A few days of gorgeous weather here in the San Francisco Bay, I feel mostly peaceful and relaxed. I feel fortunate to have a place that I can go to as a sanctuary for the mind. The familiarity and the memory, when shone under the beautiful sunlight makes one want to cringe with love. I am traveling with a friend new to the area but not to California and it is nice to be able to show someone around for the first time the beauty of the region.
That said, I can see how things can again be too peaceful so that it becomes boring if I were to stay. I thought about all the amazing places that I have been in the world and that I equally appreciate, the countryside of France and the Italian border with Switzerland... their more exotic nature make them equally attractive. And it would be a lot to also give up my study of human nature back in China. With so many people brushing shoulders with each other and access to all levels of the society on the move, I feel it gives one the ideal classroom to understand ourselves, what motivates us, how society and history impact our lives. All of that, I cannot get in a peaceful and beautiful place like here.
It after all, is a great place to return to, heal one's wounds and then go back to the battleground to understand and conquer a piece of the world.
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Missing Bay Area
I will be on that plane to San Francisco this Saturday, two weeks after I have returned from Shanghai. Two weeks here has already been a bit too long I think. I miss the San Francisco Bay Area. Of course, I am sure being on the ground in a few days shall put me back in touch with an un-idealized picture, but still.
I get annoyed all the time at my ex-crush, the way he never ceases to talk about himself and dissses the world and filling his rants with Chinese expletives, the way he still flirts with the private equity girl, the way he just doesn't care about me. I have moved on but sitting next to the guy doesn't help.
I definitely will spend more time in Shanghai after I return from San Fran. I have already begun to clean up my apartment so that I can rent it out when I am gone in the future. I think it is doable. I bought a file cabinet with a lock so I can lock up my personal stuff. My automatic fish feeder seemed to have done the job last time. I am now buying the tube to automatically empty my dehumidifier box so that I won't come back to an apartment with mold growing. I think everything is under way. I also got into more of a home improvement mode. Whether it is changing my sink cabinet or kitchen cabinet and installing an oven, why don't I just make my humble abode more liveable? It should ultimately be better rental value or resell value. Pet project, besides maybe picking up golfing or tennis. Market is bad, but why not take the time to enjoy things while one can.
I daydream more often of settling back in the Bay Area, at least for a little while. Can I just quit and go? Without school as a break now, career just seems like an endless conveyor belt of days strung together that turn into years and decades. Is it possible to stop and think? I always wanted meaning in my life. Not to say that that I don't have it, but am I destined to live just an ordinary uneventful life? One filled with reports and overtime in the office. Is it possible to achieve more grandeur than that?
In light of making this blog a bit more fun, I'm trying to add a few pictures here and there to jazz it up.
I get annoyed all the time at my ex-crush, the way he never ceases to talk about himself and dissses the world and filling his rants with Chinese expletives, the way he still flirts with the private equity girl, the way he just doesn't care about me. I have moved on but sitting next to the guy doesn't help.
I definitely will spend more time in Shanghai after I return from San Fran. I have already begun to clean up my apartment so that I can rent it out when I am gone in the future. I think it is doable. I bought a file cabinet with a lock so I can lock up my personal stuff. My automatic fish feeder seemed to have done the job last time. I am now buying the tube to automatically empty my dehumidifier box so that I won't come back to an apartment with mold growing. I think everything is under way. I also got into more of a home improvement mode. Whether it is changing my sink cabinet or kitchen cabinet and installing an oven, why don't I just make my humble abode more liveable? It should ultimately be better rental value or resell value. Pet project, besides maybe picking up golfing or tennis. Market is bad, but why not take the time to enjoy things while one can.
I daydream more often of settling back in the Bay Area, at least for a little while. Can I just quit and go? Without school as a break now, career just seems like an endless conveyor belt of days strung together that turn into years and decades. Is it possible to stop and think? I always wanted meaning in my life. Not to say that that I don't have it, but am I destined to live just an ordinary uneventful life? One filled with reports and overtime in the office. Is it possible to achieve more grandeur than that?
In light of making this blog a bit more fun, I'm trying to add a few pictures here and there to jazz it up.
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Extreme sports expats
I went to a British diver's talk at the Royal Geographic Society last night - a group of mostly commonwealth expats in Hong Kong. I bumped into a few ex-coworkers as expected, since it was a very commonwealth-ish place. There was a new HR head at my old workplace that I found useful to get to know. He said the market is bad and no one left the company after bonus as he expected people to do.
After the talk by the famed British diver who made about 8,000 dives around the world, I got together with four white expat guys, from Germany, Scotland, England and US, for beer. All of them have been in Hong Kong for approximately fifteen years and I find it great to talk to that group. They are a lot like my old colleagues - those that I could become long-term friends with. I found it easy to talk to them. Whether it is because I'm the only girl or that they felt compelled to be nice to an Asian, I don't know. But I find it pretty nice.
The Scot who invited me and sat next to me talked about all the extreme sports he does. He did bungy jumping and sky diving a few dozen times, in addition to diving every weekend. He's also involved in a band. It seems like a full-on life that puts my mundane desk job to shame. The German guy spent more than three years consulting for the Shanghai Stock Exchange in Shanghai before, and found it a great place to live and the people much similar to German than the Spanish that he used to work with back in Munich. I am happy to have found such a group. I will try to go to the event next week which deals with China and try to live a more interesting life.
My Chinese crush finally came to talk to me today and asked me about Shanghai, four days after I have returned. He came out of the blue and I was again quite startled and jumped from my seat upon his approach. He said that he's more scared than me when I get so scared every time he tries to talk to me. He said he just returned from an hedge fund conference there, they invited him to speak because he knows Chinese. But then corrected himself and said because he speaks English. He then complained about how quiet the office is, as if there is a curfew on, and there is no privacy for making client phone calls etc. The Hong Kong woman kept complaining about the status of her bull dogs on the phone and everyone knows about it in the office. He wanted to break the silence, he said. He wants to start watching porn in the office. I guess that was tongue in cheek.
I rounded off the evening by going to a Hong Kong speed-dating event, where I met about 30 people. Before going to the event, I was inspired by digging up the marriage details of daughter of the Taiwanese president Ma Yingjiou. She attended Harvard around my year and married a classmate currently working in Hong Kong. Interestingly enough, the guy also grew up in California, came to Hong Kong around the same time, left around the same time (I for business school and he for modeling gig, both in Europe), and actually lives in my neighborhood. Literally. But then the speeddating event turned out more of a disappointment, where most people were local Hong Kong crowd who can't think outside of their little island. Besides, there were few good looking guys. They were younger, lots of IT in a bank type. At least I tried there.
After the talk by the famed British diver who made about 8,000 dives around the world, I got together with four white expat guys, from Germany, Scotland, England and US, for beer. All of them have been in Hong Kong for approximately fifteen years and I find it great to talk to that group. They are a lot like my old colleagues - those that I could become long-term friends with. I found it easy to talk to them. Whether it is because I'm the only girl or that they felt compelled to be nice to an Asian, I don't know. But I find it pretty nice.
The Scot who invited me and sat next to me talked about all the extreme sports he does. He did bungy jumping and sky diving a few dozen times, in addition to diving every weekend. He's also involved in a band. It seems like a full-on life that puts my mundane desk job to shame. The German guy spent more than three years consulting for the Shanghai Stock Exchange in Shanghai before, and found it a great place to live and the people much similar to German than the Spanish that he used to work with back in Munich. I am happy to have found such a group. I will try to go to the event next week which deals with China and try to live a more interesting life.
My Chinese crush finally came to talk to me today and asked me about Shanghai, four days after I have returned. He came out of the blue and I was again quite startled and jumped from my seat upon his approach. He said that he's more scared than me when I get so scared every time he tries to talk to me. He said he just returned from an hedge fund conference there, they invited him to speak because he knows Chinese. But then corrected himself and said because he speaks English. He then complained about how quiet the office is, as if there is a curfew on, and there is no privacy for making client phone calls etc. The Hong Kong woman kept complaining about the status of her bull dogs on the phone and everyone knows about it in the office. He wanted to break the silence, he said. He wants to start watching porn in the office. I guess that was tongue in cheek.
I rounded off the evening by going to a Hong Kong speed-dating event, where I met about 30 people. Before going to the event, I was inspired by digging up the marriage details of daughter of the Taiwanese president Ma Yingjiou. She attended Harvard around my year and married a classmate currently working in Hong Kong. Interestingly enough, the guy also grew up in California, came to Hong Kong around the same time, left around the same time (I for business school and he for modeling gig, both in Europe), and actually lives in my neighborhood. Literally. But then the speeddating event turned out more of a disappointment, where most people were local Hong Kong crowd who can't think outside of their little island. Besides, there were few good looking guys. They were younger, lots of IT in a bank type. At least I tried there.
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Mundane life in chicken coup
Back to Hong Kong office this Monday and mostly feeling quite depressed. The office is just dead silent as usual and no one was there to greet you. No one acted as if they saw you. Everyone just quietly typing away, be it useless reports or facebook entries. And right here and right now, blogspot entries. I got increasingly annoyed at my Chinese crush after I got back. I remembered all the occasions when he slighted me. The fact that he either does not have the social decency or the etiquette to even greet me after I've been gone for two weeks just makes him not worth my time. I can see it more clearly now. Distance sometimes gives the best clarity. I still appreciate his character, but somehow I think I am nowhere in his concerns. I will just give it up now. When I was leaving work on Monday, I bumped into him and then just turned the other way.
The way we sit so close together remind me of chickens in a tight living quarter. What fate await us all?
I am getting a few headhunter calls about positions available on the market. It is time for me to leave the Chinese bank now I think. I think I will miss it. But career moves on and my friend has a point that I can't just wait for love. I have to go for the next thing while I am at it. A big bank now has an open spot right now. I hope I get a chance at that spot.
My old affair will attend a friend's wedding in June in Cali with his new girlfriend. It will be another test of character at least, in the name of finding a potential mate. I just hope I will be socially graceful, look hot and not cry when I am there.
The way we sit so close together remind me of chickens in a tight living quarter. What fate await us all?
I am getting a few headhunter calls about positions available on the market. It is time for me to leave the Chinese bank now I think. I think I will miss it. But career moves on and my friend has a point that I can't just wait for love. I have to go for the next thing while I am at it. A big bank now has an open spot right now. I hope I get a chance at that spot.
My old affair will attend a friend's wedding in June in Cali with his new girlfriend. It will be another test of character at least, in the name of finding a potential mate. I just hope I will be socially graceful, look hot and not cry when I am there.
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Still discovering
Almost two weeks into living and working in Shanghai, I can say that I am still enjoying it. The long daily commute still bears with it a freshness, an experience that I liken to swimming in an ocean of people. I feel a strong curiosity to understand people, what they think and feel. I get excited by every conversation I come across on the subway, how the events of everyday life affect the thoughts and action of everyday people.
I am also quite active after work, meeting different friends and acquaintances, many I have either met back in school or those I met in Hong Kong now transplanted back to Shanghai. They are all very trustworthy people to me, those I can count on in times of need. The expats I come across at meetup events all seem to be struggling compared to the ones in Hong Kong. This is after all a Chinese society, and the foreigners are more or less marginalized, no one really holding high-powered executive jobs, only those on their temporary stop here in the process of finding themselves. Here, I feel most comfortable learning about being Chinese.
I have also booked a dinner at a high end local restaurant called 1088 for my dad's birthday Friday. It will be a worthwhile occasion. Mine is next Monday.
On a side note, I picked up a puppy on the side of the road one night and brought it home. Mom seems very cold and wanted to get rid of it. It is sweet though and I wish they can like it and allow it into the house.
I am also quite active after work, meeting different friends and acquaintances, many I have either met back in school or those I met in Hong Kong now transplanted back to Shanghai. They are all very trustworthy people to me, those I can count on in times of need. The expats I come across at meetup events all seem to be struggling compared to the ones in Hong Kong. This is after all a Chinese society, and the foreigners are more or less marginalized, no one really holding high-powered executive jobs, only those on their temporary stop here in the process of finding themselves. Here, I feel most comfortable learning about being Chinese.
I have also booked a dinner at a high end local restaurant called 1088 for my dad's birthday Friday. It will be a worthwhile occasion. Mine is next Monday.
On a side note, I picked up a puppy on the side of the road one night and brought it home. Mom seems very cold and wanted to get rid of it. It is sweet though and I wish they can like it and allow it into the house.
Got onto VPN. Avoided avian flu. Enjoying days back in shanghai.
More than a week into living in Shanghai, I finally managed to get onto my VPN and report my satisfactory process in sinking myself into the city life and discovering all its charm. I find myself here. The nostalgic feeling that I refused to acknowledge for so long, the faded memories, the ties people have with each other and the land that any book or China expert would not be able to convey. It is that feeling, it came back.
I am traveling a total of an hour and 45 minutes to get to work but so far it has been working out rather well. I doze off on the train and am now used to the trains. I like people's practicality, but I am sure part of the fun came from the newness. I get to experience all the best parts of the city without ever having to pay the price of actually living there. Life is not easy. I think besides pollution and unknown quality of food, commute time and the quality of expats and jobs are the other concerns.
I have been attending quite a few meetup events and meeting up with a few alumni as well as new friends in town. I like the down to earth connections people have with each other. Most people I can count on as more reliable and long term friends. People care and I am learning a lot more here. I also went clubbing at m1nt on Saturday. It was nice to get out.
Anyway, I would like to make shanghai a regular getaway place whenever I can. It needs to be one of my bases.
I am traveling a total of an hour and 45 minutes to get to work but so far it has been working out rather well. I doze off on the train and am now used to the trains. I like people's practicality, but I am sure part of the fun came from the newness. I get to experience all the best parts of the city without ever having to pay the price of actually living there. Life is not easy. I think besides pollution and unknown quality of food, commute time and the quality of expats and jobs are the other concerns.
I have been attending quite a few meetup events and meeting up with a few alumni as well as new friends in town. I like the down to earth connections people have with each other. Most people I can count on as more reliable and long term friends. People care and I am learning a lot more here. I also went clubbing at m1nt on Saturday. It was nice to get out.
Anyway, I would like to make shanghai a regular getaway place whenever I can. It needs to be one of my bases.
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