my ticket home! Sept 21st baby. Friends, family, get your cute lil' behinds to New York cause I'm going to throw one hell of a welcome home party.

5) 2007 is the year of the pig...I was born in 83...also the year of the pig. pigs are everywhere and on everything. I was given a lovely pig necklace today for my birthday. I feel like I have died and gone to pig hell (cruel joke).

I'll try and come up with something more exciting soon.

Now that I'm recovered....

Ok, so I ended up staying in ALL week! how much does that suck!? well, a lot, but I'm better now...the trail of the flu/cold/g-d knows what is finally leaving my system...I knew I was finally feeling better because yesterday, I couldn't sit still. I guess I didn't realize just how energetic I am. After spending Sunday-Wed as a vegetable-Thursday I popped out of bed, went to work, paced around the office, came home, made dinner, cleaned my place and had to FORCE myself into bed by 11pm. Anyway, good news, I'm up and starting to look cute again! weeee.

First, shout outs to everyone who sent me a birthday wish. I had over 50 people this year wish me a very happy birthday. Thanks all, kisses!

Second, my trip to thailand is PLANNED!!! Are you ready for this???

Vday-Bangkok (jeff picked the hotel so I cant send you all the link)
15th--Chiang Mai
19th-Koh Samui..after struggling to find a nice bungalow in the garden or beach.... http://www.samuiparadise.com/
no drooling...
23rd-Back to Bangkok
24th-'Home' to shenzhen

a few quick things...

1) am sadly under the weather still...no great shakes, just your standard run of the mill cold...i seriously need to STOP watching hospital shows while in China. I did, however, manage to drink like 1.5 liters of water in just under 2 episodes of Grey's Anatomy and X-Men 3.

2) My awesome boyfriend was published in PC magazine

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2079136,00.asp

-check it out..connected traveler.
oh and we just hit 10 months!

3) i had some problems with that new and awesome phone i was bragging about...it turned out the antenna was shot and the software was having 'issues'. I brought it back to work only to have it wiped clean, a new antenna installed, and it updated with 64MB of memory. um, it now rocks more than ever.

4) oh and my birthday is tomorrow...


5) still dont have a hotel for Koh Samui! damn high season! grrrrrr

am now going to drink more water...maybe i'll just float to Thailand and wait for jeffy on the beach.

And the party continues...


The evening did not go quite as planned but was fun none the less. My birthday celebration day started around 2pm when Sara came over for lunch. We watch Grey's Anatomy and went to get our nails done. I came home, got dressed and went to Sara and Agate's place for frois gre and champagne. 8.15 we went to dinner...i was, of course, fashionably late...I did have an excellent turn out... about 15 people came for the meal and another 5 trickled in for post meal southern comfort. I then went to French Kiss for some dancing. I was having a blast up to this point but around 12.30...i started to get a headache and freeze!!! I have no idea what was wrong! I ended up going home shivering!! Granted I was a little toasted from all birthday cocktails, but this was insane!

I had a good night sleep and have spent the day in my apartment watching movies and drinking tea.

All in all, my bday was slightly dissapointing, but there will be many future chances to make it up.



I

oh and I'm celebrating my bday tonight...for any of those who didn't get the invite...

Dinner at 8pm, Mamma Gelatos-Lebanese food

Dancing after at French Kiss

You can call me on my cool new cell phone 139 265 69023 if you have any quezzies...


and yes, i will be wearing a hot outfit and uncomfortable (BUT fab) shoes. I'm thinking 80's influence...
and Gabe, don't even start with me...I know what you are thinking after the many years of harassing me for wearing a side pony tail and spandex...well AT LEAST I DIDN'T WEAR THE FIDO SWEATSHIRT. YOU KNOW WHAT IM TALKING ABOUT.

China Cells

I bought the coolest f-ing phone ever today. Jeff is arriving in about 20 days and during his stay in China, I felt it was important he have a cell. I at first thought I would get him whatever I could find-a cheap used piece of crap that would last just under 4 months. I asked my co-workers if they had any extra phones they wanted to cell and sure enough, one of the peeps said they had a brand new phone...factory direct (there are hundreds of cell phone factories in the area) for $45USD.

My ears perked up, 'oh yeah? what are the deets?'

30MB storage
3MPX camera
MP3
MP4
full color screen
comes with two batteries, charger, USB, and headset w mic.

$45...what!?

Sold

I just hope I can use in the US

Jeff, sorry honey, you get my crappy, POS Motorala.

Culture...in Shenzhen.

Last weekend, Ranajit and I decided that we needed a little bit of culture in our lives. There were several art shows and we picked the one at the Shenzhen Museum. Did you know that Shenzhen had a museum? Neither did I. I'm always up for a new adventure!! Ranajit met at the subway and walked (in circles at first) to find this magic place. We were almost convinced that our destination was a myth, but no...we found it.

Dear G-d.


I took one look at the dirty, decrepit building and said, 'I give us 20 minutes.'
We paid our 10RMB and were informed that there were 5 wonderful floors.

One would think that 5 floors would not be enough to house 5000 years of Chinese history. We made it out the door in 25 minutes. Damn, off by 5!!!

The first floor was actually quite nice. Newer paintings (the oldest dating from late 1800's)
and displayed with care. They were mostly what you find in the local tourist shops-scrolls, flowers, animals, people, etc.

The second floor was just scary...it was like a natural history museum gone horribly wrong!!
There were animals everywhere!!!!!!!!! and they all looked weird...like taxidermy (?) on crack...Disproportional heads, wild eyes, stretched fur..ug...
There was one small room like a 'forest' or the 'mammal and bird' room with every single animal they could fit in the small space...lions, deer, owls, foxes and more all snuggled next to each other, like on a Jahova's witness pamphlet. The second room was 'under the sea' and was an odd arrangement of puffer fish, leathery sharks, and crabs. The entire room smelled of stale vinegar...it was awful...I forgot my SD card or I would have shared the 'culture' of shenzhen.

the 3-5 floors were propaganda shit that I couldn't even face.

There was a cool miniature model of the city...but besides that, the exhibits were a total let down and down right frightening.

25 minutes later, Ranajit and I were strolling out the exit.

Miffy~

I'm not sure what Miffy did to deserve such a cruel fate, locked up and hung out to dry like the animal she is.



There is a strange phenomenon that most (if not all) Chinese young girls, tweens, teens, young adults and ladies LOVE their stuffed animals. They adorn office cubicles, beds, cars, and homes. They are f-ing everywhere!!! My g-d, its like that nightmare with clowns, but fuzzy.

can i just say how annoying it is to feel crappy and have nothing in the house to snack on but museili and frozen banannas!?! yuck!

The Hair...

I know you all have been waiting anxiously to see how my hair turned out...
In case you forgot, I had it permanently straightened via Japanese thermal conditioning. I, of course, went to a Japanese salon for this (no WAY was I going to Chinese one...Forget it). My friend Hirimoiri and I went to this shady place called PACE...it was run out of the owners home...I stepped in and joked that I was going to be bald tomorrow. Everyone laughed but I was secretly terrified. 4 hours later, I looked like this. Not only was I not bald, but my hair looked and felt great!!!

This is it until it grows out...no complaints here.

please note, I am home with a cold, not hottied up AT ALL!!!
I promise to take better pics soon.

Random tidbits~

HK
I spent the entire day in HK...its a refreshing change from China-Mainland. I had to attend a trade show (which I love) but getting there took 3 hours, my g-d, what a friggin hassle. Normally you are supposed to get to trade shows when they first open, but coming from Shenzhen and having budgeted 3 days to see the entire exhibit, I 'took my time.' I got up at 7, left my house by 7.50, took the 8.30 ferry, arrived in Kowloon by 9.30, and by taking two metros, and bus later, I arrived at the trade show by 11.30. Luckily I planned to attend this show over 3 days...I finished the entire thing in 4 hours. It was a small and unknown show that was almost entirely void of attendees and housed crappy products. I did find some jems, so it was not a total wash. I then made it back to central for a little post-holiday shopping (due to yoga and my nasty cooking, I've managed to lean out a little bit so I need a few wardrobe-sprusser-uppers that actually fit). I then went to the local grocery shop and picked up some treats unavailable in mainland (naam, hummus, corn). I then met up with a college friend for din-din and then made my way home~

(I think I saw Orlando Bloom walking around HK today, but I could be crazy)

Despite being put off by living in China, I do have a feeling of mainland pride and was happy to return 'home'.


Cuz's and friendz

It seems that two of my cousins (one on my dad's and one on my mom's) might be venturing out east...along with several friends...Please peeps! come and visit!!!

Taxes

I am officially subject to HK taxes, approx 9% on my total income, don't be jealous because I live in china.

Work

As usual work is going well, but I'm in a Take-Charge mode and have decided to build up my department (which, at the moment, consists of only me) by writing a business model and time and action chart for goals and deadlines.

24 on 24

I turn 24 on the 24th of Jan! Whaaa?!?!?! since when did I get to 24?!!
I am in the midst of planning SEVERAL parties...i'm too fabulous for just one.

Books~

Just read Kiterunner, excellent book-they are filming a movie about Afghanistan here in china...should be interesting. Am now reading Mansfield Park by J. Austin (love the classics)
Arlene~ if you have any books that you have finished, think I should read and don't mind me borrowing (I promise to return them), please send them with Jeff (and yes, I think I will have to send my presents for the family with Jeff when he returns to NY).

Ok, its past my bedtime!

Ok, I did it. I had my hair straightened and it looks and feels awesome!!! At first, I was completely freaked out: would my hair fall out? why am I at someone's house (was an in-house operation-fully legit with Chinese papers and all). the girl doesn't speak English or Chinese (only Japanese), what do I do? What the hell?!?!?!

However, despite my fears of being bald and having a total communication breakdown, I went through with it. I would never do it in the states because its a whopping $500+ and I would never go to a random Chinese barber (I would def be bald then!), but here I was, at a Japanese barber who was fully trained to use the stuff-who better to get Japanese straightening done then by Japanese people?

4 grueling hours later...

Bam!!! My hair is not only sleek and gloriously straight, but its soft and healthy!!! I'll post pics soon.

Hello everyone!

I know you all have been wondering why its taken me so long to write…well, the earthquake has made accessing blogger a nightmare (my friend thinks it’s a plot to choke all foreign websites…which could be true). Since its been soooo long, I’ll take you back a few days.

Last Friday:

I had a small little dinner party at my place, Aaron, Agate, and Sarah (I only have 4 chairs) came over around 9.30 and I cooked (yes, its true) very bad (not surprising) pasta, tomato sauce from a can, and sautéed green peppers. Not sure how, but I managed to fuck up pasta. Please don’t ask me, I don’t know. But feel bad for Jeff who will be eating my cooking on a regular basis. After dinner and three bottles of wine later, we played Tarot (my favorite card game) and ate chocolate. Around 1 am, my lil’ gathering winded down and we called it a night (except for Agate who went out dancing).

Saturday:

Work, yoga, nap....dinner, two movies, back to sleep, tough day.

Sunday:

Morning- I helped the girls (Agate and Sarah) move into their new place. They live about 5 minutes walking from me. Very convenient. After the move, we came back to my house and cooked ‘brunch’ at 2pm. Sarah and I then had plans to spend New Years in Hong Kong, so we piled in a taxi and moseyed on down to the ferry. We arrived in HK (a breath of civilization in an otherwise backward existence) and went to the grocery store. We originally were going to host a troop of friends and then hit the parties across this magnificent Asian New York. And so we bought organic chips and dip, breads, cheeses, wines, snacks and chocolate. We checked out and headed on foot to Sarah’s Uncle’s flat.

The next chain events forced Sarah and I to go running around HK with bags of food and random keys.

We arrived at the door (6 floors by stairs later) only to discover that Sarah had left the correct keys in Shenzhen. Not to worry, there were spare keys ALL over the place.

30 minutes later, not a single spare was found.

No worries, we had keys to another flat.

We trekked up the street, sneaked into the building only to find out that duplicates often don’t work.

45 minutes later Sarah and I found ourselves at a street corner waiting for a spare set to arrive.

10.30pm, we finally make it back to Sarah’s Uncle’s pad and YES!!! The key works.

In a frantic tizzy, Sarah and I change clothes, pop the corks, open the chips and New Years is ready to begin. Another girlfriend shows up, we watch Taiwan’s count down (Jeff has called me to wish me a happy new year on the dot-best bf ever) and 12.30am, we are out the door and onto the streets of Hong Kong. We pick up another fem friend and hit stop one 1) hip hop. We all refuse to pay any crazy cover charges, so we opt for the less crowded bars. I should also mention that we are all responsible and therefore not drunk.

1 ½ hours later, we head in a taxi to stop two 2) techno. We dance again and watch an electric clock counting down the other major cities. My eyes drifted to New York and I watched while dancing as the time passed from 1.30pm until 2.45pm EST. And on to stop 3) a chic bar (one might compare to the meat packing district) called Dragon I for some 70’s disco. Though our feet hurt, we continued to enjoy the music too much to skip a beat. Finally, at 4.30am China time, Sarah and I make it back, crawl into bed, and sleep (of course, I had to call Jeff who was in the midst of planning his own party).

Side note, the top is my custom made bustier.

Monday (afternoon): 12pm, the sun has woken both Sarah and I from our beds. We shuffle around ( I call Jeff at 12am his time only to be drunk dialed by Chung a few minutes later and wished a very happy happy happy new year).

The weather is perfect and we head out for some brunch at a diner. From there Sarah and I set off for an action packed day around town. We went shopping (mostly window-though I did by Birkenstocks-the cute ones for Thailand), walking around, Ikea, trams, busses, book store (bought some classics) grocery store, more walking around, and finally landing on the ferry to bring us back to our world, mainland China, Shenzhen.

Tuesday:

Blur

Wednesday, Thursday:

Same old, though I have made plans to under go Japanese thermal straightening for my hair. It’s pretty much damage free and will replace my Chi for 6 months. It costs about $500 in the US, but in china, is about $130. Don’t worry, I’m going to a Japanese Salon and having it done by the people who invented it. I figure, I’ll give it a shot and then I can make my morning routing go from 15 minutes to 5.

Tomorrow:

Work, yoga, Shabbat, Shekou

Saturday:

Work, yoga, louhu, xinjiang food.

Sunday:

Tutor, hair (for 4 friggin hours), yoga, dinner.

Random:

Jeff has found hotels for Thailand and it seems that our time will overlap with Frieda and Jochen-we will try and meet up with them.

Ranajit goes back to India for a while. I have sent him with a shopping list.

My birthday is coming up and we are making plans for a party (or several).

Will be going back to HK next week for a trade show.

Now you are all caught up.

Marc, Happy Birthday!!!

To all my readers~ do not think that I have forgotten to write. The earthquake that hit taiwan knocked out all foriegn website access!! This has been the first time I was able to post since the disaster. I will gather my stories and post soon.

Happy New Year!!