Limping Marathon Runner

Suppose to have a game of badminton today. However, I think the E-booking system over the net has screwed up. A double booking. People pissed. I wasn't even mad yet. There is just one "senior badminton wannabe" who was kicking up a big fuss. I offered to take one court and let them have the other one. He simply didn't buy my idea. He was raising his voice over this matter to the facilities' staff. What the heck!!! It wasn't even this gentleman's fault. It was a bloody programming glitch. Mince the programmer instead!! Grumpy old man. Fortunately, his pals were much more understanding than this "I want to speak to your management" badminton wannabe. I left the place, informing the rest of the friendly elderly that I have asked my buddies not to come. But, I guess what is most important is that why kick up a big fuss over someone who offers help to resolve problems? Silly old man.

It started with Mr. Sun smiling brightly over every block around my estate. Just short, in the afternoon, it rained. Wet and wild days are here to stay. So wet that I doubt I can hardly arrange any tennis sessions. Wild.... ?... X'mas is here soon, following by New Year 2005, that can be wild.

Another year has passed by. Its either you love it or hate it. Ah Beng (my friend, a.k.a. Bird Bird Tan) asked me:

Beng: "These few years, time really flies faster, hor."
Sotong (that's me): "Time is constant. 10, 20 years before. Time still tick at a constant rate. If you say it flies faster, its because you feel you're getting old and not achieving more. Summary .. tired is the word."

Beng: "Another 10 years from now, we will face possible retrenchment. We'll either be beggars or beg for jobs."
Sotong: "Hey, either way, it works."

That's why I think the government is educating the society to do financial planning on your own, or engage financial consultants. You see people stretch their dollars, paying everything by installments (barely leaving any for savings). Living a high profile lifestyle. Choose your option:

Package A:
Now - Drive fancy cars, staying 5* local accomodation, clubbing at every hotspot in town, strives to be seen.
30 years from now - You'll still be seen, on the streets. That is if you screw up your job, can't pay your loans. Compounding interest on your loans and savings enough to buy you a bun a day is on the way.

Package B:
Now - Buy what you can pay now, travel on public transport (still, you can be seen).
30 years from now - Eat what ever you feel like, still being able to pay for any bills (medical bills might be one's greatest concern by then), have a roof over you head during rainy days.

Anyway, I hope I can still jog tonight. I need to carry on limping.

Yep... life has its ups and downs. Probably its my view in life, I think there are people who are just too comfortable with their area of operation. Hey. If you can't change the environment, you have to change.

It has been 4 days since I had coffee. What an achievement!!! Well...you see, I'm trying to cut down on caffeine. From my usual, a cup of coffee per day, to once a week. So, I made Friday a "Caffeine Day", which I would only allow myself to have one cup. A pat on the back, for myself!!

Today is my off day. I hardly get a chance to rot at home. Well, since I have some physical fitness test tomorrow, I thought I might as well take a night off from jogging. Guess I have more updating to do on this blog site.

This is a log of my Shanghai Trip. Not much of a log on things that I have because its a business trip instead of leisure. But, I've mainly documentated interesting dishes that I have tasted over there.

Day 1 : 23 May 2004
Upon touchdown at Pudong Airport, I can see that the airport has a modern look. Immigration is still okay, where there is long queue but everyone moves quickly. Once out of the airport, there was a cool breeze, such a different climate as compared to the hot and stuffy climate back at home.

Along the way to the service apartment, I was busy looking at the buildings that they have along the way. They look like Taipei's city layout, if you ask me.

Once I reached the apartment, I changed and headed towards the Bund. I took some pictures before heading towards Nanjing Rd, where all the neon lights, eateries and shopping are. So many familiar shops around. KFC, Mac, Subway, Yoshinoya, Ajisen, etc. Much of this is tourist stuff. I saw a dog meat store on the way. After my ramen dinner at Ajisen, I went back to the Bund for more pictures of the night scene of Pearl TV Station. Breeze at the bund is strong. Anyway, my apartment is just 10 mins walk away from the bund.

Back at the apartment, I can even see capital land towers(sound familiar?). So much for first night. Sleepy already ... need pilos.

Day 2: 24 May 2004
Got a shock, thought I was late. It was 5 plus in the morning when I woke up and found that the sky is already bright as noon. I continued to sleep till 6.30am, get changed and be ready for breakfast. Breakfast at 30th floor was with a good view of the Pearl TV station in panoramic view. Soon, it was off to our Shanghai branch for work, meeting everyone there. So, much on work. Of course, I shall not discuss about work. Lunch is interesting. We had lunch at one of their local eatery, which had a local ambience. We had duck cooked in beer, pork belly as appetizer, wintermelon and carrot soup, chicken feet's tendons, bean curd with chicken mince meat, stir fry vegetables, stir fry pork with mushrooms. Yummy.... Very interesting cuisine. Moreover, we had rice that cooked in little clay rice bowls that looked like flower pots. But, there was something that I noticed about the locals here.They do not really eat rice in their meals like lunch. They just feast on the dishes that they order. Oooops ... Time's up ... back to work.

Dinner after work....., we went to Xin Tian Di. A hip place with lots of pubs and restaurants. I heard that they even have a website dedicated to this place. Ahhh... starbucks .... familiar. We went to a restaurant that serves food like our local flavor. They had curry fish head, satay, curry puffs, etc. In my humble opinion, the dishes are decorated well and boy, am I hungry. Afterall, it looks like a posh restaurant. But, the food does not taste as good as our hometown. Probably, it has been prepared to suit the local taste. From Xin Tian Di, I can figure my way back to my apartment (born with capabilities of a map reader, I'm a navigator). Back in apartment, I had to finish up some work on reports. Mmm... someone actually called my room to ask if I wanted massage. Ha....and I thought this only happens in Taiwan. Fortunately, she was quite courteous to hang up the call when I refused any services. My motto: Don't try. You might set fire on more than just your butt alone.

Day 3: 25 May 2004
I almost could not wake up because my watch (as alarm) is under my pilo. I had to rush for breakfast. For lunch, we are having something interesting again. Yum yum. Fried eel with banana slices. Another interesting dish. The other dishes are still okay, but not as exciting as the fried eel.

At night, we went for dinner at one of those Hong Kong restaurant with a Zen theme. It is easy to see that most people who patronise here are businessmen. Classy and yet food is expensive, well...at least to the locals here. An interesting dish I had was sweet bbq pork ribs... A familiar dish would be an appetizer, cucumber with soy and oil(taste like hainanese chicken rice cucumber). Another appetizer that was totally interesting was plain pomelo. Soup ... ahh ... something that all cantonese would say that it's a must have. It was a carrot, corn with lean meat soup. Taste totally like my mum's cooking.

We walked around the area near to Xin Tian Di and further up to somewhere far. Fortunately, I was near the subway. I took a train, 2 stops back to Ren Min Guang Chang, which is just next to Nanjing Rd. So, I had to walk our way back to our hotel. Well, the subway wasn't such a bad idea. But, I got quite a shock since I saw people eating and drinking in the subway which is a rare sight back home. Tonight, it is quite hazy, and couldn't see the Oriental Pearl TV station as clearly as the previous two nights.

Day 4: 26 May 2004
This morning, it was really hazy up at the cafe on 30th floor of my apartment. Breakfast was as usual. It was still as busy at work. For lunch, I got to taste some excellent dishes at a really run-down side of the town. The restaurant is tastefully decorated and there is a really cute waitress. Now, on with the dishes. First, it was duck with deep fried golden brown ultra thin ginger slices. The ginger slices was not at all spicy. In fact, it tasted more like fries or potato chips, with dash of ginger flavor. Next, we had eggplant with golden mushroom. Funny combination, but, it turned out to be as good as the first dish. The next dish, stir fry bacon with long beans and water chestnut was my favorite. It has a good combination of vegetable and meat. The cod with beancurd and salted vegetable was well done too. I was most amazed by the way that the chef who prepared the Triple layered fatty pork with vegetable. Each of us had a small bowl. The pork was fat, with lean meat. It is called Dong Bo Meat. But, it kind to my taste bud was smooth as wine. After a satisfied meal, on to more work again.

For dinner, we went to Pudong side, where roads are wider as compared to Puxi. The place where we took our dinner is called Ai Wan Ting, which is very near to the Oriental Pearl TV Station. For appetizer, we had pig tail in bbq sauce (a cold dish). We tasted the famous shanghai crytal dumplings and fermented beancurd too.

After dinner, I took a picture with David Chen, Nicky and Susan, standing in front of the restaurant. Nicky and Susan went back home, so, we proceeded to the Oriental Pearl TV Station and bought tickets to the 2nd highest level of the tower at 263metres. It cost $50 RMB. To reach the top, it would cost $100 RMB. We walked around and I took some night shots of the Shanghai Bund and the Pudong area. After which, we took a cab back. I came to realise two things. One is that traveling in cab in Shanghai is really cheap. $10 RMB for the first 3km. Second thing is that cab drivers are really skillfulwhen it comes to driving in Shanghai. They can really speed and cut corners. But, for pedestrians, even crossing a street becomes an art (in dodging cars and bicycles). One more thing, there isn't a minute that you will not hear the sound of cars horning. I learned that they use the chinese word "Ting" or as in listen in English, for a can (like a can of Pepsi). Another thing, I didn't see any Coke in Shanghai, it is all Pepsi....oh Brother... You can get Coca Cola, but only at specific places.

Day 5: 27 May 2004
Breakfast, .... pass.. its the American breakfast again. Off to work and more stuff to be completed. Lunch was still ok today. We had some mini crustaceans which looked like mini lobsters. More like thumb sized lobsters. Dinner was exotic. I think it is a muslim orientated restaurant because they are serving XinJiang cuisine. Their appetizer was yoghurt. It is taken with sugar, after stirring together with yoghurt.I took my first gulp of yoghurt without sugar added just to have a feel of what it is like. Oooooo.....it was sour as lemon, with a dash of fermented smell. I would think that it goes well with sugar. They had some sort of a chicken pie for appetizers too. It is mince meat, in dough and baked to perfection. I think that is good too. They even had dances and performances in the restaurant while patrons are having their meals. We ordered so much food until we could not finish it. Too much leftovers. I tried their XinJiang red wine, which in my opinion, I think that it is a little bland as compared to those from California, France or Australia. But, overall, I still think that its suitable for daily consumption over dinner. We took a little stroll over to the XiangYang Road to try to shop at the "OEM" market. However, it was already 9+ pm and theyhave already closed for the day. Well, guess we'lll have to come again another day. Along the way, there were many people approaching us, touting...asking us to buy "OEM"watches and bags. So, we carried on walking and I discovered the that road, along theway, can actually lead us back to Hong Kong Square. Mmmm..... it all seems clear now. I can sort of navigate around the area, without much difficulty.

I did surf the Internet and found that they have marathon in Shanghai too. How couldthey not have when Shanghai is such a big city. Mmmm .... I think I will come for the marathon race one day.... Marathon in Beijing Great Wall of China..... that would be a great feeling too.

Day 6: 28 May 2004
Today's lunch was with all the big bosses. The cooking has been specially prepared more suited to our taste like back at home. The dumpling soup was fantastic. Salad was simply delicious.

Dinner, once again, appetizers were great. There was lotus roots, which had their holes filled with glutonous rice, cooked with sweet sauce. The deep fried eel was great too. The stir fry donkey meat with lady fingers was something different. It tasted more like pork.

After dinner, we walked around the Capital Land building area, which was just a stone throw away from the Nanjing Rd. The Capital Land building is also called Raffles City (don't they all have the same names??). Once I step into the building, I get the feeling that I am in a shopping mall, back in town.

Day 7: 29 May 2004
It was only half day at work, since it was a Saturday. We had lunch at some simple Italian style restaurant. After lunch, we went over to XiangYang Rd "OEM" market. When almost near to the site, there are loads and loads of people who will approach you to see their stuff(mostly imitation) like LV bags and watches. I was tired of reply "No", "No, thank you". At a point, I thought it would be better to just keep quiet, because they will actually bug you and walk with you for the whole stretch of the entire road. They will follow you where you go. However, when I shook my head, I got jigged by 2 ladies asking if I had just taken ecstacy. Ignoring them totally,which would be the best thing to do, I proceeded to cross the road the Xiang Yang market. It is not a very huge area. But, I guess you could get pretty confused at times of your own location because most of the items that are sold in one shop couldbe found in another. I discovered that prices quoted by the stall owners are usually was higher than the cost price. It is possible at times to slash the price down to 50% of the initial price that they asked for. After buying some T-shirts, I went back to my apartment for the day. I stopped by the Bund for a Japanese dinner.

Day 8: 30 May 2004
After breakfast, I walked over to the Yu Yuan Gardens. It is more of a tourist orientated area, I guess. There isn't much things that I can write over here since its my last day in Shanghai and I'll be rushing to the airport soon. It'll be home sweet home.

Yoiz,..its been 4 days since Valentine's Day. Happy days for some people and normal days for others. I had a great time on V-Day. I took time to think about all that has happened. Things happened for a reason. Just hope that things would go better. Keep our fingers crossed.
I went shopping around with my colleague to get a present for his wife, for Valentine's Day (of course) . Ooops .. I have been out of action for so long that I think I've lost it. Or at least, I feel lost.

Kitty, Beng and I were playing tennis today, after work. It was fun. Finally, I had the chance to try out my new TT Scream racquet. At least, I'm happy with it. I need to work more on the control. Mmmm....next monday, we're playing again. :)

It was turtle's birthday yesterday. HAppiiii Birthdddeeeyyyy!!!! I got a book and some chocolates as presents..... Well....chocolates are known to produce chemicals that make people happy and that's exactly what a turtle needs now. *Wink*