Friday, August 30, 2013

Zhoumo kuaile!

Happy Labor Day weekend! We'll be spending the next two days readjusting and refueling (it was absolute torture last night having to stay up past 9:00 p.m.). Below are some random thoughts with fun links.

After experiencing the grumpy flight attendants on our SFO-SHA leg, I had fun browsing this tumblr (Confessions of a Flight Attendant).

40 maps that will help you make sense of the world: I cringed at #12, smirked at #20, and giggled at #22.

11 untranslatable words from other cultures: Aren't some of these lovely? I'm having a bit of #9 right about now.

And how awesome will Shima look in this reversible dog coat? We may or may not have picked one up while in San Francisco.

Saturday, August 24, 2013

Sorry! (And zhoumo kuaile!)

I've been busy eating burritos and watching BravoTV.

And this weekend we're going off the grid seeking quiet and even fresher air. 

Til next week when we return to Chinaland. 

Saturday, August 17, 2013

Zhoumo kuaile!

Happy weekend from the airport in Shanghai! Our flight takes off in less than two hours, and in less than 14 hours (aye), we'll be in the beautiful city by the bay.

To kick off our trip home, we caught a showing of Cirque du Soleil's Michael Jackson the Immortal show during its Shanghai leg. I've been lucky enough to catch a few Cirque du Soleil performances in the past, and I must admit, this one didn't live up to expectations. In fact, this wasn't so much a Cirque show as it was a musical dance tribute to Michael Jackson. But that was okay. I just had to reset my expectations.

This was an interesting article to happen upon before catching the show.

And in other random China news: a zoo tried to pass off a dog as a lion. Yes.

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

More on Love Day

The Guardian compiled some great shots of Valentine's Day in China. The first one resonates especially well; every time Mike and I go dinner, we see couples at neighboring tables on their phones rather than in conversation. Why even bother going out?!

The story behind Chinese Valentine's Day (also known as Qixi Festival, celebrated the seventh day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar) is actually quite lovely. Although there are different versions of the tale, it tells the story of star-crossed lovers (star-crossed because of overbearing parents and opposing ranks in society) who are allowed only one day a year to see one another, when a flock of birds creates a bridge over the Milky Way to reunite them.
www.chinesefortunecalendar.com

I'm kind of embarrassed to admit that I first heard this story while watching Karate Kid (2010), the one with Will Smith's kid. It was on constant rotation here, along with Thor and Spider-Man (the one with Tobey Maguire).

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Happy Chinese VDay!

Today marks the day of looove for young Chinese couples. You may remember from last year's Valentine's Day post that lovers here show their affection by coordinating t-shirts. Check this serious couple out -- not only matching t-shirts, but matching outfits, down to the shoes!  
Meanwhile, l didn't get a t-shirt (thankfully), but I did get flowers (aaaw!).

Monday, August 12, 2013

Post #197

In anticipation of my 200th post (woot!), I decided to switch things up a bit. I hope you all like the new design and layout (and I secretly hope I get more comments and followers as a result!). Feedback is welcomed and appreciated.

It's a cool 95 degrees today. And no, there is no sarcasm in this last statement since we're down 10 degrees from last week. It was so hot, babies wore watermelons!

(Thank you, Kelly, for being the first to bring this awesomeness to my attention.)  

Friday, August 9, 2013

Zhoumo kuaile!

This might happen again this weekend:
Can you see who's in there?! For being a concrete jungle, Shanghai surprisingly has a good amount of parks, but unfortunately, not a lot of them are dog-friendly. So in order to get Shima to run wild and free, we have to ride about 20 minutes to South Bund (southwest of the river; site of the 2010 World Expo; quiet and seemingly deserted).   

We'll also be preparing for our trip home! We leave next weekend and will be spending about 10 days in Northern California. We can't wait; we're due for a trip to the homeland. And by "preparing," I mean making doctor's appointments, dinner reservations, and shopping lists.  

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Speaking of moving...

As much as we were looking to get out of our place, these guys are adamant about staying put.  

Thanks, Jill!

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Fatty Tuesday: Shanghai Street Food

It occurred to me that I've written about street food in Chengdu, Hangzhou, and even Seoul, but up until now, have left out Shanghai. It does exists here, and a lot of the time, outside of bars and clubs (kind of like San Francisco's danger dogs). What I find most fascinating about the street food here is the resourcefulness of the vendors whose mode of transportation and food prep/delivery mechanism is not a cart or a truck but a BIKE. Check this out:
Notice the plastic grocery bags of veggies, the makeshift cutting board, the red hose running from a tank of gas to a burner, on top of which sits a wok (being handled vigorously in the upper left). This was the noodle guy.  

Here's another example: a charcoal grill on one side (see it on the right?) and a whole bunch of skewers behind it (from fish-on-a-stick to a whole eggplant), soon to be seasoned and bbq'd. 
To answer the first question on your minds: Yes, we (as in Mike) has gotten a styrofoam container of noodles (with sausage!), and has also eaten a bbq'd eggplant. Both got his seal of approval (I had a few bites; I concur, although not enthusiastically).

And to answer the second question on your minds: No, we did not have to run to the bathroom immediately afterward (surprisingly). 

Monday, August 5, 2013

Apartment Photo Shoot

What a weekend of worldwide love and happiness! Two weddings and an engagement took place in London, San Diego, and Cape Cod. Congratulations to Kim & Alex, Dina & Robby, and Jill & Clay! Although it would have been hard to be in three places at once, it’s times like these that make me homesick and yearn to be closer to friends and family. 

So besides sending our thoughts to loved ones this weekend, we worked on bringing you photos of our new place. Enjoy!

Friday, August 2, 2013

Zhoumo kuaile!

So here's the story: We met our new landlord through our moms (the landlord's and mine), 6,500 miles away back in our hometown (the landlord's and mine). They (our moms) happened to be chatting at the gym one day and discovered that both their children happened to live in Shanghai. One had just finished renovating a 1930s apartment back to its former glory; the other just happened to want to move. 

The old apartment was just never us, as much as we tried hanging our art, putting up our photos, and displaying our treasures (remember the ladders?). The building was cold and sterile, not mention the fact that the ceiling leaked and mold was growing on the walls. 

Full of style and character, the new apartment is done impeccably well. If Mr. Gatsby would have had a small home in Shanghai, this would have been it. It makes me want to get a flapper dress made at the fabric market and take up smoking with one of those stick things (a quellazaire, Google tells me); Mike can wear his tuxedo and call his friends, "old sport." 

This weekend we'll be making a few purchases for the new place and doing a proper photo shoot because it's deserving of one. In the meantime, here's another preview:

Thursday, August 1, 2013

Quick Preview

It's all in the little details...
And there are so many details to share. Tomorrow...