The image from the moon...

I had the opportunity to go to Beijing this past week for work and decided to take advantage of this and see the Great Wall again after 17 years! The last time I was there, it was summer, bloody hot, and disgusting, but this time, it was FREEEEZING. As you can see from the photos, I had my Nordic hat on! The winds up in these parts of Beijing were blowing like crazy and I was only able to climb a part of the wall. However, 17 years ago, this part of the wall was actually closed because it was so deteriorated that we couldn't get there. So this was a completely new sight for me to see...it was amazing regardless of the freeezing cold. My parents came along for the day and it was nice to share that with them. They were the ones that dragged me there 17 years ago so I was able to drag them back last week. They protested for a bit because it was realllly cold, but they know how important it was for me to go see it again. Parents are getting old so they were not able to climb the steep parts of the wall so I went by myself. I tell ya, I'm soooo out of shape because by the time I got to the second part of the wall, I was completely out of breath! I think the hardest part was coming down. My knees were shaking the entire way down. I couldn't look down either because it was soooo steep. These Chinese guys were jogging the entire way down and I was just waiting for one of them to miss a step and start rolling the entire way down. I know, that's mean. :) Afterwards, we went out to have Peking duck, something that I don't eat, but I wanted to treat my parents for a nice authentic meal. Have you guys noticed that I have not mentioned a thing about work? Tee hee...
I was also able to go to the Tennis Master's to see Nadal play Ferrer in the semis. It was fantastic! The new dome is wayyy out in nowhere land in Shanghai, so the taxi ride cost us about $100RMB (which is like $10USD... of course it's still nothing...) My colleagues had VIP tickets and we were able to scramble to get them. I took my friend Jamie (it was her birthday gift) and we had a fab time. You all know how much I love tennis so it was fantastic to have VIP treatment and we were able to go to the "tennis family" tent and drink and eat for free. Fantastic night. Nadal looked so damn hot. He had to change his shirt several times and each time, I had to scream and holla at him :) I even said my Spanish one-liner (come home with me!!) It was a great time.
Anyhow, not much more to report on. Going to be leaving for Vietnam in a few weeks. I'm also planning on going to some other spots during the weekend. Going to take advantage of this time to travel on the weekends and see very remote parts of China. Will post photos when I have them. I can't wait to come back in February! Miss you all lots... Until next time...xoxo

Such a funny email forward that I received...

I know it is not right to laugh at other people's short coming, but this is really funny and I apologize for any disrespect to anyone in advance, it is only meant to give a good laugh.


Subject: Announcement on board a China Airline

Hi, enjoy reading the following....
[Pre-takeoff Announcement on a China Southern Airlines Flight]
This is a true account of what was heard on a recent flight from Shenzhen to Qingtao by China Southern Airlines:

> "Good afternoon, Ladies and the German. This is your cheap purser Wang
> Lui speaking. On behalf of China Sudden Airlines, I would like to
> welcome you on board our Bowling 737 from Shenzhen to Qingtao. Members
> of my crew speak Chinese and other languages that you do not know. It is
> a great pressure serving you to-die. Should you need any resistance
> during the fright, peace do pest the call button. I and my gals are
> available to make you feel comfortable. Meanwhile, the airkwaft is
> going to fry. Peace sit upright and keep you belt tightly fastened until
> dinner is served at five dirty p.m.Hope you would enjoy your fright
> with us. Funk kill."

Go Terps!

So I guess there is some good news to share...I was accepted to the University of Maryland's MBA program! How exciting. I have been applying to schools for a while now and haven't really told anyone. I just wanted to keep it to myself (in case I didn't get in of course! haha). So the deal was that I have been thinking about taking advantage of going to school (again...) and doing it here while overseas. There are many great programs such as USC, Washington University, Maryland, Northwestern, etc. and I wanted to stay in Shanghai since I am here for work. I had to write a million essays and had to really buckle down to do these since I am new to the city and love to party a bit too much. The interview process was pretty tough and I had to deal with some really tough questions (and some really annoying interviewers who asked questions and didn't give me a chance to answer them!) However, I got through it and now I'm IN!! woo hoo. I just have to decide if I really can go and if I have the time to go. Right now, the class will start in January and if that were the case, then I might not be able to come home in February! That would stink! I am so looking forward to coming home!
Outside of this news, I don't have too much to report on. I have been going out a lot (no change there), working a lot (no change there), and not sleeping enough (no change there either!). However, I have been going to get more massages, more facials, and really enjoying the cheap labor here...did I really just say that?? I'm kidding. Seriously though, I do get to take advantage of this so might as well since I'm here! It has been amazing to go and get a 2 HOUR massage for about $15!!! That's just ridiculous. They're really good too. I thought for that money, it must be crap, but I have gone back time and time again. Work is still the same...I feel like a total saleswoman at times. I have to do these pitches to the big pharma companies and most of the time I just want to get up and say "listen up b*tches...just let me tell you what you need to do and this will be easy as pie." I think I would get fired.
So, I have other news to tell, but I really can't write it down right now. Of course, it has to do with a boy, but I don't know if it is appropriate to tell it on a freaking blog. He's a nice fella, but again, I am so emotionally-detached that I don't have a clue what it means to like a person anymore! Seriously, I think I have major issues... I know I have issues. Hopefully I will have something better to tell in my next posting. Until then... xoxox

I am a lazy bum...

Actually, I have not been lazy, more of a bum, but not lazy. I have been working long hours at work and just haven't had the time to sit down and write a blog. However, a friend just convinced me that I had to get my butt in gear and start writing things down. Age is catching up to me so I am going to attempt to remember what has happened to me within the past few weeks.
OK...so working backwards, I just spent my first halloween here in Shanghai! It was quite an experience. I basically had no costume until two days before halloween and decided to get with it and try finding a costume. I was lucky to have a friend who has lived here for the past six years and she said "girlfriend, you can find anything online" so she helped me get a costume. I ended up buying a sailor suit for $15! That was insane. I would post some photos here, but let's just say the outfit didn't cover too much! These women here are just so damn skinny that I didn't even think that I might not fit my big booty in these tiny clothes. Anyhow, it worked out fine in the end...It was a hit :)
We partied a bit too hard for halloween. I had a party to go to pretty much every night. Not that I'm complaining or anything, but man, it was hard at work the day after...I barely could focus on anything for those three days. I went into work and sat starring at the computer screen and prayed that I would make it to 6pm and back in my bed asleep. I literally slept for 10 hours one night! I am just getting toooooo old... Then again people here say that I party like a rockstar...tee hee
Working backwards...I have been going out quite a bit with friends. Made some cool friends so far, mostly from the States. That's not a shocker, I'm sure. It is still tough for me to hang out with any locals. I have had some weird experiences with some locals here. Whenever I go to a bar, they come up to me with three questions: 1. If I am Chinese, 2. If I am SURE that I am Chinese, and 3. If I am Japanese. I swear these are the three questions I get all the time. I tell the they need better pick up lines! HA. So I posted a photo of a few friends of mine going to an American place for once, City Diner. I really had no idea what the place was going to be like, but it was really identical to the diners back home. I had to get a grilled cheeze!! Fantastic. Wish the cheeze was a bit thicker, but I will take what I can get. And it is open until the wee hours as well. After a drunken night, it is awesome to end up there. The best part of it is that we were able to jump in a cab right after and make it home for under $2 cab ride. Yippie!
OK, next story...well, in one pic you can see that I am at this bridge with my friend Julie. We went to this place called "I Love Shanghai" and this bar was literally in no mans land. However, it is supposed to very popular. It was $2 absinthe night. Now who can pass that up? Well, let me tell you I would have if I had know that the absinthe was disgusting the way they make it. You really could not get just a good ol' absinthe. They have to put the most disgusting stuff in it. I drank like two sips and wanted to puke. Ladies drink for free allll the time here so it was good that we don't spend too much money out. I guess it's good for guys too because they really don't have to buy drinks for the girls. So you single men, you know where to move to now. We also went to this bar called Mint and it was ladies night. I swear to you this is the funniest story. So my girls and I show up at the bar and we walk in and see this sign at the door that says "no men allowed between 10-12"...we thought sweet it is going to be a good night of drinking. I assumed that it was just to give ladies a head start. Nope...after ten minutes, I realized that the ladies in the room didn't look like us, out to cruise the men. They were there to cruise each other. We sat at the bar for a bit, drank what we had to and got out of there. I guess we have to carefully read the signs next time.
The weather is changing...getting realllly cold out there. So not looking forward to the winter time here ... it is way worse than back east. I am definitely looking forward to coming back to NYC during the month of Feb. That sounds hideous but trust me NYC in feb is way better than being here in Shanghai. So for those of you that actually read this blog, know that I'm coming back to the States for the entire month of feb so watch out! I'll be in DC and NYC partying it up. I'll have to show some of you guys how it is to party like you're in Shanghai. Until then...Miss you all very very much. xoxo