My moods have been roller-coasting ever since my laptop crashed on wed night. In a foreign country, every little set-back seemed enormous and i couldn’t take the trauma of losing my laptop. Call it murphy’s law. I was scheduled to finish my work on thurs night with only 1 day to finish up. Hence wed night i stayed till 9pm to finish my work and when i got home, i wanted to do more work and that’s when my laptop crashed. Everything seemed to be going wrong and I just couldn’t take it. I felt defeated at that very moment. I started crying and a call from my family when they receive my sms told me that there’s always family around, even if they are 6 hrs flight away.

i dreaded the packing of my luggage for beijing since my mood is totally spoilt. Went into office ultra early at 715am (work starts at 930am) to finish up the work and i just managed to finish with sufficient time to take cab to the train station. But not all went well, i didn’t really perform my task well as my eyes were swollen from excessive crying and I just couldn’t do what was required. My boss’s email though nice reflects disappointment that I didn’t perform my task well.

Got onto the train on thurs night and reached beijing on fri morning. Now i am back and beijing is really a place full of culture. Walking through the forbidden city, I somehow got transported back to the old days when eunuchs, palace maids and concubines rule the palace ground.

The trip’s good but i am coming again with my parents. Must bring them when they are still able to climb the great wall. I scaled abit of it, and damn, now my right thigh is on fire from excessive workout. Climbing steps are a problem and i cringed when I sit on the toilet bowl (cause still need to use thigh muscles to bend).

500 pictures and I can’t blog about it until my laptop is back. IBM china is really very incompetent and I think a complaint letter is going to come their way.

i have read the comments but i am not replying over there since i am using office computer. Will reply comments when lappie is rescued.
Lots of stories to tell, including sort of a married man, sort of molestation.

will be back soon.

boss just gave me an assignment to be handed in on fri. But i take leave that day. heh. i told boss, “its ok, i will finish by tmr.”

i don’t mind working late for this firm. Beats my Big four internship anytime. I was telling my friend the work ethics of my colleagues and my friend said ” I think working in (insert random Big four name) has changed your thinking towards work.” Die, I am slave-driverish liao.

of course, let me recall the shite my senior put me through.

1) scolding me. She is famous for that -_-
2) throwing me to the client alone for at least 2 weeks . i was the only auditor and not qualified somemore.
3) making me work 6 days a week.
4) not forgetting our favourite OTs. I work between 60-80 hours a week.
5) long working hours. Work for like 19 hrs straight 830 am - 330 am
6) HOME WORK. bringing work home on sundays. Realise that by then i work like 7 days a week on top of my sunday tuition.

I don’t mind the hard work since she is working just as hard. But have a little pity on me since I have tuition and don’t let me bring work home to do on my precious Sunday.

and then i see the industry increasing the auditors’ pay from 2000 to 2200 and now to 2400, and seriously does that 400 increase entice me to this job? The working conditions are crap.

Perhaps without the internship, i may still be sucked into the industry but luckily my eyes are wide open.

and i enjoy working late for my current internship. Beats having no work to do. Passion- I think my senior killed the auditing passion from me. Weird thing is that I do well in theory auditing. Practical and theory doesn’t mean the same thing huh?

went for xinjiang dinner yesterday with friends and their friends. xinjiang people are super gorgeous, they look arabic and i even mistaken some for being Caucasians. Anyway besides their beautiful eyes, and great kebabs, i had a ping hui lookalike dining with him. He really look like ping hui man and i can’t stop looking at him (no wonder, he didn’t look much over to myside. ) Will i ever have another chance to see ping hui?

on another note, i have been panicking cause there’s ktv session with the company peeps coming up and i can’t sing to save my life. I can’t read chinese words fast enough to sing and it sucks. so I have prepared this repertoire of songs which i will practice and know the chinese words by heart so that i can sing properly on the D-day. KTV is supposed to be enjoyable right?

thursday i am on route to seeing the great wall of china! can’t wait. (china got 2 great walls, the great wall of china, and the great firewall of china)

I have been around the touristy areas of Shanghai and the pictures will trickle dry after a while but then again, interesting sights are always everywhere so I am sure I will capture a sight or two.

My friend went to Hongkong to continue on her holiday. And I realized my behaviour these few days when she is around, I was truly being myself and I realized why. The true me has a lot of jokes to say, a lot of comments to say. Being with Chinese colleagues, I do share abit of the true me, but since we are still quite foreign to each other, there is not much sharing to do. Being with the boss, I don’t think I can share my comments or 2 cents worth. While watching tv alone, I can’t talk to myself when I want to comment on certain things. I am actually quite starved of companionship here which explains the poor appetite when alone and the fantastic appetite when my friends come over. I do go out with people but there is only so much of me, I can share with new friends. I am the cautious type with people and I guess that I need to change that as I have been told by a Master that I need to open up more.

When walking around with her, I was giving her all sorts of niao comments (I think twice the amount back home) and she accepted all my niaoness because she knows that I am starved of companionship here.

Which brings me to the topic of why I insisted emails from Mr Fag. I have been exchanging emails with a lot of good friends and the feeling I get is that I am still back home with friends within reach. It doesn’t even feel that I am gone from Singapore. Miss Pooh is really nice and she always never fails to sms without any initiation from me.

On Friday, just met my friend for dinner and missed out on cloud 9 since she was feeling unhappy and wanted to talk. So we talked indeed and slept together on the same bed. My friend is really thin as you can see. And then we woke up early to go for breakfast and we tried 4 types of breakfast + soya bean milk. Breakfast was super duper full and fulfilling. And then we went to collect her tailor-made suit and went to wash our hair together. Washing hair plus head and shoulder massage is like 10 yuan (2 sing) and we took like 1 hr to get our hair done. This can only mean one thing, the shampoo boy and girl get paid peanuts (Chinese peanuts worth much lesser). And then after roaming around a while more, its time for her to get on her train to Hong Kong for more touring.

My boss returned and I was watching Schindler’s list on the tv. Initially she was tired but when she found out that I was watching the movie she was hunting for a long time, she decided to watch instead. And she weeped at the end when Oscar Schindler was crying and saying “I should have sold my car and saved 10 more people. I should have sold my golden watch and saved 1-2 more people.” And then I get a crash course on the cultural revolution, middle east politics and how it influence the world events today. I am going to read up on my history to learn much more. Staying with my boss is really beneficial to me as she knows a lot (really a lot) and she imparts her knowledge to me. Of course I have to put in a lot of effort for the assignment she gives me since she is demanding.

(Vulnerable mood not attributed to loss of eyelashes in the right eye)

ok more blogging on hangzhou trip since i am quite free. Going to crash over at my friend’s hotel later tonight and then go pubbing/clubbing at cloud 9 pub. i don’t even have the urge to club anymore, how to dance ah?

hangzhou was beautiful. i really loved the sculptures i saw at ling ying temple. it was a 175 rmb trip and we went to many places within a day which meant no dinner. Damn it. and all of us starved or ate random stuff like ice cream. We finally reached Shanghai at 930 pm and i was so damn hungry. A hungry woman is not a beautiful woman.

After which it was raining and i cabbed home which became ex as it was 11pm and it started to have surcharge. But the ride was enjoyable as I have a cab driver who knows alot about singapore. He managed to guess my nationality proper. And then basically chinese have very good impression of singapore. Hua Yuan Cheng Shi is what they say. This cab driver knows more and even knows about the 1 million paycheck some people (don’t say who) are receiving regardless of performance. And of course many many inputs (note: bitching) from me. And finally when i arrived he said ” you look young.” Ya, i am very young, i said. And then i always ask the question i shouldn’t ask. “How old do you think i am?” he said 25. hahahaha. Ok, i feel 25 too, but not reaching there yet.

In the morning, i had a cab driver who was interesting. And he told me about the high rental rates of taxis there. Its abt 80 sing a day. And they work alternate days. I am really interested in the people’s way of life here and the only way to find out more is to talk to the common people.

Hit with the pics

Yue Fei Temple. Going to see the great man himself.

the husband and wife traitors of yue fei. Spit-on-them quick. Heh i was initially thinking to myself, how come look like 2 guys then i realised one got abit of boobs.

Another 2 traitors

to reach his tombstone where the 4 traitors are, there’s a steep bridge to cross. Apparently this bridge can tell whether you are a kind person or not. Cause this guy who wants to visit Yue Fei’s tombstone with bad intentions fell while crossing the bridge.

One of the specialty of Hangzhou is this lotus powder.

And then we went on the wuxi lake

Lei feng ta (lei feng pagoda). this is a new pagoda. the original one was gone in 1921. and there’s 2 saying. 1 is that it was blown up in 1921 during the cultural revolution (i may be wrong cause i get my facts mixed up) the second one was that it was discovered that the inside of the pagoda has alot of scriptures which has kan guang (seen the light) and is the one the tang shang zhang (monkey god’s monk) supposed to bring. Anyway everybody knows it as the pagoda the white snake was trapped in.

We went to this island to explore abit. and there’s this pavillion bywhere husband and wives must face each other with eyes close for 3 months, and both of them will understand what each other is thinking. Of course that means cheating partners better be careful.

lie detector pavilion

And then we went to ling ying shi (temple) which is the most famous temple in china

The roads there were rocky and the tour guide said we must walk instead of taking transport there cause the hwang di also walk on foot there.

4 famous abbots are buried in each individual pillar

now u know why i am in love with hangzhou

haiz. weight gain is imminent at this stage whereby i am happy and feel like eating. of course good company helps too.

I went home and watched stephen chow dvds yesterday and felt this urge to eat instant noodles for supper. yeah its sinful but i thought heck, just eat. and then after which i felt tired watching dvds and in the end fell asleep frm 130 to 530 am on the couch at the living room area with the tv still on.

win liao. and the morning was bright already at 530 but i am tired so i trudged back to my room and slept for 3 more hrs.

yesterday had xiao long xias again. Yum yum.

Went to Yu Yuan and i wasn’t expecting to see anything like that. THe buildings are so beautiful and restored. I love historical looking places so it was like PHWAR for me!

The pictures will tell you why. This place is a tourist attraction so it is very commercialised. But near the chen hong temple, there is 2 yuan stores and 10 yuan bags store. I bought a backpack for my beijing trip for 10 yuan (2 sing!!!)

this picture wasn’t aimed at anyone cause i was trying to capture a cute guy or what, but it was the queue that i wanted to protray for this nanxiang xiao long bao store. Its the singapore version of donuts. Didn’t manage to eat but i will go back and queue one day

I feel like an imperial concubine. I think a few period films are filmed here.

FOOD again! I was full so i just ate abit.

this is tang bao or soup bao. I just slurped up the soup using the straw and its huge. But didn’t eat the skin cause its hard.

After which cause we were hosting some friends from wu xi (another part of china), we brought them to Bund.

they went up this tower and paid like 85 rmb. I declined cause i will have a chance to go up with the other interns

Instead, i went shopping alone at this super brand shopping centre. And I sort of saw some celebrities

The crowd is 10-20 times the amount of people here. Its crazy! So who’s fans are this?

SHE lah.

i was in the queue trying to get some pics but my camera gave up so didn’t manage to capture any pics of them and I got out of the horde of people. So sorry King meng.

I wanted to blog abt hangzhou but i am tired. More blog posts tmr

There was a reason why i didn’t blog.Because my flickr account is full so i have to go around setting another account. Grrr 200 pics is too little.

I finished my report, all its lacking is a cover page and an executive summary and it will be ready for submission. so now its blogging time

phwar i stopped at suzhou (for the pics) which is really slow. SO an update now!

i went to the science and technology museum. Ok alot of tourists go to this place to shop for fake goods. HA! All the stores selling premium fake goods are now located at the metro station near the science and technology museum. Phwar, i didn’t manage to get them the last time but trust me, i will be there again.

Ok back to the museum. The museum is HUGE! and alot of space was wasted to create the spacious feeling.

different minerals

Dinosaurs alert

birds that used to be in Shanghai but is no longer found in Shanghai. Such a majestic looking eagles.

The museum was not bad. quite interesting to view the exhibits. More on education, cause some of the things i have learnt before (hallo darwin) but stuff on aerospace and nuclear power is still interesting to learn about.

AND now for the best part of the day. DInner.
Met up with my uncle’s friend who is working here in china. So the 3 of us went to this korean restuarant which is super good. We waited almost 1 hr to get into the restaurant.

Korean food yum

its the korean bbq where we bbq the meat and then wrap it in vegetable.

Not bad, the whole meal came up to 10 sing per person which i didn’t pay a cent

And then i came home and on the way home, there are roadside stores which sells vcds and food. I like this particular store for their bbq meat.

The 2 chefs are in hats. Its a father-son team.

The next day i went to meet uncle and friend again for dinner. This time its steamboat at a very posh restaurant. 30 sing per person leh. What do you think? As usual, I don’t have to pay a single cent. But my cab fare was abt 14 sing to and fro. PUI.

One sat evening, i went with my boss to a traditional shanghainese restaurant at xin tian di. And it was really good and pricey (which i didn’t have to pay again:P)

xiao long baos and i don’t have to say whether it was good anot. hee

xia ren which is super good. I like it.

and we ate other food which i didn’t take cause it was gone before i can snap the pics.

after dinner, she brought me to a museum which says the history of shanghai in the 1920s.

random building which has been restored.

ang moh right? Shanghai has alot of western influence even in the 1920s.

Notice the chinese and western influence. The typewriter is obviously some western influence.

this is a western invention too.

a lake made in china.

that’s how long it is

Cooking for myself did wonders for my appetite. I lost 2.5 kg within 1 week and 2 days of cooking dinner for myself. Of course the heat only added to the loss in appetite.

And poor Mr Fag was scolded by me for failing to send me a single email. Heh. Cause Miss Pooh has been very sweet and we have been exchanging sms and emails about anything. So Poor Fag kena the “you don’t care” speech from me and pronto, i got an email from him.

I did eyelash extension and now i is chio. Really made a whole load of difference. I shall go for 360 degrees change in china. Hi weight loss, Hi fake eyelashes, hi hair extensions, Hi manicure.

I have been guessed to be from taiwan this time around. The whole week, people i meet asked where i was and taiwan was one of the places they guessed. Its all because of the accent. and the place where i extended my eyelash said ” you are from taiwan, japan or singapore?” Then i told her to guess should I should never. She said “singapore” cause taiwan and japanese girls wear makeup but Singaporeans don’t wear makeup. And its true. The whole load of us girls (5!), none of us put makeup. But hey its a sunday and we got such good complexion *flips hair*

ok, got work to rush.