Can't believe it has been two month since I moved...

I know it has been forever since I updated this thing... Funny thing is that right now I'm in USA and not even in my "new" home in Hong Kong. For those of you who actually keep up with this thing, I moved to HK two months ago, on October 1, 2009. I can't believe that I was able to escape Shanghai (with my body in tact, my health in check--then again I don't know what my lungs look like after 2+ years of breathing in crap air). I am very happy to be in a new environment, with a new job... but it will take a lot of getting used to!!! I've been to HK more times than I can count but living here is another issue. I do love the fact that when I walk down the street, I don't get "accidentally" spat on, or trampled by an old lady, or fear for my life when I cross the street. BUT it is another environment that I must adapt to and figure out the local culture. Thank goodness I have some good friends who are already living there, including my own sister! It's been nice to have family around again! It never hurts to have someone close by who can come and cook for you (I've been begging my sister every weekend -- if I'm in town-- to make a home cooked meal). Eating out can be a bit much these days... and I have moved into a flat that is the size of my bathroom in Shanghai. HK housing is just ridiculous. People would not

I was home in USA for one month (the month of September) and was able to relax for just a bit. Since my job sent me home, I had to attend a week orientation... it was a good idea because I was able to put a face with a name. However, during this time, my dad also suffered a minor stroke. THANK GOD it was minor. I was on my way home for a vacation and when I stepped off the plane, I found out that he was in the ER. Scared out of my mind! Seriously some good news has to come my way soon! I always believe that you have to balance the good with the bad or else you can't handle the bad when it comes to you. Well, I've had enough of the bad now. Now back in USA again for a work meeting and also able to see some friends. It is gorgeous in NYC during December...see the lights on the big Christmas tree...drink hot apple cider, etc. Of course, the cold is frigid but I can handle it :)

So one new thing I need to complain about is Amtrak. Seriously, how bad can transportation get in the States? The airplanes stink, the trains are awful, and taxi drivers demand tips now! USA is just going in the sh*ts. I mistakenly forgot my glasses so when i arrived (late) at Penn Station, I asked one of the Amtrak representatives to let me know what the gate was for the train going to DC... she told me to walk up to the board and check. I let her know that I couldn't see that well and she said "walk closer... go closer... a bit closer." I couldn't believe she was saying this to me! I asked her what if I had a disability? She said "I'd still say the same thing!" How uneducated can these people be? I wanted to hurt her, but I had to get on the train... oh well, she will get her day. Again, how bad can traveling be in USA!??!

The job has been fantastic. Crazy travel... I think I've accumulated over 40,000 miles in 2 months. that is quite insane though. i do wish that i had more time in HK, but i'll take some traveling for now just to get to know the markets. I think after a few more months, it should die down a bit (hoping). Will be taking a trip to Malaysia for new years to hike Mt. Kinabalu. I better start getting in shape now. YIKES! I need a bit of R&R. Friends from NYC are coming in to see me so I'm always happy about that!

Until then... xx

The typical Shanghainese woman....

I've decided that enough is just enough... I have finally had it with the Shanghainese! I hope everyone who reads this email will be able to avoid this type of pain and suffering and can learn from my own stupidity in thinking that maybe, just maybe there is just ONE good, honest, and non-evil Shanghainese woman out there. I have proven myself wrong time and time again.

Background: I'm moving out of Shanghai to a new job and boy am I thankful. While I would say that the 2+ years in Shanghai hasn't been all bad (met some wonderful friends, had a great job, worked on some interesting projects, and been able to learn a new language), dealings with the locals has just been a complete nightmare. Cheaters, liars, con-artists....these are just a few words that I can use to describe my previous landlord. Long story short, the landlord came for a walk through of the property because I was moving out. When I went to answer the door, I realized that she brought with her 6 men?!!? What was that about? Well, being the nice person I am, I invited them in. They sat down at the dining table and immediately began pounding the table and saying that I will not be getting my 2 months security deposit back. When asked why, they said "You know why... you defaulted on one month rent." Of course I immediately lost it and started to scream and say that one month, I was traveling and the landlady said no problem, I can pay a bit late. Well obviously i should have NEVER trusted her. She said she never recalled that conversation. In the end the men told me to get out and never return.

I went to a girlfriends house right after and my friends all said that they are going to pound down the door and destroy the place. I said to them that it isn't worth it. We live in a communist country! These people will get what they deserve. I believe in karma. If she really wanted to steal that $1,000 USD + from me, I really do hope something terrible happens to her and her family. I have never ever wished this upon anyone, but in this situation, she totally deserves the suffering.

I'm so happy I'm leaving!!!!!! Until Hong Kong....

Trip to France and Italy

So I'm finalllly updating my blog since I can get on VPN in order to log in. Yes... China is STILL ridiculous what can I say? Now they have gone as far as blocking facebook. How dare they??? I wonder what is next... I vote Google.

Long story short, went to France and Italy for a vacation. Fantastic place. Loved it... I told myself that I would not go to Italy until I was able to travel around the country but just couldn't help it. It was sooooo amazing. I want to go back. As for the French... I have something else to say about that. It is completely true what people say about the French. I had to teach a sales lady a lesson at Hermes. By the way, NEVER EVER buy Hermes in France or any other country besides Hong Kong because I learned the hard way that the watch I bought my sister is much cheaper in Hong Kong (WHERE SHE LIVES!!) I carried the damn watch all the way back from France because the sales person said that it was BY FAR cheaper to purchase in France! What a crock of sh*t. She just wanted her commission. Actually, take my advice, just don't purchase anything from Hermes. I went to return the watch and the store held onto the merchandise for two weeks before even sending me a confirmation that they had received it and will refund my credit card. What a terrible company. Whoever reads this, DO NOT purchase from Hermes. Again, they are the worst company ever. How can they legitimately hold onto a returned item, hold onto my money of over $2500USD AND not respond to any of my emails demanding the return of my money? Unbelievable... those righteous ass*s! Again, whoever reads this please do not ever buy from this company. I have never been treated so poorly by a company in my life. As they say "only the French..."

OK so besides that crap, I want to go back to Italy as soon as possible. We went to Paris, Antibes, Monte Carlo, San Remo and Nice. It was magnifique! I am in love with Italy (have I said that enough??) I have been wanting to go there for the longest time, but held out in hopes that someday, that would be my honeymoon destination. Oh well... maybe this broke that spell! The food... the people...the sights...the romance of the country is just amazing. True, not many people work as hard as other countries, but they all just seem so darn happy. I want to be there... I want to be them. Wish they had some jobs there. All in all I am definitely going back soon again. Never know... maybe I might find my Italian prince :)

Until next time...

India... why I kinda-sorta like China... then an accident that makes me think twice about that comment...

It's been a while... so much to write about but don't have the time these days. I just use this as a diary to either b*tch about China or to capture moments that I don' t want to forget. There are two big things that I must update here: India and a motorcycle accident.

India: Went to India for a week to visit a friend who has just recently moved to Delhi for work. Let's just start by saying that this was definitely an experience. Nothing more or less. I arrived to 40+ degree weather every day. Man that was blistering sun. Going outside felt like you were going to melt in 2 seconds. I spent a lot of time shopping and lazying around which is fine by me except that shopping was a nightmare in Delhi. The streets are filled with trash, the men are pretty up-in-your-face, and there really isn't much to buy. I attempted to buy some jewelry but I just felt like I was getting ripped off (which I'm sure I did in the end). I also felt like a lot of the items could be found in China so why buy it there and have to carry it home? I did get a chance to go to the Taj, but again, I was not that "wow-ed" by it either! I think it's because nothing can compare to the wow-factor when seeing the Great Wall. The Taj just seemed smaller than what I expected. It literally took me 1 hour to slowly walk through the entire place. The Agra Fort was so-so too... hm... I guess I had higher expectations. I think the hardest thing for me to take was how TOUGH it was to get anything done in that country... getting a taxi required 15 minutes of negotiating, stores don't open until 11am, people don't really get the idea of "fast," and finally, there are always MEN everywhere and that feeling is not so great. You'd like I would like to To sum it all up, I think that I won't be going back to India anytime soon. It was a bit too much for me to take. I will entertain going to south India though...heard it is much prettier.

Motorcycle Accident: I must admit, after going to India I do hate China less, but today just made me rethink this statement. As I walk down the street, minding my own business, on the sidewalk, on my way to work, a f'ing motorcycle comes zooming up behind me and smacked me into the wall. I started cursing at the guy and he actually had the nerve to back up and yell at me! We got into an argument and I decided to call the cops. However, the cops were just as incompetent. I just gave up! An office assistant at work however said "we're not giving up... we're going to the police station to file a formal complaint." That was a complete waste of time. We get to the station and I get into ANOTHER argument with the police. What a ridiculous country this is .... sometimes, I totally believe that people here SHOULD get paid what they get paid... peanuts.

I really hope that this message gets out to as many people as possible so that someday... just SOMEDAY.. things might change here... Until next time... (BTW... this post is about a month old because China blocks ALLLLL blogs so I have to get on VPN in order to get on! again... ridiculous!)

Chinese New Year 2009

So Philip... I am writing this for you :) I am very thankful that you are my one big fan so I'm going to update you on what I've been doing for the past few weeks...
China usually closes for about a week to celebrate Chinese New Year. I of course have to take full advantage of this time off so our entire family decided to take a trip to Sri Lanka. We originally planned to go to Israel but due to war going on, it was not safe enough for us to go. I wanted to definitely go somewhere warm and our family has traveled to so many places in the world that we only came up with Sri Lanka as the one place where we have all not gone before. I was super excited because I heard many great things about the place from my friends here in Shanghai. It's very interesting how my friends here have traveled a lot and my friends back home always think that I have traveled a lot!
The flight to Sri Lanka took foreverrrrrr... It was extremely tiring to have to transfer in Singapore to get there but it was worth it. When we arrived, I was just excited to take off my layers of winter clothes! We could not have asked for better weather. Sunshine every day! We were in Colombo for just a day and we set off to the north to a place that starts with a "G"... damn I already forgot. I guess I should just say some of the activities that we participated in... we rode elephants (I was able to sit on the elephant's head... what a great experience), we ate a lot of seafood, fed some wild monkeys, we saw lots of tea factories, and I was able to walk a lot. we hiked up one of the most beautiful old "rocks" where the king lived. It was FANTASTIC. I will attempt to load some photos of this as well. All in all my family had a great time. It was interesting to take a trip with the entire fam after a long long time. It was quite a challenge of course... we fought about a lot of stuff, but when we're on vacation, the anger seems to go away a lot faster :) My parents are now on their way to Thailand before heading back to the good ol' USA. Can't believe that they've been out of the country for 6 months now! Time flies.
For me, I'm back in Shanghai for another week because I have a class that I must finish. I will then take off until Feb 28th to go back to the States!!! I can't wait. I have not been home in over a year now and it's killing me. No matter what, home is where one grows up. I am super attached to the states even though I have been living overseas for almost two years now! I said to myself that I just need to last one year... now I'm going on my second! I am not sure if I will come home soon because of the terrible economy and I'm just happy to have a job right now. I am hoping to get some idea of where I'd like to be situated some mid 2009. Looking at somewhere on the west coast... I realized how much I love the sun and the warm weather... I will trade in any big city just for the warmth!
I'm planning my May holiday trip to go somewhere too. China gives us a few days off in May for labor day so I'm going to hopefully jump on a plane and go to Laos. I have never been to this country and if the price is right, I'm there! I am also considering Mongolia or Nepal, but don't know about the cost. I will definitely keep you updated (Phil).
Until next time... Ayubowan (in Sri Lankan this means "to good health") I will be seeing the rest of you all in NYC and DC/MD very very soon. xoxo