Man I have not written a blog in a long time. I just posted one from a while ago so forgive me. The news is old. There is a lot to write about now and I just can't seem to get my mind straight to start...
I'd like to start from yesterday and work my way back. I went to Beijing for a quick meeting and came back a new person. The weather has been awful here and I knew for some reason that it was not going to be a pretty flight for me. I always get stuck on these terrible flights for some reason. I think it's supposed to make me get over the fear of flying, but it has just made it worse. Basically there was a hurricane coming this way and for some odd reason, we still boarded the flight in Beijing. We sat on the runway for over 2 hours and they even served us a meal! Finally we were cleared for take off but when we were in the air, it was just horrific. The lightening and thunder just made me want to pass out completely in my seat. The lightening was so bad that we were told to put down our shades so that we didn't suffer from blindness (I'm not kidding here!) After 45 minutes of turbulence, which included dropping in altitude, lights flashing on and off, we descended so quickly that I thought we were dropping out of the sky. We made this sharp turn and everyone started screaming. Finally, the pilot said that we had to make an emergency landing at some nearby city because we were unable to land in our destination. We had to refuel and wait a little longer before we attempted this route again! I was so livid! I started screaming at people on the plane and asking to get off the plane. I had no idea where we were but I didn't care. I would rather sleep in the lounge than get back in the air. The pilot said they HAD to get the plane to Shanghai that night. I seriously started crying. Actually, everyone started crying because we were all frightened to death. We eventually made it to Shanghai after 7 hours of flying and waiting...man that was terrible.
Now onto better things, I was in Egypt and Qatar a couple of weeks ago for our company trip. Each year, the company offers us a trip to go somewhere and this year, I chose Africa! Never touched that continent but now I have! It was fantastic. A bit dirty, but fantastic. The country is just as dry as they say it is. The temps were around 100 everyday but it was nice because there was not one drop of humidity. Unlike Shanghai which is like 85 but with humidity of 100%, Egypt had some nice nights and we were able to go out and do a bit of night shopping, drinking, sheesha smoking, etc. Of course,during the day, we did all the touristy things, but it was still a great experience. The group of us that went had a great time because we were mostly all expats from different countries and also had traveled a lot. 7 days flew by and I was back in Shanghai again.
What else? School is going. I have just finished my 9th class. Still have 1/2 way to go but I do see a little light at the end of the tunnel. I have been playing Cranium like a mad woman! We have this great group of people who end up every week playing this game at someone's house. We are going to be finished with the entire deck in like a month. We're all so damn competitive but it's just so much fun. Otherwise, the Olympics are coming up. I have tickets to the Men's Semi for soccer!!! Soooo excited. The crew from NYC and DC are flying in and staying at Casa Hsiao in less than 4 weeks!
I don't have too many Shanghai stories right now to tell...nothing funny at the moment. Just the usual Hsiao yelling at whoever gets in her way or acts like a dummy. The usual "want to hurt someone" days is a daily ritual. I do miss NYC sometimes, but that's just normal. I'm looking at housing again because next year, Hsiao is coming home!!! That's news...I've made up my mind... after this one stint for one more year, I have to go back to my US of A. No matter what people say, the States is just where I want to live. I love to travel, but home is where my heart is. So look out people... I'm coming back!
Until next time... miss you all!
