Its gg to be a new month again

Once again the weekend has gone by … it was both an interesting and yet boring weekend. Friday evening, after working for a whole week, we went to a PUB after dinner. My Company’s german intern came along too. Too bad the Century Park girls could not join us, and Lee Tong was still busy at the office. We went to 茂名路 to look for the PUBS, walked towards the North for a long time to hit 巨鹿路 before we realized that there wasn’t really any PUBs along that stretch. We headed back and along the way, went into Garden Hotel to ask for directions. Apparently all the staff there a clueless about the nightlife in Shanghai. So, we walked on the other way, and we were lucky that we did not give up mid way when we finally hit the stretch of clubs that lined the roads. Famous clubs and pubs included the Blue Frog, Manhattan, Baby Face, etc … We decided to head into Babyface as the music was good and it looked like a damn hip place … It was damn crowded and there was absolutely no place to move around. We spent 40RMB to just go in and squeeze with the crowd.

Well, I told the gang that since we had the chop on our hands already, we could come back in at a later time, so we could go for a drink first … and so we went to Blue Frog for a drink. Blue Frog was a PUB, with lots of westerners. Its the sort for sitting around and drinking. Unlike Babyface which is more for the loud music and dancing sort (even though they don’t exactly have a decent dance floor) Had a Margarita which cost 45RMB … cheap or not, not too sure, since I am not a regular even in Singapore. Interesting thing to note about the PUB… it was opened by a westerner. It plays cool pop music that included the likes of Sheryl Crow, Eminem, etc … They also had a very good sales tactic. Give you a free Chicken Kebab seasoned with loads of pepper and it will induce the customer to drink more… hence, more business! Brilliant!

We sat there for an hour or more … while KC, MQ and CK recalled their chionging days and all the retro songs … singing along and even showing the “mass” dance moves … its rather interesting and very very cute watching them … haha … The german guy was of course clueless to what we were doing … and we tried to explain it to him. Yvonne was also positively intrigued by it as she had never chiong before.

After our rounds of drink, we went back to Babyface for another round of “hip”ness. This time, it was even more crowded … and their music had gone to house music … very very repetitive house music! Yucks yucks! Totally did not like the music there at all and it just became very off. Though there were still so many people dancing so happily to the music unaffected by the repetitiveness of it. I’m not the only one complaining… even the seasoned choingers say so … so must agree with them.

Saturday, woke up late and went to 复旦大学. Was suppose to go and do the medical verification at the Foreign Student Hostels. When we arrived, they informed us that the machine had broken down. (what ever machine it was, they did not let us do anything) So, it became a wasted trip to school! After that, we went to 徐家汇 to get a splitter for our house (which we realise cannot be used currently … sighs! … explain later if I remember) We took Bus no. 10 (which was a tourist bus) we went through 七捕路, 河南中路, 人民广场, 襄阳市场, then finally reached 徐家汇. We bought our splitter which really did not take too long and Chin Keong and Huijing went to find some cheap MP3 players. CK finally got his for 295RMB for a 256mb mp3 player which can also function as a thumbdrive. Cheap and Good!

After that, we went to 人民广场. Had dinner at Ajisen (3rd time I ate at Ajisen since I come Shanghai … alot considering that I never ate at the Singapore branch before) After dinner, bumped into some NTU people. (how i know they are NTU … because Huijing knows some of them) There was also this guy, called Darryl (whose chinese name I forgot again) that recognized me from Hwa Chong. He did loook familiar to me, but I had no idea where I had met him before. Oh well, its a small world and fancy bumping into people you never see in Singapore in a foreign land.

MQ and I then went back to 中山 for our massage. The rest went to sit around before they went for they KTV session again at 上海歌城 at 12 midnight. The massage was good. Not great, but good. Still had a slight ache in my lower back and on my feet after the massage … well not perfect, right? Anyway, its cheap … only 58RMB.

Nice sleep …

Then the KTV gang came back at 4.30 am … wah!

Sunday … went back to Fudan again in the morning. This time to register as a student at the 管理学院 (Management School) then register at the Foreign Student Office. Very troublesome as we have to go to many places to register. Not like NUS all matriculate at one place in the MPSH. So, people in Singapore, don’t complain too much!

Fudan University has a 步行街 (Pedestrain Street) nearby that had shops and eateries all along the street. It was more happening than anything NUS has … or Clementi will be! VCDs, DVDs, lamb sticks, etc … everything also got… We hung around there for a while, before we decided to take off.

I wanted to buy a jacket so I asked the rest to follow me to 人民广场 Renmin Square along 广东路 to go to a Big shopping wholesaler for Down Jackets. There were lots of choices and I finally picked one which I really liked and looked damn cool. It cost 498RMB, cheaper that you can get it anywhere else. Since I had not spend on any jacket before Icame to Shanghai, this was a worthwhile investment considering that I still had December here. It is definitely a nice and warm jacket. I tested it this morning!!! heh! KC bought a Big Coat, those 上海滩 kind of jacket … his was cheaper, but then how can you compare price like that right?

After that we went to Coffee Bean along 福州路 to chill … had a Berry kind of tea and it was nice … though I think the Passionfruit one that Fiona and Yvonne drank was much nicer. Coffee Bean is a nice and cosy place … especially if you get the seats with the nice big cushions … the service there is also good … and it is definitely a good place to hang out …

Eventually, we went back home … having dinner at some eatery near our place … was real cheap … 48 RMB for 3 dishes and a lamb steamboat … food was good …

… and now I am back in the office…

later have to go back to Fudan to do the medical verification, so will be leaving after lunch … Lessons also begin tonight … will probably be taking either 投资与风险 or 金融市场. Most probably the former … ok, tell you all about it again another day …

waiting for a break through?

谁把我的曙光吹灭了？

Its the weekend again

Hmm, I think there are 48 more weekends for me to say this …

I shall not count down this way … it will make life miserable … must find greater meaning in what I am doing … Find the Reason!

At least I have discovered that I have one less job that I can do — Programming!

Let’s see, what else can I do …

Channel News Asia

Your alternative to the ST Online.

Take control of your news paper reading habit, make the switch.

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Straits Times Online begin Monthly Subscription

I knew this day will arrive … especially with their newly revamp site and asking people to begin registration … sigh, is there never a good thing for free? I am a big fan of the Straits Times as it brings me closer to Home even though I am abroad… I get the local news as quick as everyone else in Singapore. I get spared the trouble of having to go out to buy the papers even if I am in Singapore. Well, now that it begins charging people, I might would have to reconsider my position. I think I shall find other alternatives to read the local news … there is always Today Online, but that’s a hassle as it is in pdf format and its slow to read it that way …

Therefore, in my own way, let me bid farewell to ST Online for me … (well I’ll read it till it begins to start charging on March 14)

Yesterday was the end of the Chinese New Year Celebration … the 15th day … went to my company’s accountant house (Zhang Shi Fu) to have dinner… she had invited all of us … and there was just way too much food …

After dinner, when I went back, there was also Lu Ahyee (our neighbour’s) very very delicious Tang Yuen to eat and its my favourite … Black sesame … I have never tasted such good black Sesame before till I tasted Lu Ahyee’s … she makes it from scratch, all by herself … very very impressive!!!

Yes, I am back in the office again …

Its Monday again

Today, Shuhui is coming … she shld be in Thailand by now … and would be in Shanghai by 5 pm.

The weekend went by in a blur again … Saturday went to Pick up the German Intern from the Pudong Airport … cost 148RMB by Cab … lucky can claim! After that I went to Xu Jia Hui 徐家汇 to look around for IT hardware … Yvonne got herself a external 40gb hdd … KC and I both got a PCMIA USB 2.0 converter for our laptops (75RMB) … and I also got an External DVD Writer … Its actually an internal Sony DVD writer with an external Case … it cost 1050RMB which I guess is cheap by Spore terms … yea … can finally watch pirated DVDs in China which are very very rampant over here!!!

After all the shopping, we went to walk around the area … its a big area … and lots of things to see, but the problem is it was cold and not exactly the most conducive environment to walk around or roam the streets … we walked about an hour … at the same time searching for a place to eat our dinner … (only KC, Yvonne and Min Chuan was left, Lee Tong and Chin Keong had left with Qing Yuan to go home [which they did not eventually, as their dinner took longer than us!]) Ended up at a 喜年来 which was a kind of subsidiary from 永和豆浆 … the food was bad … I ordered 扬州炒饭 and a 甜豆浆 the rice was hard … prob due to microwaving … and tasteless … less I repeat tasteless … never before had I eaten food that had no taste in China … I even had to add 酱油 light soy sauce to make it more edible … yucks!!! never eating there again … the 豆浆 was NG too … diluted and no soy bean taste … sad!!!

Sunday, we decided to go for some historical visits … Woke up early and went to have Macdonalds Breakfast with KC, Lee Tong and Yvonne … Min Chuan and Chin Keong were too lazy to wake up for breakfast … not as good the quality as Spore, but my Hotcake meal only cot 13.50RMB … so … do your maths!!!

Took a bus (which had its bus stop damn far away) to 黄陂南路 we were going to follow to a certain extent the “walking tour” that was featured in the Lonely Planet: The French Concession. Went to 新天地 first to show Lee Tong around then ended up at Macdonalds again as we were waiting for Chin Keong to come meet us … (Min Chuan stayed at home) … ate their apple pie … its as good as Spore … after all, its mass produce can’t go wrong, right?

Walked to No 127 … which was the place where Mao Zedong stayed before with some other party members … it has become a Museum Shop (where by the Museum is not there but at Renmin Square … weird?! Walked on further down to the Site of the First National People’s Congress … and believe it or not … they were having a ceremony there … new party members were swearing into the party … we watched the ceremony … heard their very long National Anthemn and heard their pledge … Toured the area with them for a while with their guided tour, before we decided to tour ourselves in the end … (Entrance fee for the place … 1RMB for Students, here is where NUS Matric card comes in useful)

Next Stop : Lunch … hehe … need to eat, right?

Ok, Sun Yat Sen Old Residence … Went to tour the area … saw his history then toured his residence … It was a guided tour in Chinese alot of the exhibits were also in Chinese … no English Translation … sians!!! (Entrance fee cost 8RMB)Met this American Lady who was touring the place too … Yvonne helped her to translate some of what the tour guide was saying … and later on, we bumped into her again at the Zhou Enlai’s Residence … Had an interesting chat with her … she is an English Teacher teaching in Shenyang … and she is on 2 months vacation touring the region such as vietnam, cambodia and Shanghai … cool!

After our very educational tour, we decided to just walk … and we walked and walked all the way to Renmin Square, which is not exactly far … but not that near either … went for some desserts at the basement of Raffles City, which wasn’t exactly to cry for … bought some gui lin gao from Watsons … it was the same one I ate in Guangzhou … not bad … next time I know where to get liao … too bad near my place no watsons …

Back at home at night, I was watching 星梦缘 again … can’t believe I am watching this kind of 偶像剧 … so bad acting … and so lame … but still watch … haha! oh well …

ok … that rounds up my weekend … how are you?

咸菜命

Still believing in a better tomorrow

Feel like crying … actually its a myriad of feelings … not sure to cry, laugh, be angry or be upset … once again, I am stuck with codes, codes and more codes … and the best thing about it all is that I don’t know now to begin … I have this programmer in Singapore’s MSN, and am trying to wring information out of him … hope he can help … so far … not so good …

yes, i would like to shed a tear … the “nice” programmer in Singapore is not working on the same code as me … I have absolutely no idea how the code is functioning …

I dunno what to do now … oh no … let me slowly look at the code … but the worst thing is that I dun have a clue how to begin or how the system works … I tot my Sup was suppose to work with me together on this project …

… …
… …
… …

absolutely don’t understand how do people code programs base on such flimsy documentations that don’t seem to specify anything at all … how do people thereafter modify anything too … really really eludes me …

I am really still seeking the meaning or reason why I am in this company … there must be a reason … I struggled to hard to come here leh … cannot be to waste my life away mah? I dun mid struggling more, but I would like to struggle meaningfully , possibly learn something in the progress or something that will be beneficial … this doesn’t seem to be benefitting me in anyway … and it most definitely does not seem to fit the bill of what NOC was promoting … entreprenuership … herein lies the major glitch in the entire NOC programme … someone, please look into it … when I get back, must feedback liao …

天下无难事，只怕有心人。

I try and try to believe in this phrase … I need to have more faith to believe it though …

So, where do we go from here?

This is how we overcome::Hillsongs
Your light broke through my night
Restored exceeding joy
Your grace fell like the rain
And made this desert live

Chorus:
You have turned my mourning into dancing
You have turned my sorrow into joy

Your hand lifted me up
I stand on higher ground
Your praise rose in my heart
And made this valley sing
(Chorus)

This is how we overcome
This is how we overcome
(Chorus)

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding,
In all your ways acknowledge him,
And he will make your paths straight.

As usual, one of my favourite verses from the bible … leave all things in the hands of the God, Almight!

Ask and you shall receive!

A note before lunch

Ok, Sup is back from Singapore. He came back to Shanghai yesterday night and he is back in the office again. He is having lunch currently with Zhang Shi Fu. Was initially quite happy when he first came in because he told me to leave what ever I am developing aside first and do something else. He then told me that what needs to be done vaguely. Its yet another sms metwork for 小灵通 and he mentioned that it needs to be up by next week. The thing is he did say that shouldn’t be a problem because he and I will be doing it together … gosh, I hope he means every single word and not just bluff me … lets hope through this experience (of working with him to modify the code) I will be able to learn enough to handle the other set of code that has been my stumbling block forever!

Later after lunch going to read all the manuals and specifications to see if I can understand …

Saturday, 19th Feb the German Intern is coming to Shanghai … his name is Martin … My Sup asked me to go pick him up from the airport … alright … looks like I can’t sleep late liao … Transportation fees covered by Company … wonder if I can take Cab to and fro … cross fingers tmr ask him … this means that I would have to take Martin around during the weekend as I can’t possibly just dump him in Shanghai in his apartment and leave him there … unless of course he knows chinese lah … Perhaps he can join the rest of the dajiayuan gang in whatever they intend to do during the weekend.

so weird … now don’t know whether to be happy or sad that I have a “new” assignment … wait and see … patience is needed to see the light at the end of the tunnel … this is all but a trial … minor turbulence trying to deter me from the final goal …

Lunch, anyone?!

Good Morning, Shanghai (& Singapore)

This is your friendly blogger signing in!

Rise and shine, I hope you have a great day ahead … it might be drizzling outside but remember the sun never sets … (it really is there, somewhere up there!)

Got into office around 9.10 am this morning … getting into a rather monotonous routine, this getting to work … Walk to 中山公园地铁站, squeeze with the crowd on to the train then squeeze with the crowd out of the train once i reach my stop 静安寺站, 2 stops away … walk another 15 minutes before I reach my office. Open the door and begin to set up my computer for yet another day’s work. Simple, isn’t it?

Diversion: Went for dinner last night at 振鼎鸡 … they serve chicken … with porridge and noodles … the chicken is almost similar to the kind that we get in Singapore as Chicken Rice, but of course its different. The food was good … too bad they closed at 7 pm everyday … when I walked into the shop they keep telling me they had no more foor already 没有了 … lucky my friends were there already and they had ordered before hand …

I realized that when I go back home, I don’t exactly have anything left to do, since I have already done all the things that I wanted to do at the office, like read the Straits Times, Blog, Read other people’s Blogs, Read other stuff … I guess one thing that I failed to do was improve my Chinese… ok … shall speak more Chinese even at Home from now on …

Everyone is in the office now … except the Sup … where is he? Is he still in Singapore or has he made his way back to Shanghai … la di la di la di …

Question: Does my Sup or 老板 read this?

I am in China and I can’t read my blog …

BUT my Sup and my Boss is in Singapore … and they have all the access to everything … hmm …

What would it mean if he read it? Or what would it mean if he did not read it? A rather interesting scenario wouldn’t it?

Remember the issue of self censorship I brought up many moons ago? Well, here it is again … are we to self censor our own blogs which very existent was to be frank about things we want to do, have done, or intend ot do?