que pasa - on_the_road

Beijing opera

noreply@blogspirit.com (mashie) — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 22:45:00 +0800

A friend and I decided to go get us some culture so we went for a Beijing opera last Saturday. The Chinese title is 狸猫换太子, translated as "Civet, A Substitute for a Prince" (I didn't do the translation).

I was half expecting some rather wayang-ish opera (i.e. very ching-chong-chang type, Singaporeans will know what I mean) and suspected I would walk out halfway because I didn't understand. Yet we went anyway because we got the cheapest seats and figured RMB 60 wasn't too much damage... It turned out quite alright actually.

Between the short English summaries at the beginning of each…

-3

noreply@blogspirit.com (mashie) — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 12:27:28 +0800

It's been really cold the past 2 weeks in Shanghai. Just this week past, it went down to -3 degrees Celcius. Today it's 7-14 degrees so I think the cold spell is over. I've been so bundled up that I can't turn my neck without turning my body, it's ridiculous.

I'm looking forward to coming home this Thursday. Get to see my family and friends again. That will be lovely.

(Until then, I need to clear a few major hurdles at work. Wish me wisdom and good luck!)

Santa in Shanghai

noreply@blogspirit.com (mashie) — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 00:48:00 +0800

Santa came in surprising forms this year:

He came in the form of my friend who was leaving Shanghai for good. She gave me all her extra stuff that I could actually use (pillows, mattress, food stuff, toiletries, detergent, miscellaneous things). I will have lots of unpacking to do to get my apartment into a decent state again.

He came in the form of my cell group friends who hosted a fantastic home-cooked dinner. Turkey, mashed potatoes, apple pie, bread. Yummy.

He came in the form of very good sleep last night, that unfortunately ended up in me waking up late…

As the saying goes...

noreply@blogspirit.com (mashie) — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 23:35:19 +0800

... distant relatives are not as good as close neighbours.

Or in my case, landlady.

I had some problems recently with the apartment. A few weeks ago, one of the faucets was leaking and I informed the landlady. She came the next evening immediately to get somebody to fix it. When that young guy couldn't do the job, she called up an older man (who happens to be her elementary school friend and lives in the same apartment building as me) to help. I think she ended up staying for a couple of hours to see the thing done and she…

7th week in Shanghai

noreply@blogspirit.com (mashie) — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 08:32:20 +0800

I’ve found my apartment in Shanghai guys, so I can now take visitors. It is good to have this part of my life settled. My apartment isn’t fantastic but it works, and you’re welcome to visit.

So many things have happened in the past 6 weeks since I’ve moved to Shanghai. I’ve started work with a new company but still in the same line – an private investment firm that invests in startups. Between work demands and expectations and apartment hunting, it has been tiring. Thank Papa though that one of the easiest, and probably the best, things that have happened…

Adventures of this gaijin in Kyoto

noreply@blogspirit.com (mashie) — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 17:45:00 +0800

Right, on to the second part of my Japan trip – Kyoto. Gaijin is the Japanese word for foreigner, which I totally was.

Shinkansen is FREAKIN expensive
I paid 13,000 yen for an unreserved seat in economy class, one way. Took 2.5 hours to reach Kyoto.
I wanna say that the Shinkansen really no big deal, you can't tell how fast it’s going (i.e. super fast), but apparently, that’s why it's such a big deal. Oh well, I always thought the idea was to watch things zip by until your neck hurts from trying to turn so fast...

Anyway, just like…

Mt. Fuji summer pack list and notes

noreply@blogspirit.com (mashie) — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 10:00:00 +0800

If you're planning to climb Mt. Fuji in the summer and you're planning to spend a night at one of the cabins for a night, here's what I recommend you pack:

- Winter jacket (for strong winds and cold weather during the night and when ascending to the summit)
- Ear warmers & scarf, thermals/long johns (unless you're really resilient)
- Cap (provide shade under sun, block face from flying sands, keep head warm)
- Extra T-shirt and long sleeve shirt (layer as you go up)
- Wet wipes
- 2 litres of water
- Energy bars/snickers/beef jerky/biscuits
- High altitude…

Headlines from Tokyo

noreply@blogspirit.com (mashie) — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 09:15:00 +0800

I had a fantastic time in Tokyo hanging with Joy, Seng and Jukebox. I don't think we were in Tokyo city proper, but that was just fine, I was just there to chill. Didn't go shopping or even step into Shinjuku or Ikebukuro - will do that on my way back.

Just followed along with whatever Joy and Seng had on - which was quite a bit actually. We went to Joy's kids' club, camping with their neighbors, hung out/had meals with their friends, and climbed Mt Fuji. I didn't have a camera but you can ask Seng if you wanna…

Half a plane full of kids

noreply@blogspirit.com (mashie) — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 17:50:17 +0800

My flight back to Singapore was half filled with Chinese 3rd graders. They were on some program that the Singapore government is running, their bright red t-shirts exclaiming singaporeedu.gov.sg on the back. I dreaded the flight, 50 little boys and girls had the potential to turn the 5 hour flight into a nightmare.

I have to say, it didn't turn out as bad as I thought. Except when they kept exclaiming (in Chinese), "Earthquake! Earthquake!" when the plane was trembling as it took off. Except when they kept going "Woooe... woooe..." whenever we encountered turbulence. Except when they kept calling out…

Relocation

noreply@blogspirit.com (mashie) — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 18:00:28 +0800

For work purposes, I will be relocating to Beijing in August. Maybe I will have a chance to be there for the Olympics after all. This relocation is in effect the result of June’s upheaval and turmoil. Well, actually I thought about it and decided almost 3 weeks ago, but it's just now that I'm sharing about it.

Essentially I need to be closer to potential investors. And they're not here in Chengdu, they're in Beijing and Shanghai. It so happens that my apartment lease expires this Thursday so I've been slowly packing up for the past three weeks, preparing for…