LoveJY

It’s been such a long time, and so much has happened since my last post. Here’re just a few snippets:

This is one of the designs for the metro tickets; our favorite. There are supposed to be 12 fully functional lines + a section of the 13th line by the expo in May 2010. Today, Metro Line 1 actually stopped because of a minor collision. Traffic everywhere, no one got to work on time. Ricky had to walk 2+ miles (3.2 km for the metric savvy) to work.

The best 生煎包s that we’ve had so far.

Outside the fabric market at Lujiabang, with quail eggs. They’re hardboiled here, fried in Taiwan, delicious either way!

Ricky with 玉米 or, as he calls it, 包谷.

Lady selling potstickers and 小龙包s. We saw some foreigners eating in front of her cart, and Ricky asked her how much. She discreetly raised three fingers behing her bamboo steamers, out of the foreigners’ sight. I’m guessing they paid 10RMB. It pays to speak Chinese, is what I’m learning. Also, notice the 老干妈. If you don’t know what 老干妈 is, go to 99 Ranch. You will not regret.

Directed by Ricky. Lots being torn down before the Expo. Destructive or Progressive, that’s not for us to decide.

A cat started following us because it smelled our food. I was sad to leave it, since I was about to pick up an orange tabby the next day.

This is the little guy that I did get to take home. The lady who saved him called him 朋友, and said his favorite toy is a tampon.

So far, it’s true. We think he was feral, so he doesn’t like to held too much, but he follows and sits next to us a lot. I’m thinking of naming him 地铁, to remember this crazy metro-less day.

Interesting juxtaposition. That word always makes things sound more serious than they really are. Anyway, I went shopping for kitchen supplies today, and decided to spend a little more money on the cutest sponges I’ve ever seen. I suppose it’s all part of a subconscious effort to make home more homey–and the fact that I almost can’t resist these kinds of things. I’m having an internal conflict; my nesting instinct versus desire to be mobile. Why get attached to something you know you’ll have to leave? Ah, so philosophical. In the end, I still believe it’s better to have loved and lost, than not to have loved at all.

On a lighter note, Ricky and I ate at Saizeriya tonight, and noticed this sign as we were paying for our dinner.  I don’t mind at all, since I don’t expect everything to be spick and span here; just thought it was funny how it actually says “Fail”. The food is not bad… Not great either, but the price is definitely fair. Glad I had my P&S with me all day; I’m going to keep with me wherever I go from now on, because there’s always going to be something that I’ll be glad to be able to look back at someday. And I must start using shorter sentences.

The world is to my left; anytime I can afford a distraction, I can just turn my head and be reminded that I’m in Shanghai. The stadium takes up half the view, and right now I can hear people racing their RC cars in the parking lot. All the walls in China are hardly sound-proof. They block out as much sound as they do heat, which feels like practically none. The biggest thing I have yet to get used to in Shanghai is that people usually don’t turn on the heater for the whole house… just for the bedrooms. This makes for painfully cold bathrooms in the morning (thank goodness for toilet seat covers!), and after showers, but thankfully there are little space heaters for a good price.

I felt very proud of myself today when a lady on the street stopped me to ask for directions in Shanghainese. I happened to know the road she was looking for (which also helped me understand what she was saying), and I happily pointed the way. Although I only consider myself familiar with small sections of a few of streets in my area, it’s nice feeling like I’m finally starting to know my way around.

On another note, I got a job! Well, right now I’m on a one-month no-pay trial of sorts, but it has definite opportunity to turn into my regular job here. I’m a personal assistant for a fashion photography team from Milan, trying to start their own business here in Shanghai. I can work mostly at home, or on the run, whatever the case may be for the task at hand, like doing research, making calls, or buying materials. I’m really excited about this because it’s more than I expected or hoped for, in terms of career field and exposure to different types of art.

Well, to sum this up, Ricky and I are finally starting to settle into our daily rhythm, but it’s hard since he just recovered from his cold and I’m fighting off mine. We have plans to eat healthy, exercise, and make sure we see and experience as much as we can of what Shanghai– and the rest of China!– has to offer.

I just need to make sure that I don’t eat too many delicious breads from 85 degrees, since it’s on my way home from the metro stop. Good for breakfasts, baaaaaad for late-night munchies.